Safety & Weather Conditions

ArkansasDon

Adventurist
I know you all have experienced these situations weather conditions change on trips or week end outings. We all plan our trips keeping track of weather if changes happen.

The last two week end outings the wife & I been on the weather changed so our trip was cut short to 24 hour outings. Yes we are in tornado season, but it also in our rainy time of the year too. Pretty much here in Arkansas when the weather changes to severe it's usually what the word severe means.

We planned a 4 day trip to Gunner Pool Recreation Area (set up camp) in the Slyamore Rangers District in the Ozark National Forest, then head up running some trails to find new dispersed camping spots for early spring, early winter, late winter camping marking spots on our GPS & paper maps. We found out it was Spring Arkansas Turkey Hunting Season so the woods were covered in hunters, running trails was out of the question. So time around camp was our choice.

Friday night listening to the radio mention severe thunder storms moving into our area, high winds, probable flooding in low lying areas. We were camped by a river, so we can hike to the water fall. We decided Saturday morning after having tri tip steak & eggs, poquito beans & salsa for breakfast to head back home since the storm was hitting late Saturday night early Sunday morning hours. Areas around us in the national forest did suffer flooding badly, the storm was worse than expected, I'm still cleaning up busted limbs & parts of my farm is flooded.

SAM_4063.JPG
SAM_4083.JPG
SAM_4065.JPG
SAM_4061.JPG
SAM_4077.JPG
SAM_4079.JPG
SAM_4089.JPG
SAM_4081.JPG
SAM_4075.JPG
SAM_4108.JPG
SAM_4111.JPG
SAM_4112.JPG
SAM_4068.JPG
SAM_4070.JPG
SAM_4073.JPG
 
Good call! And I have to say that your breakfast looks better than the vast. majority on any of my meals. Mmmmm!
 
I run into this a lot in the winter. Watching the forecast closely is key, I can deal with 6-8 inches of snow ok, but much more than that or super sloppy and we need to get to a lower elevation. Being always alone you need to be aware of these things. Always bring extra food and water. Heater sips fuel but I always have 2 extra gallons also. It ran out one morning and that was ZERO fun. Takes awhile to get primed again.

However this is peaceful. The guys going by on snowmobiles thought we were crazy though :D

50533353953_d366a6f6b7_b.jpg
 
Being always alone you need to be aware of these things. Always bring extra food and water.

I agree 100%, and this point cannot be overstated. Like Kenny Rogers said in The Gambler.... "You've got to know when to hold 'em, Know when to fold 'em, Know when to walk away, And know when to run"

When weather changes for the worse, and my mobility is threatened, it's time to go. Lower elevation, different zip code, whatever. I have no problem altering plans based on environmental factors.

This picture was taken in Bears Ears Nat'l Monument near the Bridger Jack Mesa in Utah one morning. Weather changed drastically overnight, woke up to some snow that had NOT been in the forecast with more on the way. I had planned to be there one more night but made the call to bail early and head down to lower elevations and head towards Canyonlands.

Good thing I did, because looking back this way from our camp near Canyonlands over the next 4 days, we never could see Shay mtn or Horse mtn (9,000+ ft). They stayed socked in for days and it DUMPED snow up there after I left!

When in doubt, roll out!

QUICK PITCH IN THE SNOW 1.jpeg
 
When in doubt, roll out!

Absolutely. I've NEVER regretted a weather-bailout.

We were in one of those beautiful Yellow Post sites near Toro Peak a few summers ago when a hail and lightning storm came out of nowhere. I was literally about to start fetching stuff out of the roof basket when the first flash of lightning came followed immediately by thunder. I was like "Hey, that was kind of close..."

After three or four hands of Uno in the van, the hail had switched to rain and I could see the trail starting to get wet. Didn't fancy waiting to find out just how slippery the silt could get, so we boogied down the mountain and into Idyllwild for the evening. Had wood-fired Pizza, cocktails, and live music in town that night and found a spot just as nice on Thomas mountain the next day after the skies cleared. Still a perfect weekend.
 
on a Facebook group I belong to, I decided to post our last trip & got a comment "why is it that you guys with squaredrops bug out with the slightest change in weather?"
He posted how he & his RTT camped in 50 plus mph wind gust, down pours, & heavy snow storms that made for memorable camping trips.
For one the wife & I camped in 34 mph wind gust in the Ozark National Forest in Febuary of 2018 with our 1st trailer & both of us were warm but didn't get a wink of sleep because of the flapping of the tent walls & rain fly & we had the Tepui Roof Top Tent Insulator which fit perfect in our Smittybilt 2785 RTT.
Geographic's IMO have a huge play on seasons & weather conditions, early spring in the southern & midwest states weather plays havoc on camping & adventure plans. It's rainy season, tornado season, flooding. Much like Arizona's monsoon season months are of June & September, Florida hurricane season August & September we all keep track of these weather conditions. Sally & I usually plan our trips thoroughly & in some cases the weather changes while on our trip. I feel I make rational sound decisions "if" a bug out is needed. This I why I keep & take a radio not just to listen to the music we like but to get updated weather reports in the area we are at. For one I do look @ the realism of the possible situation, not let my EGO take over, knowing "my" limitations (myself as a individual & my vehicle), assessment on the situation for safety I will not put my wife or me @ any highly probable risk & possible contingencies. This is what Sally & I prepare for all the time when we are on an offroad adventure (camping or just running trails), to prevent the problems that could or possible accure by being prepared as much as we can, using simple common sense & acting on the knowledge when the time comes.
IMO bugging out in a of a low river front area camping trip with high probable of flooding isn't pussing out or cowardice.
 
Last edited:
Yep we experienced a little “weather“ on our recent trip to TX and NM.
that morning the forecast highs where we were at was suppose to be about 90 degrees so we decided to gain some elevation and head up to the Lincoln NF near Cloudcroft, NM at about 8700 ft.
Well as we started climbing it started misting, then raining, then sleeting and of course snowing like crazy. We had a location picked out to camp but it was several hundred feet higher in elevation so we decided to pull into a ranger station to see what our options were. It was about 5:30 so no one was there but we did find a map that showed a NF campground about a half mile away so we headed out to find it. There was a good 6“ on the ground by the time we stopped and it was still coming down. Glad we stopped..
B6100576-C215-49DD-B848-BB03FCBB64DB.jpeg
 
Back
Top Bottom