dogs & lightning

[bill deutschman]

Jessica

> Second, I'm a dog lover and know some dogs are
> protectice, scared, or in a bad mood. However, has
> anyone ever tried dog treats? How did that work?

I wouldn't want to get that close to the barking dogs.  They are protecting
their territory (farm yard or sheep) and are not interested in treats.  What
one should do is continuously discussed on several bicycling groups.  Most
people agree that you should assert your immediate territory and leave their
territory, facing them, and talking to them in an assertive way.  I'm sure
this doesn't work for really vicious dogs but I think those are few and far
between.

> Somewhere I read of a pilgrim in a lightning storm on
> the Meseta. Never did say what you're supposed to do
> when you are the tallest thing around. Anyone know
> what to do out in the open?

The standard dogma for mountaineers is to get rid of any metal, your pack,
ice axe and trecking poles then try to find a tree or large rock.  Your
equipment should be several hundred feet away.  The taller the tree the
better but you don't want to be next to it.  Think of a zone of protection
that is a cone starting at the top of the tree extending down at 45 degrees
all around the tree.  You should be flat on the ground 2/3 to 3/4 of the
height of the tree away from it's base.  Dont lie next to it as the
electricity will come down the trunk if lightning strides the tree.  If
there are no trees drop your pack, all metal items and lie on the ground
near but not next to some higher feature such as a building or rock.  Do not
sit/stand under it's edge or in a doorway as people have been killed when
the lightning jumped from the edge of the object to the ground and hit them
on the way.  If availabe, get into a depression or valley.  The idea is to
be near enought to another higher object so the strike hits it and not you.

Don't wait until the storm is over you to take action, watch for it and plan
ahead.  As I remember, there are lots of trees on the meseta.  They planted
them the entire way for shade.  They are only 20' tall but that's a lot
higher than most people.

The other thing to remember is that there are few ground strikes in any
storm and lots of ground for them to strike so the probability of being hit
is small if you don't walk around with lots of metal to attract the
lightning.  A request for protection from Saint James might help as well.

bill

bill deutschman
455 hillside avenue
klamath falls, OR 97601-2337
541.882.3295
olcbillafireserve.net