AT Day 65 - Big Day of Thunderstorms

19th June

29.8 miles

Bushcamp (1151.3) to Bushcamp (1181.1)

The hot humid southerly wind kept blowing all night. Temperatures were rather tropical when I started hiking. Within 15 minutes I was dripping with sweat, every piece of clothing saturated. It was going to be a hard day.

The weather was cloudy with a hot humid wind blowing until around 11am. First came the distant thunder, then the strong cold wind. The sky went dark then it rained. Heavy rain. Torrential rain.

Despite using my umbrella I was soaked. Which didn’t matter because I was soaked from sweat before the downpour. Lightning was all around, as close as two seconds from the flash to the sound. I was walking along a high ridgeline but there was quite a covering of trees. At least I wasn’t the highest point. The storm lasted all of 15 minutes.

I continued hiking through the now wet trail after enjoying the brief cooling affect of the storm. The rain free period didn’t last long. Another row of thunderstorms hit. This time it was not as strong. Just a bit of wind and rain with the odd flash of lightning every couple of minutes.

The third thunderstorm refused to dissipate. Steady rain continued for 2-3 hours. The rain wasn’t heavy but it was enough to send hikers to put up their tents or head for the shelters to camp.

I kept hiking. Every part of me was soaked. Toward the end of the day I entered a section of trail that said, No Camping. The wet weather was causing rather unpleasant rubbing on my upper thighs. I had to set up camp. It seemed that other hikers ignored the ‘no camping sign’. They were obviously locals, not hikers.

I kept hiking away from the locals to a quieter spot. I could still hear them from about a mile away. I could also hear the frequent low pitched boom sounds coming from the nearby military range.

The rubbing between my legs needed a bit of first aid treatment before bed. It was rather painful. The last few steps of the day had me resembling a cowboy who’d been on his horse all day. Hopefully I’ll be ok to hike tomorrow.