Lighting Strike On Whitney

Very cool!

I know right? My only regret is not catching this on my nicer camera.  This was just a GoPro shot.  It’s hard to tell, but I think Mt Hitchcock was getting hit pretty hard as well.  We were only about 200 yards from that vs 1/2 mile from Whitney

I was hiking in a valley between higher mountains in a thunderstorm during a series of close strikes. After the closest one, I turned a corner and a single tree was on fire half way up a near wall (700 feet elevation from me). 1/3 of a mile away.

For whatever reason that day I was blase about the strikes. The valley had no place to take cover and I thought that walking was as safe as huddling, so long as I didn’t feel an electrical build up. Actually I found it exciting and invigorating.

On other occasions, fraught and sometimes terrifying.

Wow Jeffrey!  Scary!  Out of curiosity which valley was that?

Starting at Merced Lake in Yosemite, and then heading to Echo Valley,—west, descending from the lake– where I wanted to camp instead of the lake–I knew the storm would end by the time I got there. My options were to stay in those magnificent Jeffrey Pines at the lake, which are surrounded by much higher cliffs all around but are something of a lightning rod, or just walk on still low but in the open.

You were high up! that makes a world of difference. You’re far more exposed at altitude. That’s scary! I felt really safe, given the geography.

Wow!  I’ve heard of people being struck in Yosemite before. I’ve had a number of close-ish calls over the years in various places in the Sierra.  The rangers say being hit is very rare thank goodness.   However a father and 2 kids were struck 15 miles north of us at Jennie Lake while we were hiking the HST.   Kinda freaky.

I’ve been at altitude when lightning strikes started around me; not good! If your tent’s set up and bag out, etc. there’s not a lot to do but hunker down and hope–or find a depression nearby and wait it out in the rain outside your cozy tent!