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The Infamous Thunderstorm
Since large storms seem to be the order of the day, I thought I might tell my own tale of the "Perfect Storm". I have been witness to a variety of weather conditions and natural occurrences over the years while camping and canoeing in the wilderness. Just this past April I was abruptly awakened at 4:10 one morning by an earthquake while camping on Long Lake in the Adirondacks. While this was certainly interesting it is nothing in comparison to a thunderstorm several summers ago in August. There was a fairly large group of us Mike, Matt, Ryan, Kristen, Nick, Brad, and myself all camped on an island in Follensby Clear Pond located near Fish Creek. We were spending our last night on a multi-day canoe trip and had just finished dinner, a wonderful campfire chicken stew, with dumplings of course. The lake was mirror smooth and everyone wanted to get in a little fishing. Looking at the sky and the cloud configuration it presented, it was obvious we were going to get a storm at some point. However it looked to be a ways off and decided it would be okay to head out onto the lake as long as everyone stayed close to the campsite and shore.
Matt and Mike headed across a small bay to the east. Ryan and Kristen set up shop off the SW end of our island. Nick, Brad and I headed out circling our island sanctuary staying within 20' of the shoreline. We started on the north end and worked our way south around the west side towards Kristen and Ryan. As we rounded the island with Kristen and Ryan just to our right a bolt of lightning blasted across the sky at tree top level from behind us. It was the most amazing thing I had ever seen. It shot over our heads like a laser from a star wars movie and hit a spruce tree on the east shore of the pond about 300 yds away. The top 30' of the tree immediately disintegrated in a fiery explosion. The whole episode seem to happen in slow motion although I am sure it took no more than a fraction of a second. The tree now resembled a large candle with the top sporting a rather large flame. It certainly was a unique and beautiful sight in the dull summer evening light unfortunately there was no time to take it in. The lighting strike seemed to signal the arrival of the storm. As it hit the wind picked up and things started to get interesting. Without hesitation I signaled (very calmly, HA HA!) to Ryan and Kristen it was time to head in. I did not get any arguments. I put my head down and paddled as hard as possible to get around the island and put it between the approaching storm and us. As I rounded the island it was nice to see Mike and Matt already on shore. Ten minutes early they had been directly under the "Spruce Candle". From that vantage point they could see the weather picking up and decided to head back. I beached my canoe and leaned it up against a tree. Ryan and Christine simply dragged theirs ashore on the far S/W end into the blueberry bushes and ran through the woods to the campsite.
Our tents were set up about 30 yds apart in a pine grove on the N/E side of the island. By the time we got to them the wind was howling fiercely and the rain was coming down in waves. I quickly put Nick and Brad into our tent. It is a good thing I did as we had not staked it down and it was beginning to blow away. With them under cover I ran down to give Mike a hand. I had lent them a tent and I knew the zipper had an attitude at times, especially times like these. Once Mike's crew was safely stowed inside and anything lose was secured I headed back to climb in with Brad and Nick. At this point it was just about dusk and the storm was really letting us have it. For the next 45 minutes the wind blew very violently. In fact, it was the only sound I remember hearing. The framing of our tent was being bent in all directions. Lesson learned, always stake down your tent, no matter what the current weather conditions are. I would guess it was around 9:30pm when all of a sudden the storm almost instantly went away. I exited the tent and headed down to see how the other crew made out. Of course the cantankerous zipper did not cooperate and let loose on the first gust of wind. Needless to say there were a few wet soles filing out of the tent. Thankfully this was the only physical damage we incurred.
There was a distinct sense of awe in everyone's expression as we all took a deep breath and gave a sigh of relief. The kids began telling tales of how they hide under their sleeping bags, etc. to hide from the storms fury. As we began to look around in the dim evening light we began to realize the true force of the event we had just endured. Directly behind Mike's tent no more than 75' away there was a hemlock tree 4' in diameter and 75' tall that had been snapped off 7' up the trunk and fallen, luckily, away from the tent. Then we spotted a smaller tree on the other side that had done the same thing. As we walked around we found more and more. In all there were 15 trees within 100', down around the tents. The tree I had leaned my canoe against broke off just above the canoe and thankfully fell away from it. It is truly amazing that nothing hit the tents or canoes. What is even more amazing is that no one, not one of us heard the trees come down. By now the sky was perfectly clear and there were a zillion stars out. The water was calm again, reflecting the night sky. It was truly beautiful. As we stood gazing out at the lake and night sky, a couple paddled by in their canoe. They had been camped on the shore, north of our island and had seen enough. They literally threw all of their gear into the canoe and were headed out. Ryan and Kristen decided to go check on their canoe and headed to the other end of the island. They were back very quickly and informed us that it was not there. Not good. Mike and Ryan mounted a quick search expedition. They eventually found the boat swamped in the middle of a bay off the west side of our island. The life jackets and paddles were found scattered in a few different areas. The only casualty was a substantial supply of fishing lures.
As the evening wore on the kids became more and more excited about what had happened and the stories grew in grandeur and detail. Eventually we retired to the tents however I do not think anyone got much sleep. In the morning we were up early. We surveyed the damage from the storm in more detail. Nobody was really interested in breakfast so we just broke camp and headed for home. As we paddled through a series of ponds it was surprising to see almost no damage from the storm. It appears to have been very focused in and around our island. A sort of mini micro burst. Whatever it was, it was impressive. Myself and everyone else on the trip if they did not before, now has a very healthy respect for the power of a thunderstorm.
Until next time. HAPPY PADDLING!!!
Have a question? I'm happy to answer it - just email me at hpcanoes@gmail.com
hpcanoes@gmail.com
603.667.5112
We specialize in ultralight solutions and offer expertise in canoes and Wee Lassie boats, as well as all the related equipment. Our favorites are Wenonah canoes and Wee Lassie boats. Although we will work with any material we like to get folks set up with lightweight canoes so you can dedicate your time to the joy of being out on the lakes and rivers instead of struggling to move your boat between car and water.
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