Backpacking on the Appalachian Trail in GA. Settled into my tent with two buddies. I took a direct lightning strike inside the tent. They were three feet from me and didn’t get popped. Tent disintegrated. Legs messed up, couldn’t walk. Soaked by the storm. Somehow crawled/hopped into a ravine at lower elevation and slept there that night in a sopping wet sleeping bag.
Got struck on Blood Mountain….how about that?
Lightening strikes in the mountains, particularly when you're exposed above tree-line, is a danger that people who aren't familiar with mountain storms often don't even know to plan for. I carry a bamboo walking stick when we hike above tree-line in Colorado, as the aluminum alloy trekking poles that many people favor can act like lightening rods in that environment.
