Summer temperatures in the park
There are some precautions we can take though. I would say a very easy one is: don’t go hiking in the desert when it’s hot. Just skip that.
Two women who had been hiking at a Nevada state park were found dead on Saturday, park rangers said, as record-breaking heat waves rippled through the region and sent temperatures rising through parts of the western and southwestern United States.
The coroner’s office in Clark County, Nev., identified the women as Jessica Rhodes, 34, and Diana Matienzo Rivera, 29. State park rangers said that they had been hiking the Prospect Trail together in the Valley of Fire State Park, a desert area known for its sandstone and limestone outcroppings and rock formations that is about 45 miles northeast of Las Vegas.
Summer temperatures in the park often exceed 100 degrees and can even reach 120 degrees, according to park officials.
Soooo don’t hike there in summer.
Park rangers conducted a search and, about an hour later, found the body of one of the women on the trail, which stretches 11 miles. The body of the second woman was found at about 2 p.m. that day, near a canyon that the trail bisects, leading the rangers to believe that she had gone searching for help.
Why go for a walk in the desert when it’s extremely hot? Do people just not realize that heat can kill you?
Mr. Brunjes said that the deaths were possibly linked to heat exhaustion.
“Anytime you’re going hiking you should go extremely early, carry at least a liter of water and wear light-colored clothing,” he said. “We can’t emphasize these things enough.”
The women, Mr. Brunjes added, had worn dark-colored clothing and did not seem to have been carrying enough water.
Just stay home.
(raises hand guiltily) I did that. On my first weekend in Arizona, I had been told that in the summer (mid-September) hikes need to start early in the morning, and finish early. I thought that meant 8 am.
No. TL:dr I ended up calling an ambulance, and fortunately I was in Glendale so it was doable for them to rescue me.
I was trying to figure out why I wasn’t seeing any other hikers, since the rumor was that hiking is very popular in AZ. But, what had happened was, I had carried two water bottles with me. About half-way through the hike there was a rest area, and I filled up both bottles with water. But the water was warm, not cold. And I continue on. I made it about 100 yards into the hike, and there was no shade on that trail. I began to recognize the symptoms of heat stroke and checked my phone for the air temp which turned out to be 104F. So I turned around to go to the rest area and only made it about half-way when I realized that I was in serious trouble. I called 911 and they said they were on their way. I found what little shade that I could where the trail was cut into the hill.
The EMT’s treated me but warned my strongly that even though I was starting to feel better after having saline stronger I needed to be taken in to the ER. So, I agreed, especially considering my heart condition. The ER doc said that when people in Phoenix hike early in summer, they start at 5 am, not 8 am.
The following week I hiked again, but it was at 6k feet and the weather up there is much cooler. And I was with a group of experienced hikers. I also had electrolyte drinks and salty snacks.
Lesson learned.
-Do you want to go hiking?
-I dunno. It’s pretty hot.
-There’s this place called Valley of Fire…
-Sounds cool. I’m in.
Exactly.
Eeeeeek, Mike. I’m glad you made it out.
Me too, I hadn’t been to Seattle yet!
Bullet dodged!
My husband has given up his daily walk for the summer. It’s difficult, because he really looks forward to it, but he’s exercising on a stationary bike in the basement that used to just be called into service for blizzards.
We’ve mostly had a coolish summer here, but when the temperature went up, it went suddenly. We were in the 70s, then in the 90s. The last couple of days, we’ve been over 100. It usually goes up more gradually. Road crews are only working at night now, but the other night it was still over 80 when we went to bed at 11:00.
I’m looking forward to moving to Maine, but I fear the heat is going to follow me. Global warming doesn’t discriminate.