Weekly Blog #21 - Natural Disasters & More Hiking Deaths
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posted: Thursday, September 26th, 2026
Recent flooding and avalanche disasters hit hikers in the Grand Canyon and Nepal/Tibet...hard.
It was only about a month ago that Sponge blogged about "hiking deaths in the news." At the time, sporadic deaths of hikers (usually one or two at a time) were hitting Sponge's news feed.
But Aug. 27, a devastating avalanche (which melted ice in its path), tore through a Nepal/Tibet border area known as a gathering ground for hikers. It caused 390 deaths and 1,500 people still unaccounted for. Two days later, massive flash flooding hit the Grand Canyon area - resulting in 15 hikers going missing (12 were later, thankfully found).
These brutal events prompt the question - and a new blog - is there anything hikers can do?
Understanding changing global climate
If there's a common element between the tragedies in Nepal/Tibet and the Grand Canyon, it's this: our climate is changing dramatically.
Sponge would rather not get into a climate change debate with any of his loyal readers, but he DOES believe global warming is real and in full motion. Our world is getting hotter. Weather patterns in one-predictable places are now a game of chance.
The Nepal/Tibet event was indicative of this - as warmer-than-normal temperatures melted ice, making the resulting avalanche a high-velocity flood that wiped out buildings with the force of a hurricane.
The Grand Canyon event was all about flash flooding. In this case areas suffering from record drought have ground so hard that they cannot easily soak moisture quickly - and instead it rolls over a wide berth with devastating speed.
Applying climate change to hiking
If weather is the common denominator to both disasters, and climate change is a GLOBAL phenomena - then it's fair to ask whether there is anywhere hikers can go that would safe? The answer is far from comforting.
No where is safe.
Flooding, forest fires, tornados, landslides, hurricanes, blizzards and other weather disasters can seemingly hit just about anywhere hikers want to go. In a world where it's increasingly hard to ignore drastic weather changes, there's no such thing as a "safe" hiking zone.
So what is a hiking lover to do?
There's a handful of things hiking enthusiasts can do to mitigate risks related to world-changing weather. For starters: be informed. This starts with thoroughly researching the area where you plan to hike to know of all the risks involved - weather and otherwise. Don't just rely on what you can learn from your local library - reach out to folks who live in the area and hike it often (check Reddit or Facebook communities).
Next up, take steps to be informed WHILE on the trail. The more Sponge hikes, the more he realizes this means a solid GPS-enabled messaging device like the Garmin In-Reach Mini 2. Yes, your cell phone can work - but the Achilles heel there is having a decent cellular signal, especially since reports on weather rely on data. In disasters like the Grand Canyon and Nepal/Tibet, mere "minutes" in timely notification can be the difference between life and death.
Finally, know when to back down. Hikers are a bold breed and we don't like to back down from challenges - but there are times when weather, conditions or even how crowded a trail may be will make it better to skip. For example, a few years ago parts of the Appalachian Trail were completely better to avoid after hurricanes devastated the Carolinas. Some thru-hikers split their journey into two journeys to account for this - skipping north and working south to give time for trails to be cleared of dangerous obstacles.
Next week, Sponge will tackle something more lighthearted and fun. Come back and see!