From what I recall, most of the level campsites at Guitar Lake are pretty close to the lake...possibly a bad spot in a thunderstorm. They might have received a ground charge from a lightning strike on the lake water. A direct hit would have probably killed them.
One of our old SAR missions involved the recovery of the bodies of two guys in a tent camped close to Big McGee Lake (south of Mammoth Lakes). Both were killed when lightning apparently hit the lake or wet meadow and jumped from their tent poles into their bodies.
I was camped at Loch Leven, below Paiute Pass last week, and witnessed multiple lightning stricks on the ridges above and near the lake. My campsite was about 150 yards from the lake, but it was still scary, since the ground around my tent was soaked in rain water. I hoofed it for home the next morning...
Last edited by Bob West; 08/21/12 05:48 PM.
