Just got caught in a flash flood on the High Sierra Trail near Kern Canyon

We were about 6 miles past the Kern Canyon ranger station when the sky opened up. It was around 3 PM and the creek crossings we had scouted an hour earlier were already waist deep and moving fast. I made the call to climb to a ridge line instead of pushing forward to the next camp spot. We sat up there for 2 hours watching the water rise and then drop back down. Has anyone else had to reroute mid-day because of these afternoon monsoons, and do you check the weather report before heading out each morning?

1 comments

1 Comment

rosek734d ago

Honestly that ridge call was the right move, I got stuck in a similar spot on the Kern River a few years back and waited it out under a rock overhang, water came up to my knees before dropping. Tbh I now check the NOAA forecast on my inReach every single morning before I even pack up camp, those storms seem to roll in faster than the weather apps can keep up with. Ngl it feels like playing roulette some days, but staying high and waiting always beats trying to cross something that's cranking.