Got caught in a hailstorm above treeline in the Wind River Range and had to bail 14 miles | Backpacking Routes - Freelance Forum - The Community for Independent Professionals
Got caught in a hailstorm above treeline in the Wind River Range and had to bail 14 miles
Two summers ago my buddy and I were three days into a loop out of Big Sandy Opening in Wyoming when the sky turned green around 2pm. We were sitting at about 11,500 feet near the Cirque of the Towers and the hail came in sideways, ping pong ball size, hammering us for 40 straight minutes with nowhere to hide. We threw on every layer we had, wrapped our packs in our rain covers, and hightailed it down to a stand of pines where we shivered in our bags until the storm passed. That night we made the call to scrap the pass crossing and walk the 14 miles back to the trailhead the next morning with our tails between our legs. Has anyone else had to bail on a route because of weather, and do you ever regret it or do you go back and try again?