the_taylor•26d agoProlific Poster

That moment a flash flood hit my campsite in Big Bend last spring

I was camped in a dry wash near the Rio Grande, thinking it would be fine since there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Then I heard this rumbling sound, like a truck coming, and realized water was barreling straight toward me from upstream. I grabbed my pack and tent half-tied and scrambled up the bank just in time to see a 4-foot wall of mud and debris wipe out where I was sleeping. Now I wonder: should I cut my losses and only camp on high ground from now on, or am I being too paranoid about a rare event? Has anyone else had a close call like this that changed how you plan trips?

3 comments

3 Comments

lindag3326d ago

Four feet of mud and debris wiping out your bedroll sounds like nature's way of saying "you're the guest, not the boss." Tbh I had a similar thing happen in Moab where I set up in a wash that hadn't seen rain in months, then woke up floating on my sleeping pad at 2 AM trying to paddle to safety with a trekking pole. Honestly you're not being paranoid you're just learning the hard way like the rest of us that dry washes are basically nature's toilets waiting to flush.

wesley_jones25d ago

Ask how you managed to avoid losing all your gear that night in Moab. I'm trying to figure out if there's a pattern to these flash floods or if it's just total luck of the draw. Seems like the folks who've been through it once always check the weather way upstream before setting up camp after that.

riley_wood8425d ago

Dude yes, exactly this. I had almost the same thing happen out in the Gila National Forest - set up in this wide, bone-dry arroyo that looked like it hadn't seen water in years. Felt like a smart spot too, plenty of flat ground. Woke up around 3 AM to the sound of rocks tumbling downstream, and then just a wall of brown water coming at me. Lost my favorite hat, a cook pot, and had to abandon my tent stakes to grab the fly before it floated off. Now I scout for flood debris in the brush before I even think about sleeping near a wash. If there's dead grass or silt stuck on bushes a few feet up, I'm gone.