When we read the article in last week’s Estes Park NEWS about the 3 hikers who were struck by lightning up by Mills Lake, it made us think of the Tuesday when it happened. The sky, for most of the day, was black. Huge rumbles of thunder could be heard all around... the thunder that you hear only in the mountains. We could see numerous storms in the distance, everywhere we looked. It was quite an “unsettled” day so we did our chores around the house with a side trip into town between the raindrops. We never even considered a hike on such a day.
 
As we talked about the article we reminisced about another lightning strike about 4 years ago in the mountains. My sister’s best friend and her fiancé were out for their daily horseback ride and were in the mountains when a storm came through. They were found the next day, huddled together under a tree, sitting on a plastic raincoat. Both had been killed by the lightning. We all kept asking ourselves why as they were experienced riders?
 
Every time we go hiking, if we see any black clouds or hear thunder or see any lightning, we immediately turn around and start down. Our first goal is to get below tree line and then to the car. We’ve talked about and practiced how to crouch if we see lightning and to discard our hiking poles (which are made of metal) in the distance. We were once about 50 yards short of reaching the summit of Hallett when the black clouds starting rolling in. We turned around and started down immediately. We were very disappointed that we didn’t make it to the top that day (we have made it up several times since then) but were very sure of our decision to go down quickly. As we scurried down as quickly as we could, there was a family just starting to set up a picnic (above tree line). Didn’t they see the black clouds?
 
Then we got to talking about another dilemma that we go back and forth about. Do you say anything to people when you know they could be in harm’s way? A few summers ago we were paddling our kayaks at Nauset Marsh at Cape Cod. It was a beautiful day, in the low 70s but windy. The ocean water seldom gets above 60 degrees. The tides are very strong and sometimes it is difficult to even go forward if they have just changed. When we bought our kayaks in 1996, we made a pact that we would never paddle without our ALL of our safety gear in place. So many times we see kayakers with their PFDs on but not buckled or PFD’s strapped on the deck of their kayak. What if they flipped over? It is impossible to put on a PFD when you are in the water.
 
We were heading back to shore in the afternoon and we saw a father and his son (about 12 years old) paddling separate kayaks. They had some fishing gear on their boats and were looking forward to some kayak fishing. The father had his PFD strapped to his boat and the son had his PFD on and buckled. All of as sudden, the tide turned the father’s boat sideways and he flipped over…his fishing gear and PFD floating away in the current. His son just looked on as he drifted by. We paddled over as fast as we could. He was hanging on to his boat and drifting out to sea. Phil helped him get to a nearby sandbar and empty out his boat while I paddled around trying to retrieve his PFD and his fishing gear. They were both very shaken, thinking that this could never happen to them but grateful that we happened to be right there. I’m sure he will never get in his kayak without his PFD buckled tight! That brings me back to our story and our dilemma…do you say something if you see someone who could be in harm’s way? Last Wednesday we hiked up to Mills Lake and to the Loch where we saw a family of 5 looking at their map debating whether to go up to Andrew’s Glacier. They were slipping and sliding through the snowfield at the Loch…they just had sneakers on. How were they ever going to get up to Andrew’s Glacier over the boulders and through all of that snow? Over the years we’ve tried saying something only to be “snipped at.” So, we’ve decided not to “give our opinion” to anyone anymore. It’s not what we prefer… since it’s the people’s reactions in the past that have caused us to make that painful decision.