However, I am also going to notice a building thunderstorm that might bring freezing rain, severe wind, lightning strikes or flash floods. I notice clear creek water turning suddenly brown, prelude to a flood. I notice any stumbling that suggests exhaustion or hypothermia. I know camps on a sand bar, especially along a glacier stream, can flood suddenly. In winter, I am alert for the dangerous sound of hollow ice.
Snow settling on a lake can mean hidden overflow.
I might find bad ice near springs, river confluences and lake drainages. In early winter, swamps freeze poorly and the movement of beavers can keep ice near their houses dangerously thin. When we hauled gear for some mountains climbers one spring, Miki and I expressed concern that a local bear might damage the climbers' supplies. In the next breath he mentioned seeing ground squirrels up there. Miki pointed out that with snow still on the ground any bear would likely head for exposed southern slopes.