What are your favorite conditions to be outside enjoying nature?
Somewhere around sunny and 75 degrees is a good option. That is a nice combination for golfing, hiking, biking or just about any outdoor activity.
But I’m going to give you some ideas for having your best outdoor memories in the worst weather, or at least in weather that keeps most other people inside.
Rain.
Rain causes many folks to cancel planned outdoor activities. My advice, get out in the rain.
A couple of years ago, the last week of the annual Cumberland County Hiking Marathon was a very rainy week. Many of us had several more trails to hike in order to complete their marathon. We had no choice except to put on our rain jackets and hike in the rain. We still talk about it with a smile. It was fun and it was memorable. Enjoy the rain, don’t avoid it.
Another time, my fishing buddy and I had planned to go fly fishing for trout on a day when the weather report called for rain. We would be in waterproof waders and rain jackets, so we went anyway.
We fished for three hours and it poured the whole time. No lightning, just a three-hour steady downpour. We had a great day, caught and released many trout, and had the river to ourselves. It was one of our most fun days fishing ever. Moral of the story … enjoy the rain.
Lightning.
Lightning is a different story. I don’t intentionally hike when it’s lightning, but several times I have been caught in major lightning storms miles out in the woods.
Several of us camped near the top of Roan Mountain in Tennessee one summer when an evening thunderstorm kept us huddling in our tents for hours. Dinner that night was made up of power bars and Gatorade between flashes of light. Our friends who stayed in cabins at the State Park didn’t have nearly the excitement that we tent campers did.
Once a friend and I were measuring a just completed section of the Cumberland Trail. We were several miles into the hike when the rumbles started in the distance, and soon a major storm popped up. Lightning crashed all around and there was nowhere to hide.
At one point my friend looked back and shouted, “Why are you 50 yards behind?”
I replied, “Someone has to stay back and be ready to do CPR when you, who are pushing a metal measuring wheel through a lightning storm, gets nailed.”
We obviously survived and always laugh about that exciting experience when we bring it up.
Snow.
Those of us who grew up in Pennsylvania and other parts north learned how to drive in the snow at an early driving age. Here in the south, not so much.
A few years ago, a couple of us had planned to spend a day in Knoxville visiting museums and other sights. We had our agenda all planned. The forecast called for several inches of snow that day but we decided drive to Knoxville anyway. We pretty much had downtown Knoxville to ourselves.
The streets were empty but we still able to hit all of our planned visits that day. At about 4 p.m. the restaurant, where we had reservations, called and asked if we were still coming for dinner. They said many people cancelled because of the snow. We went, had a great meal and great service. If the snow would have kept us home, we wouldn’t have that fun memory to look back on.
Cold.
If you layer properly and keep moving, even zero degrees isn’t a problem.
The mushers, who sled the Iditarod, experience double digit negative degrees and do just fine.
Wear a scarf to cover your exposed face. I sometimes even wear ski goggles when it is really cold and blowing. Hikes in snow and cold are always beautiful, they’re hikes that you’ll remember.
The plan for next Easter is to attend the Sunday services on Ober Mountain, above Gatlinburg, at the ski area. It is free. Even the normally $22 Aerial Tramway ride is free, the Easter service is outside and it’s special to watch the sun rise over Mt. LeConte during the service. It will be cold and all the visiting tourists will be wrapped in blankets and shivering. But you’ll be warm, because you dressed for the weather.
Hot.
I have a fond memory of a very hot day in Texas that a friend and I always talk about. We could have stayed inside in the air conditioning when it was 105 degrees at the Fort Worth Texas Nature Center, but instead we spent a couple of hours looking for prairie dogs, shade and any animals that were crazy enough to be out there with us.
We remember and smile about all of these “weather adventures,” but it’s easy to forget about the sunny and 75 degree days where nothing eventful happened.
My advice, don’t complain about the weather. Get out in the weather. Some of your best memories will be from the days you didn’t stay home.
Comments, questions or suggestions for future nature articles are welcome at don.hazel@gmail.com.
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