Today's Forecast

High of 80, with a 60% chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon, starting around 4PM.

Yesterday Gothamist got into an IM coversation with someone at work. "How's it going?" she asked. "Good. But You know what else would be good? Camping with a bunch of inner-city children as they experience nature for the first time."

Thanks for the buzzkill!

Gothamist has--hold your gasps--never actually *been* camping, though she grew up in the country, but camping is now firmly on her mind.

There's an interesting little piece in Backpacker that gives you a basic 411 on how to tell what the weather will do when you're outside. What's cool is that Backpacker spends time telling you which traditional weather lore is true, instead of getting uppity and debunking all of it in favor of fancy equipment. For example:

Count a cricket's chirps to estimate air temperature. Add to 40 the number of chirps a cricket makes in 14 seconds; the total is the air temperature in degrees Fahrenheit. This technique is accurate 75 percent of the time.

Check pine cones to determine humidity levels. An open cone suggests dry weather for the next 12 to 24 hours, and a closed cone suggests that rain, drizzle, or fog is on its way.

Do most campers rely on nature to help them figure out how to...um...pitch their, uh, tents and...stuff? Or do "serious" hikers and such now go for the altimeter/barometer/temperature watch?

Related: A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson. Chilling tales of Mount Washington's wild winter weather and the observatory on top. Also, bears.