Proposed Title: Risk Management
Risk is a part of life and the activity of hiking has its fair share of it. The risks involved in hiking seem to expand in direct proportion with the amount of hiking we do and the knowledge we gain from those experiences. The more we know, the more we are aware of what can happen to us out there.
Ignorance was once bliss. For example, as a child, lightning was very cool and very aloof. The chances of being hit by lightning were as good as winning the lottery. The sudden flash and subsequent boom were awe inspiring and only to be feared at night in the comfort of your bed as you were suddenly awaken by very loud thunder. Who knew that lightning from a thunderstorm could actually be a lot more dangerous than a passing adrenaline rush?
In Colorado, we have more lightning related fatalities each year than any other state except Florida, which cheats by having thunderstorms year round. Some 80% of those deaths are men between the ages of 18-40. So you lady hikers can relax, for now. I’ll get to another hazard of hiking that doesn’t discriminate in a moment.
Lightning is kind of like a backpacker who is desperately looking for a place to drop his or her pack. The pack feels heavier and heavier until the backpacker can take it no more. He or she eventually drops the pack and releases its burden. The electrical charges that thunderstorms create are kind of like that burden. The charges build and eventually need to be released.
Here is the frightening part. The lightning sends out feelers looking for a target like an appliance with an electrical cord looking for an outlet. If it finds a suitable connection, its go time baby and lights out if you happen to be the unfortunate receptor.
The safest place to be during a lightning storm is inside. Since we hike outside, we need to be aware of our surroundings and the current weather conditions at all times. If your hair is standing on end, this may be your last laugh before you are fried off the planet.
So hike early in the morning before the afternoon thunderstorms build in the mountains.
Get off high ridges into the uniformity of the trees.
Stay away from outlooks, points and peaks.
If you see a tree that has been hit by lightning before, it’s not a good idea to be there either, for lightning can and does strike twice in the same place.
Now that I’ve scared you off the trails for life, let me tell you about another trail risk that is new and shockingly wide spread. Do you realize that trees can fall on you? This new threat to our activity is caused by a horrible little insect called the pine beetle. All of those red pine trees you now see are dead and have become real hazards to us hikers. These tree corpses are waiting for the first gusty wind to send them plummeting earthward.
If you can avoid it, try and not hike on days that strong winds are forecast.
Thunderstorms create strong winds, so now you have to manage two things at once when inclement weather appears on the trail: not to get hit by lightning and not to get squished by a falling tree.
But look at the bright side, the next time someone asks you if you are a risk taker, you can now answer: “yes, of course, I’m a hiker.”
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