The High Sierra Backpacking and Hiking Safety Page

Welcome to the introduction to the High Sierra Backpacking and Hiking Safety Forum. As the website is currently under construction (3-18-11), this is currently a catch-all safety page. As construction of the trail guide content eventually winds down, I will build each of the following issues into its own safety page.

Physical Threats

In my opinion fording rivers and lightening present the greatest dangers in the Sierra Nevada during Spring and Summer. After fording and lightening, I figure that injury from falls is next, closely followed by soft-tissue injuries caused by poor physical preparation, previous injury, and overuse injuries.

Discussion on fording and lightening.

A few years ago I was hiking with my buddies Dave and Bubba. Dave and Bubba are from Walker, Ca, which sits just about 14 miles North of the junction with Highway 108 on Highway 395. Walker literally sits in the shadows of the Eastern Flank of the Carson Range of the Sierras. It's a fine place.

We entered the Sierras through the Eastern flank and were passing down to a junction of the Silver King Creek with a major tributary. We were taking a break at a large juniper tree when very troubling thunderheads formed above us. We were in a very dangerous situation. 

Then a massive bolt of lightening struck the crest of the ridge above us, brilliant in its flash. I automatically count the flash, and the thunderclap sounded before my count reached "1," which meant it was time to run like the dickens.

I advised the boys to saddle up, and prepare to begin a spaced trot down the trail as quickly as possible. The first hiker would begin trotting down the trail, and the next hiker would begin when the first got about 50 yards down the trail, and the third would follow 50  yards later,They frkn skoffed at me, thinking me crazy. That got me excited, and I began to berate them as I saddled up to run down the mountain, and get my ass the hell out of the danger zone.  

  I had observed the formation occurring, I had communicated  the potential of impending danger to my buddies, and they laughed. I then inspired them to movement by the force of my personality, (I got damn mad, and was as scared as mad...and my anger and fear apparently convinced them to move, but they moved quite slowly) but they did not move with conviction until the second lightening bolt almost smoked us.  

Those boys jumped up, instantly got their packs on, and Bubba was running down mountain as quick as you could snap your fingers. I had to pause the rush to properly space our retreat down the ridge. Lightening was now striking constantly, and no thunderclap was more than 2 seconds behind the flash.

Retreating down the ridge quickly removed us out from under the active lightening storm, though I was not feeling safe until we finally entered the forest in the valley around the Silver King Creek. Lightening from a storm cell can strike Ten Miles from the orginating cell...

Afterthough on the lightening incident..

There was no immediate threat when we began our crossing of exposed terrain. A hot, wet air mass driving West out of the   Southern Pacific Ocean had already brought days of light rainstorms with no lightening. Now the weather was changing on the departing tail of the Pacific Storm. Heat in the valley had matched up with the tail end of this weak storm, pushing moist hot air up the Sierra in the wake of the Pacific Storm. Frkn weird weather...

The massive layer of stratus began to break up into a seres of messy but strong cell formations, One had formed directly above us as we were taking a break at the sole big tree in open terrain. 

At that point it may have been best to stash the packs away from us, get away from the tree, and flatten out on the hillside in widely separated positions. Or retreat off the trail to the creek cutting down mountain. But there was no real cover anywhere near where we were. We were exposed. The lightening was hitting the high points. We had the ridgetop to our North attracting the strikes, and our tree was the next highest thing around.

I decided a spaced run down mountain was our best option. The kids were running down the trail seconds after the second lightening bolt struck, and it would have been more dangerous to try to stop them at that point to stand around and communicate our options as it was to run down to safety.

I advise you have a lightening policy for your group. There are two basic moves that I make, and that the group should be instructed to understand.

The first is to run. If you can see that an active electrical storm is approaching your exposed position, get the hell off of that position before the storm gets to you. The object is to get off of the exposed position before the cell catches you out.

 A variation of this tactic is to figure out your daily schedule, and try not to have any exposed terrain crossings happen after 2 pm in the afternoon. 2pm is when afternoon electric storms form in the Sierras. Observe the daily weather cycle. Thunderstorm cycles build when Summer heat waves are tormenting the Valley, and are generally inactive when the Summer heat is down. If the Valley is heating up to the high '90s during the day, and there is a light onshore wind this moisture and heat is going to form lightening storms when it approaches and crosses the Sierra Crest.

The second move is the self-stash. Get at least 50 yards away from your pack. Make sure you remove your food from the pack. Don't let a bear drag your pack off when you are hiding from lightening. Flatten your self at the lowest point  of your nearby terrain as far away from elevated rock or trees as possible. Maintain your position until the cell passes or breaks up.

The Threat Within

Bad decision making is the basis of most of the safety issues cited above and which follow below. Bad decisions have a number of sources. Bad decisions can eminate from  improper or faulty information, a lack of experience, or the psychological stresses induced by the physical demands of the trail, which are magnified by emergency circumstances.

Bad decision making can put you at risk before you even leave home. If you improperly gear yourself for the conditions you encounter, independent of what you think you will encounter, things can go very wrong very quickly. An event like an unexpected snow storm, rather than being an intense delight,  and a trail-finding navigational challenge, will put your life at risk.

I have written an introduction to the gear section that generally addresses the safety aspects of proper gearing.

Notes on Navigation

Discussion on Unmaintained Trails: Basic Details of Unmaintained Trails

Discussion on Cross Country travel: Manzanita,  Constant Observation, and the Big View.

Animal Kingdom

Bears

Some of you may have noted that I did not include animals, specifically bears, as a safety issue in the Sierras. I have seen and experienced my share of bear havoc, and bear problems are almost always a function of bad decision making. Bears are not a problem, if you are not a problem. Two things: never sleep with your food, and never store food in your pack in camp. I've seen this too many times, and seen too many backpackers running when the bear comes for the food they are sleeping with. Storing food in your pack means we will have pack stealing bears here at some point in time. That is unacceptable.

In a nutshell, the issue with Sierra bears is always about food. I'll eventually do a complete bear section in this safety section, (See Trail and Camp Skills) but the fact of the matter is there is no bear problem where there is secure food storage. It's a people problem. And I've got some good bear stories for you! I mean people stories...

Mosquitoes

Also in the Animal Kingdom are our flying friends, the mosquitoes. These delightful devils were only a hassle, granted a major hassle, until about 15 years ago, when West Nile disease spread across the United States on the Wings of Rising Temperatures, bringing weird seasonal patterns, and accompanied by legions of bark beetles. Protection against the mosquitoes is no longer for comfort alone, but for protection against West Nile Disease.

Information about Sierra Mosquitoes

Hiking and Camp Strategies for Mosquitoes  

"Mosquitoes and Seasonal Temperature Shifts: Backpacking the High Sierras"

Little guys

Don't mess with the squirrels, chipmunks, or other mammals. They carry fleas, and the fleas in the Sierras carry bubonic plague. Really. I was just dozing off one Spring evening, laying on my pad, and wearing only my shell for protection, (not even a bag or tent) when a vast falling star startled me back to quasi-consiousness. As I settled back to sleep, two tiny baby chipmunks ran onto my Left leg, and began to play. I rotated my head up to peer at them, which caused them to freeze, looking intently at me. I said, "what are you guys doing?" and they turned back to each other and continued to play. I enjoyed their play for a few minutes, but as the fog of sleep parted, I remembered the plague, and sadly decided they had to go. I caught their attention, and firmly said, "you guys gotta go," which got me no respect at all. So I upped the pressure a notch, loudly repeating my invitation to leave,  accompanied by gently shaking my leg.

The little bastards thought I was playing with them, and dug their little claws into my North Face Shell lowers, and enjoyed the ride. I was exsaperated. I did not want to be mean, but they had to go. So I summed up my Voice of Authority, and told them in no uncertain terms that they were leaving NOW, and they did. Watching those little guys run up and down my leg is a fond memory. I hope they made the Spring Cut, and did not end up as a snack.

Marmots are an issue if you improperly store food.

See the Backpacking is Dangerous!  warning-disclaimer.

See the related Backpacking Unmaintained Trails is Dangerous warning-disclaimer.

Backpacking is Dangerous, The Legal Disclaimer:

Terms and Conditions of use for the Tahoe to Whitney trail guide and forum...