Thunderstorm at the Summit

Thunderstorm approaching, view towards I-80 with Donner Lake to the right

Today I took a leisurely hike on the Pacific Crest Trail at Donner Pass, until an approaching thunderstorm made me decide to turn around, and then I took a very brisk hike back to my truck. Had I turned around ten minutes earlier, I would have driven home dry. I rate this hike as Interesting.

I hiked part of the Pacific Crest Trail between Old Highway 40 and Interstate 80. This entire section is 2.6 miles long. The Highway 40 trailhead altitude is 7110 feet. The high point on the trail is 7331 feet and the low point is 6842 feet. Donner Pass gets a lot of recreational activity. There were many people about.

Donner Pass is named after the Donner Party. The emigrants were slow on their westward trek, and upon reaching the Sierra the snows were too deep to cross. They spent the winter in camp at the base of the mountains. Some resorted to cannibalism to survive.

This was my first hike on this section of the trail. Many times I've hiked the section of trail south from Donner Pass, some hikes all the way to Tinker Knob. Having hiked both sections, I found the south route to be more scenic, and the north route less strenuous.

I parked my truck in the large lot across from the trailhead, and in minutes I was on my way. I saw several climbers on the granite faces. Some were children with adults giving instruction. I had a grand view of the train snow sheds on the rail route carved out by Chinese laborers in the 1860s. This historic section was abandoned in 1993, after it was decided to run all trains through Tunnel 41, which was built in 1925. Now hikers and bicyclists go through the snow sheds and tunnels.

I shot this video of the snow sheds.

The trail wound up the mountainside. I met a man in his fifties hiking the length of the Pacific Crest Trail, from the border of Mexico to the border of Canada. He said the remainder of his hike should take two months. Over the years I've talked with several hikers going the full trail, and never once have I asked them what they do for a living that allows them to take months off for the hike.

I reached the high point of the trail. I saw thunderclouds to the east and wondered whether I should turn around. No, keep going.

The trail went downhill, and I had good views of Interstate 80 in the distance. I passed a group of teenagers with some adults in charge. I think these were city kids getting a lesson on the outdoors. The coming thunderstorm would give them a real lesson.

I got to less than one-half mile of Interstate 80 when the sound of the thunder made me realize I needed to get back to my truck. I turned around. Soon I passed the group of teenagers. The clouds blotted out the sunshine and the thunder got louder. I reached the high point of the trail. This was exposed granite and all I could think of was a lightning strike. The wind was kicking up. I wound down the mountainside. The clouds now covered the peaks to the south.

Approaching thunderstorm at Donner Pass

I reached a small grove of pine trees just as the rain and hail began to fall. A group of teenagers (not the one I passed earlier) was taking shelter nearby under a tarp strung to the trees. I removed my nylon rain jacket from my Jansport pack and put it on. It would keep my upper body dry. The rest of me would get soaked. Up on the mountainside the group I passed earlier was coming down the trail. Lightning was hitting perhaps a mile away judging by the sound, and I thought about their safety in that exposed location. I looked about for shelter from the rain and hail. A downed tree some three feet in diameter lay atop another downed tree. I crawled under the trunk and curled into a ball, my back to the tree. That worked well. Other than being struck by lightning, I was most concerned about keeping my video camera dry. Now the hail was coming down heavy. The hail was BB size, too small for any damage. The group coming down the mountainside reached the grove of trees. They paused on the trail for a few minutes near me. All had a poncho or other rain clothing. They looked miserable. I thought they would seek shelter in the grove, but they continued on. We were about ten minutes from the parking lot.

I stayed under the tree trunk ten or fifteen minutes, the better part of the hail storm. When things let up a bit I decided to make my way to the truck. The hail had largely stopped but the rain could last for hours. Many parts of the trail were filled with ankle-deep water with hail floating on the top. My boots were soaked. My pants were soaked. The main thing on my mind was the lightning, but there were no strikes close enough to give me a scare.

I reached the group of teenagers with the adults in charge. The youths shuffled zombie-like in single file along the narrow trail. Not a smile on any young face. Nature isn't what you see on Dora the Explorer, kids. I passed them and a few minutes later I was at my truck. Small piles of hail covered the parking lot.

Two women hikers asked me for a ride to nearby Soda Springs. They were in their early twenties, one from San Diego and the other from Vail, Colorado. Both were hiking the entire length of the Pacific Crest Trail. One started in late April and the other in early May. After a few weeks of solo hiking they met up and agreed to stay together. Miserable from the hike in the rain and hail, they had reached the parking lot just as I was leaving. One had a package of hiking supplies waiting at the post office in Soda Springs, and they both wanted a good meal there, so they asked me for the ride. We had a nice talk on the drive of some five minutes to Soda Springs. I dropped them off and wished them a good hike.

Driving away, I thought, dang it, I didn't ask them what they did for a living that allowed them to take months off to hike the Pacific Crest Trail.

Heavy rain on Interstate 80 slowed westbound traffic to 40 mph. The skies cleared near the Highway 20 exit and traffic sped up. I was back in a parched land.