Zion thunderstorm

Trip Start Sep 04, 2008
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Trip End Dec 03, 2008


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Flag of United States  , Utah,
Friday, November 14, 2008

4/11/08 (Evening) After showering and getting settled back in at camp, the preparation of tea began, it was Pad and Lucy's team cooking. To make things difficult, cooking was interrupted by a thunderstorm. It was an awesome experience to be out in this landscape and then to hear and see thunder and lightning, but it was also a pain with the rain! Early distant rumbles coupled with the weather on the journey home had prompted us to erect the canopy early, which provided some shelter at first. However the rain began to drive at an angle, right onto the stove as well as Lucy, Paddy and Helen who were soaked, whilst preparing tea. Chopping carrots was proving a pain for Paddy, most of them slipping under pressure and shooting off the table as he chopped. I ran and got Lucy's rain coat and then hit upon the idea of getting some tarp up to protect from the rain, I did but it was late, the stove caught fire with the rain, the nob burning and melting, it was pretty dangerous. We turned of the gas at the mains on the tank, by this time Dawn and Brendan were helping us shift all the gear over to a covered area of the camp site, where cooking resumed. Everyones else began to show up, most had been doing laundry inside and had not really realized how heavy the rain had been. A rather annoying, but at the same time funny and awesome experience, the joys of travel and camping! We cooked dinner now damp and cold, I couldn't wait, I grabbed a Snickers! Lucy was trying to fit about 18 sausages in a small pan, funny, but they turned out great as was the mash and onion gravy. There was veggie sausages too, we got about 1.5 sausages. Dawn had run to the local hotel to blast some corn dogs in the microwave, she came back with em, they are weird, a regular hot dog sausage surrounded by corn bread that tastes like a dough nut, quite sweet at first then comes the sausage, not bad, but a weird combination, I'll let you use your imagination folks. We, team B, then hit the dishes now that the weather had settled. Sinks were just near the toilets. We used some boiled water and then got more warm from the gents bogs. We then went back to the shelter for our now traditional hot chocolate and marshmallows, a great round off to a great day. Then bed, our tents were a bit damp, Dave's was rite over a slight hollow in the ground, which had formed a puddled wetting his tent a bit, hard luck! It was bloody cold, but layers provided a good temperature once in the bag. Our tents were within 3-4 m of the stream, it provided a soothing noise to drift to sleep to. All the back country camp grounds have been great, the chill and freshness of the air, the smell of vegetation, it really is a great experience. The stars are usually always visible on clear nights, they are stunning!
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