Stay out of the oven
Helpful tip: if it’s 119F / 48C, outside it’s not a good time to go for a strenuous hike on a trail with no shade or water.
A Florida man and his teenage stepson died after hiking during extreme heat at Big Bend National Park in Texas, officials said.
The boy fell ill along the trail and lost consciousness, and his stepfather was killed in a car accident as he tried to find help, authorities said.
Bad stepfather. Don’t take your kids out hiking in extreme heat.
The man, 31, and his two stepsons were hiking along the Marufo Vega Trail on Friday in 119F (48C) heat when the 14-year-old fell ill. While the stepfather hiked back to his vehicle to seek help, the teen’s 21-year-old brother tried to carry him back to the trailhead, according to the National Park Service.
The Big Bend National Park’s Communications Center received a call requesting emergency assistance at about 18:00 local time (23:00 GMT). “The Marufo Vega Trail winds through extremely rugged desert and rocky cliffs within the hottest part of Big Bend National Park,” the park service said. “No shade or water makes this strenuous trail dangerous to attempt in the heat of summer.”
And this was the heat of summer under a heat dome that was breaking records, so yeah, not the time or place for strenuous exercise.
But what happens when you live in the oven? There’ll be more of us asking that before long.
I know. What happens then is you die.
Unless you are a thermophile. Earth won’t become lifeless, but the life will be very different. Possibly lots more Archaea.
Psst, Ophelia…if you spot any egregious typos, would you fix them if possible? I have a broken thumb and my splint gets in the way of quality typing.
Will do! I generally do silently fix them unless there’s ambiguity. Sorry about your thumb! That must be a hell of a nuisance as well as ouchy.
I know but I took YNnB’s “us” to mean humans.
Yes, this time I was limiting the “us” to humans.
I want to take just a quick moment to plug your local outdoors club, because they almost certainly offer inexpensive classes on hiking, backpacking, and more. If this father had taken such a course, he would not have made this mistake and his child would most likely be alive today. Here in the Pacific Northwest, the premier club is The Mountaineers. In Colorado it is the Colorado Mountain Club. I’m uncertain what is out east in the USA, but I’m aware that the Appalachian Mountain Club is active and has many offerings. There are multiple clubs doing the same in the UK, and across Europe, and I’m sure they exist in Australia and New Zealand, too. Often these classes consist of one or two evening lectures, followed by a fun weekend outing where you get to practice. Make friends, have fun, learn to survive! They will teach you a lot of things that are counter-intuitive, but which may save your life.
Also, take a First Aid course if you can. I am the membership coordinator for a unit of my local Search and Rescue group, so I’m constantly seeking out first aid offerings to alert our members who need to update their certifications. These courses take about a day, but you’ll not only learn to recognize things like heat stroke, but also how to effectively mitigate them. Here in the USA, the best First Aid courses are often offered through your local Fire Department, and they’re often free. Or you can pay big bucks to the Red Cross, but you’ll at least be able to take the class at your leisure, in that case.
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