Lightning season comes with the monsoons Photo Courtesy Laurie
Swisher, USFS July and August are prime hiking seasons in the
San Juan Mountains, but along with the summer monsoon weather
pattern, lightning becomes the major objective hazard in the
backcountry. Like avalanches in winter, avoiding summer
lightning takes long term and constant awareness in order to
stay safe. Lightning does tend to hit the shortest distance
between the charged cloud and the ground. So, as most people
know, it more often hits sharp terrain features like mountain
tops and tall trees in open areas. It can still hit flat ground
or lower areas, but much more randomly than isolated elevated
points. Long electrical conductors, such as wire fences or wet
climbing ropes, can have more contact points and can concentrate
current over long distances. A lightning strike seems like a
straightforward event, but really there are a variety of ways it
can hurt you. Direct strikes, streamer currents, ground
currents, and surface arcs can all carry