storm | The Backpacking Journal

Today was amazing! The plan was to take the kids up a pretty easy trail, giving the 6Pack a chance to hike with full packs and start breaking them in. The weather was not cooperative at all for the kids, and 2 of the members were not feeling well so the hike was pretty much canceled. The clouds hovering over the Superstitions were taunting me all morning, I could not resist…I had everything packed and ready to go anyway. I got Fall Gal to watch the kids, took the dog, and off we went. Getting closer to the mountains you could occasionally catch a glimpse of the snow covered 4 Peaks in between the heavy cloud cover. As I pulled into the almost empty trail head parking lot a light drizzle started, but quickly ended. I hoisted the pack to my shoulders, buckled in, and Melman took the lead. The ground was slick and muddy from the morning rain, but the sun was shining and some of the desert beauty was in full bloom. I took my time wandering up the trail taking pictures with my trusty iPhone, the weather had scared off most everyone so it was very peaceful. The weather was still holding back as I made it to the hieroglyphs. I was able to walk around and take a few pictures of the artwork and the trickling water finding its way down the creek. Shortly after the thunder started rolling in and more rain began to fall. I decided this was the perfect time to try out my new rain suit I got a few weeks ago. As I zipped up the jacket the rain turned to hail and I somewhat quickly headed my way into a small cave for shelter. If you are going to watch a desert storm, I can’t think of a better place to sit. All I can say is perfect timing. It just unloaded and kept going for a pretty good period of time. Hail, rain, wind, lightning, and thunder this was turning out to be a storm of the year. My phone had service and I have to admit I contemplated sending my boss an email saying I was taking Monday off. I had everything I needed in my pack to just sit there all night, but as the first wave broke I decided I might as well start heading down. The trail down was no longer a trail, it was a quickly flowing stream of water and hail. Like a child I had fun splashing around in the puddles and making little dams out of the hail, then wait for the water to flush them away! Good thing for me my old pair of Gortex boots held up over the years and they kept my feet dry. Not 5 minutes into the hike down and the storm picked up right where it left off, but I could not have been more happy. Melman and I spent the last mile or so walking in a down pour of rain and hail, and loved every second of it. Sometimes a day of “bad weather” can make the very best adventures