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Natural Hazards

Survival: Predict a Flash Flood

Stay alert in canyon country.

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If I Only Knew Then (Feature Narrative) | Recognize Grizzly Behavior | Save Yourself in Whitewater | First Aid Emergencies | Unsafe Snow Conditions | Unexpected Accidents | Make Good Judgment Calls


I wish my friend and avid Grand Canyon hiker George Mancuso had known that summit fever applies to other objectives, as well. He climbed up a tributary of the Little Colorado River with his girlfriend, and inexplicably kept going under gathering storm clouds. A flash flood hit and killed both of them. On a peak, you shouldn’t keep ascending into a blizzard, and in a canyon, never go deeper when rain threatens. Storms miles away can feed the drainage you’re in.

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Sea Kayak Flip

Casey Lyons, BACKPACKER associate editor

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Shannon Davis, BACKPACKER senior editor

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