Re: [Paddlewise] BWCAW Storms and You

Hi Patrick:

I think I'd have to chose between hiding under my canoe (its rather robust
and could take a hit from a small tree), or running screaming way back into
the woods (blowdowns usually occur at the edges of treed areas rather than
deep within the woods).

Oddly enough, for this particular storm simply floating it out might have
been the best bet (which is exactly what a couple of kids on the Kam did). 
The winds only hit for about a minute and then died away.  There was
relatively little lightning, but a great deal of blow-down, so I really
would not have wanted to be anywhere near a tree.  Of course hindsight is
always 20/20, for when I saw what was coming (I was at home at the time) I
had no idea that it would be over so soon.  Weather like that should stay
in Kansas where it belongs.

(BTW, I think that the 140 might be kph rather than mph.  Many trees were
being downed, but were not flying about.  The rain, though horizontal, was
very mild until after the wind died.  Or perhaps the 140 mph might refer to
a touchdown?)

Two days later it is still a bit blowy (60 kph gusts), so I'm hoping that
my paddling class tonight will be cancelled.  I've been itching to get my
big parafoil kites up!

Cheers,
Richard Culpeper



----------
> From: Patrick Maun <pmaun_at_bitstream.net>
> To: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net
> Subject: [Paddlewise] BWCAW Storms and You
> Date: Tuesday, July 06, 1999 2:32 PM
> 
> Hey all,
> 
> many of you may have heard about the storms in the Boundary Waters 
> this past weekend. If you haven't, well, they were pretty rough. 
> Straight-line winds of 140MPH and trees flying everywhere. Here is a 
> question I'd like to pose to the list:
> 
> What would you do in a very bad storm situation?
> 
>     Snuggle deeper in to your sleeping bag and hope the seams hold?
> 
>     Tie yourself to a big tree (or perhaps Canadian Ballast Rocks)?
> 
>     Hide under an overturned canoe?
> 
>     Crawl into a kayak cockpit?
> 
>     Tie a towrope to a tree and then to a canoe/kayak and set yourself
>     adrift on the water (avoiding falling but not airborne trees)?
> 
>     Run screaming though the woods?
> 
> -Patrick
>
***************************************************************************
> PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List
> Submissions:     paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net
> Subscriptions:   paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net
> Website:         http://www.paddlewise.net/
>
***************************************************************************

***************************************************************************
PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List
Submissions:     paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net
Subscriptions:   paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net
Website:         http://www.paddlewise.net/
***************************************************************************