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Lightning
in the High Country
| Marmots
| More
on Marmots
| Group
Mountaineering
| Staying Found
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by Will Rietveld What creates lightning? When there are clouds in the sky, negative charges accumulate in the lower part of a cloud and positive charges accumulate in the upper part. On the ground, positive charges are accumulating at the highest points: peaks, ridge tops, tall trees, or on you if you are the highest point. When these charges build up enough strength, there is an electrical discharge called lightning. The electrical discharge can be within the cloud itself, between clouds, or from the cloud to the ground. If you are standing on a mountaintop, you become a lightning rod—a conductor between the cloud and the ground. The charges rising up along the mountain start rising up through you. Lightning travels at about 90,000 miles/second and can be as hot as 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit, so it is hard to dodge. You do not want to be the lighting rod for this kind of a discharge! You should remember that lightning strikes in lots of places besides mountaintops, and we often find ourselves in high-risk locations on our summer hikes here. The Trail-Wise hiker knows how to recognize hazardous situations and how to avoid a lightning strike. The simple rule during the rainy season in the mountains is to get an early start, be on top or at your highest point in the hike by noon, and head down to safer low ground when you hear the first clap of thunder in the distance. Use the flash/bang method to find out how far away the lightning is. Once you see the flash, start timing until you hear the bang. Then divide the number of seconds counted by 5. A count of 15 means that the lightning is 3 miles away, so start hiking to a sheltered area. A count of 5 seconds means that the lightning struck only 1 mile away, and you had better find shelter pronto! If you find yourself above timberline when the fireworks (lightning) begin, it is not Trail-Wise to ignore lightning risks. Search for a low spot where you can get down below your surroundings but avoid being next to a stream or standing on saturated ground. Remove all metal objects from your clothing and pockets and crouch down on the balls of your feet. Cover your eyes with your hands. There should be at least 20’ between you and any other people. Do not huddle together. If you are in the timber when a lightning storm hits, you are in a safer place, but you still have some exposure danger. Tall trees are lightning rods, so make sure you are not sitting under one. If you are hiking across a large meadow, remember that you could also be a lightning rod and look for a low place in which to crouch. The good news is that about 75% of lightning victims survive. The bad news is that lightning injuries are often neurological and difficult to treat. They include: short-term impaired eyesight, loss of hearing, feelings of isolation and depression, dizziness, and sleeping disorders. Lightning is one of many risks we are exposed to in the high country. If you hike Trail-Wise, you can minimize your lightning risks and return to enjoy the backcountry repeatedly. For more information on lightning, see “Lightning Strikes, Staying Safe Under Stormy Skies” by Jeff Renner. by Will Rietveld Marmots are cute, furry creatures that are part of the wildlife in the high country. They live in rocky areas, and let out a sharp whistle to warn their relatives when they see you coming. They are called “whistle pigs” by locals, woodchucks by easterners, and ground hogs by superstitious types, but all of these strange names apply to one animal—the marmot. Marmots in Colorado are the black-tailed variety. One thing that many people are not aware of is that marmots can do damage to vehicles and outdoor gear when they are in search of salt. I have personal experience with marmots getting under the hood of my truck and chewing up wiring and the fiberglass insulation on the underside of the hood. Janet and I hiked with some friends who had recently purchased a used Ford Explorer from the Chicago area (where they use a lot of salt on the roads in winter, right?). Well, when we got back to the car, we observed three marmots running from the vehicle. We decided to look under the hood to see if there was any damage, and (honest) there was another marmot sitting on top of the engine! When it saw us, it quickly ducked down behind the engine, but we didn’t see it run away. We discovered that it had chewed through one of the spark plug wires. With a little duct tape, we patched the wire and were on our way to the campground. Soon after our arrival in camp, we were met by another hiking friend and his dog Katie. As we were visiting around the picnic table, Katie discovered that there was a stowaway in the Ford Explorer. A real circus followed with the dog barking and crawling under the car to find the marmot while the marmot sat comfortably on top of the transmission whistling back at the dog. Katie was not successful in getting the marmot, and the marmot rode part or all the way back to town before it abandoned ship. The lesson to be learned from this is to avoid parking your vehicle in the high country where there are lots of marmots. That is often easier said than done, but you can avoid marmots to some extent by not parking in rocky areas where you see marmots or their burrow entrances. One thing I do is put out salt blocks around my vehicle to decoy the marmots. I purchase 2.5 pound salt blocks and I cut them in half. I put four half-blocks about 5-10 feet away around my vehicle. My theory is that the salt distracts the marmots so that they leave my vehicle alone. This decoy seems to work most of the time, although my vehicle has been struck again while using the salt block decoys. The information available on the Internet on this subject is limited. I will relate the few tidbits that I found. One person suggested spraying pepper spray under the hood, and another recommended pouring beer around the vehicle (he didn’t say how much, but I would not waste more than one can). One resourceful friend has tried urinating around his vehicle, with good results. I also called the Department of Wildlife, but they did not have any information on how to deter marmots. Anyhow, if you do sustain marmot damage to your vehicle, there’s a good chance it will be covered by your comprehensive insurance. Besides possible damage to your vehicle, marmots can damage your pack or boots if they are left on the ground unguarded. They are after salt, so they might chew up your pole straps, shoulder straps, back pad, or boot linings in search of it. The solution is to hang your gear when it is not being worn or is unattended because marmots can’t climb trees. Now you know all I know about marmots. Let me know if you have any interesting stories to share or ideas on how to keep them away from your vehicle. by Will Rietveld In a previous Trail Wise column I talked about mischievous marmots and some ideas for what you can do to avoid vehicle damage when you park at a trailhead. I have two recent stories about these meadow clowns to add to their legacy, and two more ideas on how you can prevent marmot damage to your vehicle. The first incident took place at one of the trailheads accessing the Lizard Head Wilderness in Southwest Colorado. A friend who works part time for the Forest Service parked his government vehicle at the Navaho Lake trailhead and walked up that trail, then returned to his vehicle and drove to the Kilpacker trailhead. As he arrived at the second trailhead, he detected that something was wrong with the truck. When he lifted the hood, there was a stunned marmot sitting by the engine! It had hitchhiked with him from the previous trailhead, and apparently had been hit by the engine fan. The marmot ambled off and his fate is unknown. However, the truck lost a drive belt, thanks to the marmot’s sharp teeth, so no power brakes and steering. Our friend cautiously drove the truck back to town, and a visit to the repair shop put it back in service. The second incident happened on a recent hiking club outing. This time the vehicle’s occupants were unaware that they had hitchhikers until after they got home and parked the car in the garage. Bill went to the garage the next day and discovered a lot of disturbance in the garage. He found a marmot in the garage that was trying to get out. Bill “assisted” the marmot to the outside and straightened up the garage. The next day Connie went out to the garage and—oh no, not again! The garage was trashed a second time and there was a second displaced marmot! Two marmots had ridden home with them from their hike. After a lot of effort to persuade the second marmot to abandon the car, the “humor” ended. They discovered that the marmots did quite a bit of damage to the vehicle’s wiring, to the tune of $500. Marmot stories can be expensive, and most people would prefer to avoid a marmot episode. What to do? In the previous article I suggested: 1) putting small salt blocks out away from your vehicle to act as “marmot decoys”, 2) urinating around your vehicle (I know two people who swear by it, and have enough volume to get the job done), and 3) pouring beer or red pepper over the engine. I have no documentation on the latter approach, but it seems like a waste of good beer. The new suggestions I have for you (totally untested) are: 1) taking a roll of chicken wire with you and rolling it out around your vehicle when you park, and 2) putting bags of mothballs under the hood. I have seen the first approach used before and I believe it works ok because marmots are not good climbers. However, it requires a fair amount of effort, and the wire may scratch the vehicle. The second deterrent has merit and needs to be tested to see if it works. I suggest putting a handful of mothballs in several old stockings and placing them under the hood when you park in marmot country. Use 6 stockings to make sure they get the message: 4 in the corners of the engine compartment and 2 on top of the engine. When they are not in use, store the bags of mothballs in a tightly sealed container for next time. The sealed container will keep the mothballs from gassing you in the car, and keeps them from evaporating away so they can be used several times before they are gone. Let me know if you have heard any good marmot stories lately, or better yet any sure-fire methods or theories on methods to keep them from riding home with you. I think we would all prefer to enjoy marmots as wildlife, and not have to deal with them as pests. Happy hiking! by Will Rietveld I decided to write on this topic because of two recent local incidents of people being hit by falling rocks that were dislodged by people above them. Group mountaineering provides some special challenges to do it safely. The issue is that larger groups (e.g., 6-12 people) increase the potential of someone dislodging rocks and someone else below being hit. Compare this to 2-3 people climbing together, where it’s much easier to communicate and stay together or go one at a time so no one is exposed to falling rocks. To go beyond my own ideas and experiences, I consulted with Ken Beegles, Ken Marshall, and Paul Gallemore of the Colorado Mountain Club to get their suggestions. Here are some ideas they shared:
In general, group mountaineering is potentially more dangerous than a small group of 2-3 people doing a climb on their own. Leaders need to develop appropriate safety protocols and participants need to be aware of and practice the protocols. Safety is extremely important. The last thing we would want to happen is for someone to get hurt, or (gulp!) seriously injured on an outing. Think of how bad you would feel if you were the one who dislodged the rock that hit another hiker. Think about how you would feel if you were that other hiker! by Will Rietveld It has been rumored that famed outdoorsman Daniel Boone was never lost, although he did admit to being “mighty disoriented for several days in a row.” In this day and age of search and rescue teams, maps, compasses, and GPS, being “lost” usually means that someone will find you. However being lost can be life threatening, traumatic, and embarrassing, and is not something to take lightly. This article on “lost prevention” contains information that you should know, whether you hike in a group or on your own. The following tips are aimed at helping you stay found:
The best way to deal with getting lost is to not get lost in the first place. Remember the 6 “P”s—Proper Preparation Prevents Plenty of Precarious Predicaments. Clothing for Winter Activities by Will Rietveld On our cold weather outings, we are often hiking, snowshoeing, or XC skiing uphill at the beginning of the trip, so we are generating a lot of heat and don’t need heavy clothing. But when we stop for lunch it is easy to get chilled because of the moisture in our clothing. On our way back the sun is getting low and a cold wind suddenly make it feel a lot colder. Dressing for cold weather activities to stay warm and comfortable is a challenge, especially when our activity level and the weather vary a lot. The trick is to use the layering system and choose the right fabrics. The layering system consists of a base wicking layer, an insulating layer, and a shell layer. For fabrics, think synthetic – nylon, polypropylene, and polyester. Silk and wool also work well, and down is a good insulator as long as it stays dry. Cotton is a no-no. There is a saying that “cotton kills”, because it absorbs a lot of moisture, doesn’t insulate when wet, and dries very slowly. You can easily get chilled or hypothermic wearing cotton clothing. The base wicking layer moves sweat away from your skin. Fabrics such as polyester, polypropylene, silk, and modern wool retain very little moisture and dry quickly. Examples are a long sleeve hiking top, synthetic long johns, and liner gloves. The insulation layer traps the heat that your body generates and allows moisture to escape. Examples are fleece jacket and pants, insulated jacket and pants, and insulated gloves or mittens. It is usually better to add insulation in layers so you can regulate your temperature better. The shell layer protects you from the wind as well as rain or snow. Like the other layers, it should be breathable to allow moisture to escape. Examples are a nylon jacket (with hood) and pants, Gore-Tex (or other waterproof/breathable fabric) jacket and pants, glove shell, and waterproof boots. Note that the more waterproof a fabric is the less breathable it is. Choosing the right shell layer is a balancing act to meet the needs of the activity in the expected conditions. Choosing the type and amount of clothing to take on an outing depends on your individual needs and preferences. Some people get cold easier than others, and need to wear more clothing. Experience is important; after you have been out a few times, you get a better idea of how much clothing is needed. There are a lot of clothing choices, but the important thing to remember is to wear only synthetics and use the layering system. Wool, although not a synthetic, is a good fabric for winter warmth. It wicks moisture well and has the additional advantage of being warm even when wet. However, it absorbs more moisture than synthetics and is fairly slow to dry. Personally, I would choose fleece over wool. Fleece (a polyester) comes in a variety of weights for all types of clothing. Remember that your head is your biggest heat exchanger. About 30% of body heat is lost through your head. There is a saying: “if your hands get cold, put your hat on”. It works the other way too: “if you get too hot, take your hat off”. Finally, a word on hypothermia. There are many good articles on hypothermia on the web. This would be a good time to read about hypothermia and know what the dangers are. If you bring adequate clothing and use the layering system, you don’t have to worry about hypothermia in most situations. However, I always take an extra insulation layer along, just in case the weather gets bad. Maintaining a Comfortable Temperature During Winter Activities by Will Rietveld When I look at how some people dress for a snowshoe or XC ski trip—with layers upon layers of clothes—I wonder how they avoid getting overheated and sweaty. They are better dressed for ice fishing than for an active sport! If you are a person who can wear a lot of insulation on a snowshoe or ski trip, and not get overheated, then you are fine and don’t need to read further. But if you have a problem with getting overheated and sweaty, then read on. You might have a fear of getting cold and not being able to get warmed up again, so you wear lots of clothes to be sure you stay warm. That approach can be self-defeating because it’s very likely you will get overheated, moisture from perspiration will build up, and you will get chilled when you stop. Getting hot will also slow you down. In this article, I would like to talk more about adjusting your clothing to maintain a comfortable temperature all day. The layering system does not mean that you should always wear a base layer, insulation layer, and shell layer. Rather, you should always wear a base wicking layer, then add insulation layers and a breathable shell layer as appropriate for the conditions. The trick is to wear the right amount of clothing for the weather and your activity level, so the moisture will escape and you will stay comfortably warm and dry. If you wear too much insulation (fleece, microfiber, down), moisture will still build up because it can’t escape through thick clothing as fast as it is being generated. Black is a good color for winter activities because it absorbs the sun’s energy better and keeps you warmer. When I dress before leaving home, I put on the clothing I expect will be appropriate for that particular day. To decide this, I take into account the activity, location and weather—if it will be cloudy or sunny, windy or still, what the temperatures will likely be, and how active I will be. Then I add a layer or two to keep me warm while I am standing around at the meeting place and trailhead. When we get started, I take the extra layers off and put them in my pack. This ensures that I start out warm. Throughout the day I either add or remove clothing to maintain comfort, and do it before I get too hot or too cold. Our Southwest winter sunshine is really warm, so when I am climbing in a sunny location with no wind, it doesn’t take very many clothes to stay warm and dry. However, if it becomes cloudy or windy, I suddenly become chilled, and need to either increase my activity level and/or put on another layer. A quick way to get warmer is to put on a warmer hat and gloves. Adding a lightweight breathable shell layer is often enough if it gets breezy. But if the chill factor really kicks in, it may require adding both an insulation layer and a shell layer. It’s important to remember that your head is your body’s “radiator”—if you are feeling chilly, put on a warmer hat; if you are getting hot, take your hat off. It’s also handy to adjust zippers at your neck and pit zips. When you stop on the trail for a longer break or lunch, it is a good idea to pick a sunny location and add an extra layer. If you are wearing synthetics and not too many layers, you will dry out just fine. On the way back to the trailhead, usually downhill, the sun is getting lower and your activity level is lower, so you will probably need to add an extra insulation layer. If you are doing a sport where you are likely to fall in the snow, then you need to be covered with water-resistant/breathable clothing so you stay dry. What you really want to avoid is being sweaty or getting wet, then getting chilled, especially when there is a sudden or dramatic weather change. That is a recipe for hypothermia. The strategy for staying warm and dry may seem a bit complex and a bit of a nuisance to keep adding and subtracting clothes, but it’s the necessary approach to stay comfortable during winter outdoor activities and for summer activities in the mountains. Since we are warm-blooded animals we need to constantly regulate our body temperature within certain limits or we feel uncomfortable. And there is a real risk of injury or death from being either too cold (hypothermia) or too hot (heat fatigue or heat stroke). So selecting, planning, and adjusting your clothing to be comfortable during outdoor activities is part of the knowledge you need to be trail wise. by Will Rietveld Probably the most versatile piece of clothing in my pack is my wind shirt. A wind shirt is no more than a thin, wind-resistant, water-repellent, and highly breathable nylon or polyester shell jacket or pullover. Why is it so useful? Think about hiking uphill in highly variable weather, especially in wind and intermittent rain or snow. A wind shirt blocks the wind and prevents convective heat loss. It traps warm air inside your clothing to keep you warmer. It allows moisture from perspiration to escape as water vapor so you don’t get chilled when you stop. It is water resistant enough to repel light rain or snow. And its breathability makes it comfortable to wear in a wide variety of conditions. When Do I Need It?—While snowshoeing, day hiking, or backpacking in the mountains we encounter a lot of variable conditions and unexpected weather. One minute its calm and warm in the sun, and 10 minutes later its cloudy and blustery. This happens a lot in the winter and spring, but it can happen anytime in the high country. Putting on an insulated jacket is not a good remedy if you are hiking uphill; it doesn’t take very long for it to get steamy inside. The trick is to break the wind and retain your body heat at a comfortable level. Personally, I never hike in the high country without some type of wind shell. What Qualifies as a Wind Shirt?—The key factor is that is must be both wind resistant and breathable. There are numerous “microfiber” fabrics that qualify. These are tightly-woven nylons and polyesters with a DWR (durable water repellent) finish to make them shed rain, up to a point. My lightest wind shirt is made of Pertex Microlight and weighs 3.5 ounces. The latest and greatest is made of Pertex Quantum and weighs less than 3 ounces. Wind shirts made of EPIC fabric are a little heavier, but they perform very well. Wind shirts are by no means wind-proof, meaning they will still feel a little breezy inside. It’s the balance of wind resistance and breathability that makes them work. They repel the wind and weather, yet you feel dry and comfortable inside while hiking uphill. You might be thinking: why not put on my rain jacket and pants? Well, that would work fine if your exertion level is low. But if you are actively hiking uphill while wearing a polyurethane-coated nylon jacket (or Gore-Tex jacket for that matter) as a wind shirt, what you will get is a sauna inside! That’s because rainwear is highly waterproof but is not very breathable. How Do I Use It?—The key to comfort is wearing the right amount of insulation under your wind shirt. It depends a lot on the temperature, wind and weather, and your activity level. I will often wear a wind shirt over just a hiking shirt or base layer. For me it’s a very comfortable combination. When I stop for more than just a couple of minutes, I put an insulation layer on over my wind shirt to keep me warm, then I take it back off when I resume hiking. If I get too warm with the wind shirt on I take it off; if the wind comes up and I feel chilled, I put it back on. What Works Best As An Underlayer?—The base layer you wear under your wind shirt must be “hydrophilic” so that it wicks moisture (perspiration) away from your skin and transfers it to the outside where it can pass through your wind shell as water vapor. There are a lot of garments on the market that are classified as “wicking layers”. Most are made of treated polyester yarns. Merino wool breathes as well or better than most synthetic fabrics, and there are several excellent thin wool wicking base layers available. If you need more than a single base layer to stay warm, you can add a fleece layer or other synthetic insulation under your wind shell. How Much Rain Protection Will It Provide?—If you are actively hiking uphill a wind shirt worn over a wicking layer is an ideal system for hiking in light or intermittent rain or snow. Your body produces enough heat to maintain a dry and warm environment within the shell. For light rain, this system works far better than wearing a conventional waterproof-breathable rain suit. Waterproof-breathable fabrics (like Gore-Tex) are just not breathable enough to expel internal moisture from perspiration while actively hiking uphill. So what you get is a sauna inside, which gets worse as active exertion is sustained. It’s better to have more breathability and maintain a temperature on the cool side of comfortable, which is better for hiking uphill. The key properties that make a wind shirt work best are thinness, breathability, and water repellency. A thin wind shirt is very lightweight and compressible, so it’s no problem to carry. It will also be comfortable over a wider range of conditions and dry out quickly. A wind shirt is so versatile that you will find yourself wearing it more often than anything else in your pack. Essential Dayhiking GearBy Will Rietveld Whether you hike a little or hike a lot, it is important to carry certain essential gear in your pack so you will be comfortable and safe when the unexpected happens. The easiest way to do it is to leave most of these items in your daypack so they will always be there. No equipment list is perfect. Individual items will vary by season and terrain. A trip in the desert requires different gear than a trip to the mountains, but much of the essential gear is the same no matter where you hike. It is important to carry a good quality pack that is comfortable and has enough capacity to carry all the gear you really need. Following are the 10 gear items considered essential by serious hikers:
Besides the essential gear items listed above, there are several “nice to have” items that will help you out in a pinch:
This seems like a long list and a lot of weight, but the essential items will easily fit into a daypack. As I mentioned earlier, it is best to keep all the essential gear in your pack so you know its there. Experienced hikers usually carry a little larger daypack to ensure that there is plenty of room for everything they need. Total pack weight with everything you need is normally not more than 10-12 pounds at the most, which is not enough weight to slow you down. The right equipment can ensure that a day hike is an enjoyable and safe experience, even if the unexpected happens. But no equipment list is perfect; you need to pack for your specific conditions. There is never any substitute for good judgment to stay out of trouble. Happy hiking! Hiking During Hunting SeasonBy Will Rietveld The rifle hunters invade our forests in October and November. Should you stay home or hike as usual? There are different schools of thought on this. Some people stay home, some shift their hiking to locations where there are few, if any, hunters, and others wear orange and hike anywhere they want. What to do? I will have to admit, the hunter invasion is a little daunting. It looks like a military operation--they are camped in roadside turnouts and trailheads, and they bring along tons of equipment. On the one hand it’s pretty amusing, on the other hand it’s pretty sad to see the impacts that hunters have on the forest, but that’s another issue… If you choose to avoid the hunters, one thing you can do is hike in the National Parks and Monuments. The National Parks do not allow hunting, National Monuments do in some cases. Note that they also do not allow pets on the trails. If you choose to hike in the forests where the hunters are, I strongly recommend that you hike defensively. By that I mean you should make a concerted effort to make sure the hunters know you are there. Granted, current hunting regulations require hunters to make sure of what they are shooting (the right species and sex of animal), so theoretically they are exercising discretion. Personally, I would make sure there is no doubt that I am a human rather than an elk. Following are some suggestions for safe hiking during hunting season:
· Like it or not, the hunters take over our woods for about a month during the rifle season each fall. When they encounter a hiker, they are actually a little perplexed that you are not hunting and wonder what you are doing out there. Given this situation, I feel that it is a good idea to hike defensively. Don’t leave it up to them to recognize you. Overall, there are very few hunting accidents nowadays, especially someone being mistaken for a deer or elk. However, it’s still better to hike defensively and be safe. |