Got caught in a surprise hailstorm on the Rawah Trail last July

I was about 8 miles into the Rawah Loop in Colorado when the sky just went dark out of nowhere. No time to set up the tarp, so I had to huddle under a pine tree for 45 minutes while marble-sized hail pounded my pack. My down jacket got soaked through and I spent the night shivering in my tent trying to dry it over a camp stove. Anyone else ever get caught off guard by mountain weather and have to make do with a wet sleep?

2 comments

2 Comments

roseb621mo ago

Didn't you used to swear by down for everything before that trip?

gavinhunt1mo ago

Hell yeah, @roseb62. Buddy of mine was the same way. Swore by his down parka for every winter trip, said it was the only thing that kept him warm. Then he took it to a wet climbing trip in the PNW, got it soaked through on a rappel, and spent the next two nights shivering in a tent, teeth chattering like a jackhammer. Sold the parka the day he got back, wouldn't touch down again with a ten-foot pole after that.