39. The Witching Hour
I used to go backpacking all the time in the mountains. I have some good stories, but hands down the scariest thing I’ve ever encountered is lightning. First real experience was at Philmont in New Mexico. Great backpacking area, lots of fun if you’re a scout. Not fun when it storms. My group was eating dinner one night when lightning struck a tree about 50 feet from us.
It was unexpected, and the sun was still shining through. It just shredded the tree and all of us jumped. Dinner ended up in the dirt. We had a couple other close experiences during those two weeks, but that was the closest.
Second and most terrifying experience was when we were in King’s Canyon. At about 2 am, I was awoken by a flash of light so bright I swear I could see the tent through my eyelids. Before I could even think, the thunder roared so loudly I thought the Earth was tearing itself apart. It’s hard to accurately describe the sheer power and sound that comes from being right next to a lightning strike.
The night didn’t end there, either. We were directly under the storm and the lightning just kept coming. The thunder never ceased to roll and the rain was torrential. The lightning was so constant, you could almost see through the walls of the tent into the forest around us. It was daylight out there. I thought I was going to die that night.