This was our first hike into the Semaphore Lakes area and the static storm on the summit of Locomotive Mountain was an unexpected unique and scary experience!
We left Vancouver late and didn't get started hiking until 7pm but the hike to Semaphore Lakes is short and we had camp set-up shortly after 8pm, just in time to catch a beautiful sunset.
The next morning started clear and sunny. We started our hike/climb up Locomotive Mountain just before 9am.
The upper basin holds several crystal clear lakes.
Bad weather started to blow over during our ascent of the steep snowfield below the summit-ridge crest.
It took us 2 hours to reach the summit where the views were spectacular.
The sky suddenly darkened and our hair stood on end!
I raised my hand in the air to motion to Christy "let's get out of here!" and my fingers were instantly tingling and popping with static electricity! Needless to say we got off of the summit right away! Strong wind and an icy rain began to pummel the summit ridge.We met six other guys on their way up to the summit. Their ice axes had already started humming loudly! We warned them that it got worse on the summit and that lightning was a good possibility and then we continued our rapid descent.
But the lightning never manifested and maybe 30 minutes from the summit the weather changed again dramatically - blue sky and sunshine returned... so we had some fun!
We took a little rest at one of the lakes in the upper basin.
And then lazily wandered our way back down to our camp, before heading home.
Another outstanding weekend in the mountains... with a little lesson learned: Nature is beautiful and powerful and deserves respect.
