Storm!

I had spotted mackerel clouds two days ago and mentioned to WILDCAT that they can indicate a change in weather two days out. Yesterday we saw mare's tail clouds, which foretell rain one day out. Today we woke to dry thunder and lightning. The lightning seemed to be just between clouds rather than striking the ground, so I just smugly congratulated myself on my weather prediction and ignored it.

Later in the morning, we saw five plumes of smoke below our ridge. Apparently, some of the lightning strikes did, in fact, hit the ground. So much for my powers of observation. They all looked small, maybe just a single tree. Later, I learned from Fran, 21 separate fires were started in the area around Happy Camp. Fortunately, none were serious.

In mid-afternoon, we climbed a ridge and could see dark streaks of rain pouring down to the east. The cloud was headed more or less in our direction, so it bore watching. Then I could feel the temperature drop and the wind come up, typical signs of imminent rain.  I pulled out my poncho and got ready in case it hit us, though I still didn't expect much. After all, the average rainfall for the entire month is just 0.2 inches.

Then the hail hit. Hard! All of the hailstones were at least a half inch across, and some were a full inch. I quickly donned my poncho and Tilley hat, which fortunately has a padded top.

Now that it had hit, it was too late to pitch my shelter. I'd get everything soaked since my tarptent is at the bottom of my pack, having not yet been used on the trip. I'd underestimated the storm, and shelter was no longer an option. We took refuge under a cedar tree for a bit to wait out the storm. Instead, the storm just increased, and the ground turned white. I started to get cold. The only choices when cold are to pitch the tarp and climb into my sleeping bag, which I'd already ruled out, or to keep hiking for warmth. We headed back out into the storm.

At one point, WILDCAT yelled at me to watch out for the trail. At first confused, I soon realized that a flash flood was coming down the trail behind me. I jumped to the side as it steamrolled past. Thanks for the warning!

After the storm passed, we looked for a campsite. Unfortunately, there was nothing even marginally suitable. We continued down to the Cold Spring trail head on a forest road and started to unpack to cook dinner and make camp. A light rain started, so we decided to set up our shelters. I threw everything else back into my pack and grabbed the tarptent. Instantly a fierce wind took off, so our tarps flapped impossibly as we tried to set them up. I abandoned my first site and sought protection from the wind behind a tree. The new location was horribly rocky and sloped, but I could tie off the tarptent to the tree and find refuge. Slowly we wrestled our tarps into submission and slid under. A half hour later, the wind died down and the rain stopped.

What a day!

20 miles to Cold Spring Trailhead, to mile 218.