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Storm Friday Night Watauga Lake

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    • Storm Friday Night Watauga Lake

      Worse storm I've ever road out in a tent. And I did it with my wife.

      Thursday a nephew came with me to Watauga lake to kayak camp and fish. We were close to where we parked so my wife sent us with a ton of gear to set up. She even has a battery operated sink.

      Fishing was good Thursday night and Friday morning Then my nephew and I decided to set up camp better for my wife and her two friends from work that were coming out to spend the weekend with us. .. My nephew moved his tent to make room for all my wife's kitchen stuff. He set his tent up about 20' behind our tent. Later on in the afternoon he decided to pack up and head home. It was kinda odd but I helped he load up and then waited for my wife.
      She showed up and paddled over to our spot. She did a little picking up around the place when I started hearing thunder in the distance. It started getting closer so I started putting stuff up before the storm hit. I made my way to our tent and kept telling Dawn she better get in here. It's about to hit hard. I remember the last time I yelled get in her. Get In Here Now!!
      We were camped in a cove where we could look up on the ridge around Vanderventer shelter. The ridge line disappeared as we were zipping windows up in our huge 6 man tent. Then we saw it. A wall . A wall of water, rain, debris. It was coming at us at over 60 per hour. I'd been in bad storms in cheap tents a knew we needed to be ready to hold the wall back with everything we had. She didn't understand the seriousness of it until it hit. And it hit hard. As Trump would say, It was HUGE.we braced to wall and I started hearing branches break I told Dawn to lay on the floor. She wouldn't and kept holding the wall with me. Our 15 year old dog was scared worse than my wife. Dawn did great and didn't panic. But she also didn't understand the seriousness of it until it was all over.
      Right where my nephew had his tent and decided to go home was a huge tree. 20' from our tent . If he'd stayed and been in his tent he wouldn't be here now. A little bit over, and we wouldn't either...
      On the other side of the cove is a camping area where we put in. After it let up and we were checking out damage and counting our blessings we heard a lady yelling over to us to see if we were ok. I couldn't here everything she was saying so paddled over. She said another storm was on the way and was supposed to be worse. She begged us to leave.
      In the camping area where we were parked had lots of damage too. Tree on a truck right be where we were parked. A tree was on a tent with no one inside. Tree fell on a horse trailer camper. Debris went though tent of a couple of tents in different camping spots. Downed trees everywhere, one blocking the road out. Which was quickly cleared by someone with chain saws. .. It was now dark.
      We went to rat branch boat ramp to get cell service and check radar. EMS was set up there with different law enforcement agencies. The told us a tree fell on two campers in a tent one cove up from us. They didn't make it. He and and wife both passed away...
      The rest of the weekend it was just me and my wife. Her friends decided to postpone to a different date.
      We had a nice, rest of the weekend paddling around and sitting by a fire in the evenings. Only one other group stayed camping. Everyone else packed up gear and headed home. So I was able to paddle over and collect tons of home brought fire wood.
      The fishing wasn't any good though after the storm. I think they got blown up into the mountains.
      Hopefully no storms next weekend. Gonna try the hammock out for the first time on a hike from Carvers Gap to 19e with some buddies. New hikers on this hike with us this time so were gonna take two nights...
    • Didn't see any dead trees fall. Every tree was live and either fell over or had the tops snapped off. EMS said a tornado came through but I never heard an official report from the weather service. Sounded like a freight train. The branch I thought I heard snapping was actually the big tree falling. It was just too loud from the wind and rain. EMS also said a couple of boats had flipped on the lake....
    • That section starting at Watauga lake is a real memorable one for me...worst winter storm I've been in was setting in as I started up the mountain from the shelter, was one other hiker in the shelter who said he was going to stay put and hunker down...turned out he was a dumbass like me...spent the next night with him freezing off.
      I may grow old but I'll never grow up.
    • jimmyjam wrote:

      Wow. Glad you guys didn't get hit by any trees. That's always my biggest fear in a T-storm.
      When I started the AT my biggest concerns were snakes and bear. Now it is ticks (Lyme disease), falling off a rock, or a tree follow me during a storm.

      Had one fall last week during and overnight storm at Belters Creek Campsite. Fortunately did not hit anyone.
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • Drybones wrote:

      That section starting at Watauga lake is a real memorable one for me...worst winter storm I've been in was setting in as I started up the mountain from the shelter, was one other hiker in the shelter who said he was going to stay put and hunker down...turned out he was a dumbass like me...spent the next night with him freezing off.
      You are lucky the bears didn't visit you there. Probably too cold for them.
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • I love havin' my but kicked by a good storm, but this one time (..no, not at band camp smart ass) I was scared, bolts everywhere and high winds...fug all that noise.
      Big difference in taking in a storm, then retreating behind the family rooms picture window vs. seeing it from a meadow lake shore and retreating to the deep woods cause you're 300 miles from home.

      The post was edited 1 time, last by Socks ().