Sorry it's been so long.
Stratton has been a disaster! Everything was fine on Thursday when we left Horns Pond and got a ride into town. I got a 16" pizza with pepperoni and pineapple for $13 and a 6-pack to wash it down, did laundry, and hung out. I got some items from the bump box and made my food list. I also got to talk to Mom and Dad. (Mom...if you make me more cookies, how 'bout throwing a few Dad's and Scott's way?) But I missed [talking to] Kelly.
I stayed at the Stratton Motel with the group of guys from Horns Pond Lean-tos, but because Pirate and I got there later we got the two couches - no biggie, they were long enough ane softer than the lean-to floors. We were supposed to leave Friday morning at 9:00 AM but didn't get on the road 'till 10:30 because nobody was really ready to go. I got Kelly's letter Friday morning (thought it wasn't going to come in time) and sent her a letter - it was a bit rushed and all over the place but I got it out. Then we headed out to the trail.
BK & Snacks, +1, Pirate, Owl/Brunch and I were going to hike to a campsite about 7 miles in becaues of our late start. We felt the lean-to 13 miles away would have us coming into camp too late. Aloebar/Stratton Outlaw was too hungover (that's why he got the new name "Stratton Outlaw") and Clownshoes had to go to Rangeley to buy a new pack. Outlaw and Clownshoes were going to yellowblaze it to a different spot and hike back a mile to meet up with the group.
So the other 6 of us start hiking and after about 4 miles, Brunch shows up and says he's been to the summit and the weather looks bad. As soon as he says that, it starts raining. So we keep hiking about 1/2 mile in some pretty hard rain and then the lightning starts. We were close to the summit and pretty exposed. The lightning and thunder was not only all around us, but it was right above us. We had a problem: do we hike down to better cover, or should we spread out and get on our packs to insulate us from a strike (hopefully)?
We decided to hike down but act fast, if our hair got tingly. The thunder was right on top of us, there was anywhere from 1/2-10 seconds between lightning and thunder - meaning it was anywhere from 0-2 miles away and it was not moving.
Well, I'm beat and will have to finish tomorrow.
Zombie
P.S. Spoiler alert! We did survive.
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By the way...from a clever chica at home who knows better...if you're caught in a lightning storm, DO NOT SIT ON YOUR PACK. Your pack has metal in it (which would be a very bad thing to place between your body and the ground). Instead, crouch in lightning position (on your toes) or sit on your sleeping pad (ONLY if the sleeping pad has no metal) until the storm passes. When crouched in lightning position, space out (don't remain in a cluster) to ensure the maximum number of survivors (electricity can pass from person to person, too!).
ReplyDeleteJust FYI. :)