Iffy Weather – Would you go?

Maybe not because of Jr

I'd go, if you're properly equipped (rain gear etc.). Besides you got a 60% chance of good weather. If it gets too hairy just bail.

The weatherman where I live is wrong 75% of the time, so in your case, I'd expect good weather.

Just checked again – it's upgraded to severe thunderstorms possible. Around these parts, that's defined as 50+ mph winds and possible hail, tornadoes.

If you cannot bail out easily, I would not take my family out.

Yeah the timing of it is such that we'd be about 3 or 4 hours from the trailhead when it would hit us. Third trip in a row I've had to cancel for one reason or another. Boo hiss

Its all about site selection, choose a place that has natural sheltering properties and bring a sturdy tent not a tarp.

I backpack in the mountains so the weather is always iffy. Go for it, learn from it, and embrace it!

I'd totally go if it weren't for the wife and kid… I just don't have enough experience in storms to feel safe taking them into this. they're calling for severe storms, and we're still in tornado season here, it's just not a good idea for them till i've got more experience in severe weather.

I've live in Western Washington, which has what I call "soft weather." Other than getting soaked and hypothermia, there is very little wild weather that might kill you. I'm always amazed that pioneers settled in areas with tornadoes, golf ball hail, lightning, and winter storms that seem arctic in scope.

Time after time I have read accounts of hikers who painted themselves in a corner with bad decisions on weather or terrain. We need to remember that this is a recreational pass time, not a military maneuver! The idea is to have fun and not join the Darwin Hall of Shame.

Sounds like it is dicey for a family and spending a soaked weekend together is a recipe for familial disaster, let alone getting hurt or killed. How about planning a couple day hikes with a night in a local motel (with a pool and hot tub)? That way you can get out if the weather looks better and hunker down with HBO or a book if it gets wild.

I pretty much plan on having thunderstorms every trip. If you pack and plan accordingly, it's no big deal. Like many who start young, I've just always gone out… weather happens. Family, with the guys, whatever.

It could depend on the terrain you're in. Are you shooting for above treeline in the mountains, or are you planning a hike in the woods? If you're in the woods, no big deal. If nothing else, y'all might have a story when you get back. A good shared/bonding experience.

Is it just an overnight? Or is it a week? If it's just one night, not really a big deal at all. Whether it's great or awful, you'll be out the next day.

I've canceled several trips, mostly September trips at high elevation in which snow was forecast, only to find out that the weather, although cold, was otherwise just fine. I've been on other trips in which the weather forecast was just fine but during the trip all h*** broke loose. There was one particular trip in Oregon's Wallowa Mountains in which it started pouring rain (cloudburst-type), poured all night, and we woke up the next morning to flooded conditions and several inches of snow. Our campsite had turned into a lake (that's how I learned that a wet synthetic bag is no warmer than a wet down bag, as well as making sure the tent site is not in a depression that will turn into a lake with heavy rain) and we had to bail out. On the way down, we found that the creek (fortunately bridged) we had to cross had grown from a little rivulet to a raging torrent, just a few inches below the log bridge we had to cross.

The main thing is to be prepared for such conditions and know how to keep yourself warm and dry when they hit. Weather forecasting is definitely an inexact science! It's mostly based on probability, which (as you know if you've studied probability and statistics) is similar to rolling dice (a favorite textbook problem in that field).

In the Rockies, in particular, you need to be prepared for daily afternoon thunderstorms. This involves not only having good rain gear and a good tent, but also getting down off high, exposed places before the storms hit. Always be concerned about lightning hazards!

The dayhike idea sounds like a good idea for learning to cope with such conditions. So is car-camping in less-than-optimum conditions. Take games to play in the tent with your son! Maybe take a lightweight tarp you can use to cover a cooking-eating area so you're not stuck in the tent the whole time.

If you aren't comfortable with the weather forecast you should not go. You won't have fun if you are worrying the whole time.

If it was me I'd probably go. I have very little experience with thunderstorms. My limited experience tells me they're kind of predictable, you can see them building. They're exciting. They end. The ones I've been in while hiking have been the afternoon kind. I just love afternoon thunderstorms. They make everything so fresh and leave you with such gorgeous clouds as the sun sets.

I slept on a screen porch once during a really wild thunderstorm in upstate New York. I got rain on my face through the screen. I thought the lightening was wonderful. I heard later there had been tornadoes and whole towns were wiped out nearby. If that's the kind of thunderstorm we're talking about, then maybe being outside in a tent isn't such a great idea.

Assuming you have rain gear and shelter which would withstand the rain and wind and maybe some hail, the biggest danger is lightning. If you can camp low (but not too low where flooding is a possibility) in an area with plenty of smaller trees and few tall trees on the sheltered side of a ridge, then I'd probably go.

I have four young kids, and have not been backpacking with them yet. I enjoy what most people call "bad" weather. :D I'd probably call it off if the forecast was for at least a 70% chance of severe thunderstorms.

Of course, one time we were trapped in a family campground by flooding while wave after wave of tornado-producing thunderstorms and severe lightning hammered us all night! We heard on the radio that a tornado had been spotted in the sky a few miles away. We spent a few hours in the showerhouse waiting for the tornado warning to expire. Sleeping in the minivan was not comfortable! :-(