DayTrip
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- May 13, 2013
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I'm curious what wind speed everyone considers to be the limit for hiking in. I get a kick out of all the trip reports I read recently where people reference doing 14-18 mile hikes into the prevailing wind with claimed wind speeds of 70, 80 even 90 mph. I have a very hard time imagining someone walking 2-3 miles above tree line into a 90 mph wind. We've probably all seen the old video in the Mount Washington museum of the guy trying to have breakfast in a sustained 80 mph. Or the videos of guys trying to get into the 100 mph club on the observation deck. It's all the guy can do to move, never mind go hiking miles in it on rugged, steep and slippery terrain with deep snow drifts, low visibility, etc.
I carry a Kestrel temp and wind meter and when you stop and actually measure the breeze it is quite a bit less than you think it is. What people think is a 40 mph wind is quite likely a 20-22 mph breeze when you actually measure it. And that's the gust, not the sustained levels. I think people look at the Mount Washington Observatory stats and assume the wind they were in matches the peak gust recorded for the day. It is quite amazing how dramatically the wind speeds drop with just a few hundred feet of elevation, especially away from Washington.
So all hyperbole aside, when you look at the forecast and see winds of x mph and you had planned something above treeline what is your "limit" where you know you aren't going to bother? I recall doing the Boott Spur once on a July day to Washington where the (Kestrel measured) sustained winds were 40-45 mph and it was VERY DIFFICULT to walk on the rocks, keep your balance and make any kind of time. I know for a fact there are people in far better shape than me out there but this seems like a simple math problem of wind force against surface area.
Are these trip reports wild stories or am I in worse shape than I think??
I carry a Kestrel temp and wind meter and when you stop and actually measure the breeze it is quite a bit less than you think it is. What people think is a 40 mph wind is quite likely a 20-22 mph breeze when you actually measure it. And that's the gust, not the sustained levels. I think people look at the Mount Washington Observatory stats and assume the wind they were in matches the peak gust recorded for the day. It is quite amazing how dramatically the wind speeds drop with just a few hundred feet of elevation, especially away from Washington.
So all hyperbole aside, when you look at the forecast and see winds of x mph and you had planned something above treeline what is your "limit" where you know you aren't going to bother? I recall doing the Boott Spur once on a July day to Washington where the (Kestrel measured) sustained winds were 40-45 mph and it was VERY DIFFICULT to walk on the rocks, keep your balance and make any kind of time. I know for a fact there are people in far better shape than me out there but this seems like a simple math problem of wind force against surface area.
Are these trip reports wild stories or am I in worse shape than I think??