West Rim Trail
Pennsylvania
July 2003
On the third and final day of our backpacking trip on the West Rim Trail, the storm comes back. Or maybe it’s a whole new storm. Can’t tell, doesn’t matter, it’s a storm. The lightning flashes, the thunder booms and the rain rains. We’ve got a few miles left to hike. The closer we come to trailhead, the closer the heart of the storm comes to us.
Our final mile, the storm rages. Then the mother of all lightning flashes/thunder detonations blasts us so close, I’m surprised it doesn’t fry ourselves. We are staggered by the noise, scaring us nearly senseless. When we calm down and are all accounted for, one of our hikers, amidst the tentative, embarrassed laughter, makes the only comment. “Good thing I used the latrine at camp this morning!”