'mornin!
Sorry to not post more often, but let's take that as an indicator that I haven't had many personal crises to talk about. =)
This past weekend my wife & I plus another couple hiked Helen Lake near Lake Louise in Alberta Canada. Great hike if you can do it - the ridge just past the small lake offers spectacular views at a mere 7km distance from the trailhead.
At that point however, our friends decided to hike to the nearby 'peak' and we'd meet them when they returned. We chose not to join them as a matter of energy & irritable knee management. We withdrew to the lake below and waited. It was one of those days where if the wind stopped it was hot & the bugs would swarm you, so you hoped for the wind. Then the wind came and intensified, plus the sun was blocked out by clouds.
It is to my embarrassment that I must admit the folly of trusting the day would stay warm. Warm apartment, AC needed to drive in, hot without wind so...no windjacket & pants. Classic blunder no member here should get caught making, and I won't make the mistake again. My wife was two measures better than me with zip-on pantlegs and long-sleeve layer, but also no windgear. I'd brought earplugs as I knew wind could cause ear arches but...
Within a short time we realized this was an issue, and I unfurled an emergency blanket to help. It did, as sheltering behind a rock also did, but not enough. So we retreated to below the treeline to wait for our friends after carving notes in the dirt & mud for them. This made visual contact impossible which made me anxious...if they had a problem we couldn't know about it. (they got wind-blasted and chilled hands, but only paused at the top and thus were generating enough heat that they weren't in as much danger)
We also did not know how long their extra hike would take - turned out to be a 3.5hr add-on. It can be impossible to gauge distances in scree/rock terrain.
In summary:
- I'll be adding a lumber crayon to my pack from here in. Dry dirt doesn't take messages so well, they don't stand out, and it relies on a single trail exit. (I figure regular wax crayons may break with cold hands, thus lumber crayon for reliability) Our friends saw my mud-message.
- Can anyone provide notes on better use of an emergency blanket, while unfurling in the wind? I wrapped it around myself well enough, but there have to be better ways. I mean this both for turtling behind shelter & hiking away from the elements.
We found out the day after that the wind we received was the edge of a major storm that hit the Calgary & Red Deer areas 120km East of us; the CBC has a video clip of the Stampede grounds being cleared of people due to hail, wind & heavy rains..!
Thanks!
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