I knew there was a chance of thunderstorms later in the day but I thought I could get a 5 mile out and back hike in before they came. After a 40 mile drive to the remote trailhead I started getting weather reports about a possibly the storms could become severe, and a tornado watch was in effect. Still, I thought I could beat the storms so I set out on Chestnut Ridge.
Only a quarter of a mile I lost cell phone service and didn’t know the storms had turned severe and a tornado was detected with them. Even though I heard almost constant thunder and through heavy downpours I made it back to the trailhead safely. I was trapped by fallen trees while driving home, got my old Blazer stuck in soggy ground and had to wait for 6 hours for help to arrive. The storms did a massive amount of damage. Over 6 weeks afterwards and sections of Big South Fork is still closed down. I consider myself fortunate to have escaped unharmed.