Re: TR: Rush Creek to Thousand Island and some words of caution
Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2012 8:59 am
Benches can be tricky for determining water drainage, especially when they're covered with only a few inches of granite sand since water can pool underneath the sand and run down the solid granite to re-emerge lower down on the bench. Also, if the edge of the bench has a lip near/upstream of your tent you can easily get more water through your site than you're expecting. As Mike said, small rises are usually a good bet. If you can't avoid upstream water you can also dig small drainage channels to funnel the water around your site - it doesn't take much to divert enough of the water to make a difference.
jfelectron - Good job making the best of a bad situation. I think the quickly melting hail was what really messed you up...instant water release that was independent of local geography. Probably the only thing you could've done was to clear as much hail from the uphill sides of your tarp as possible, but I doubt I would think to do that in the moment. Your story reminds me of a fluke storm I went through last fall (clear skies and warm temps after sunset -> cold and storming before dawn) that made me rethink what I bring on fast overnight trips and what margins of safety I'm comfortable with.
jfelectron - Good job making the best of a bad situation. I think the quickly melting hail was what really messed you up...instant water release that was independent of local geography. Probably the only thing you could've done was to clear as much hail from the uphill sides of your tarp as possible, but I doubt I would think to do that in the moment. Your story reminds me of a fluke storm I went through last fall (clear skies and warm temps after sunset -> cold and storming before dawn) that made me rethink what I bring on fast overnight trips and what margins of safety I'm comfortable with.