Staying safe in extreme desert heat

Beth Hudick, from Saguaro National Park, provides essential tips for staying safe while exploring the park during extreme desert heat.

Transcript

00:00So if you close your eyes and imagine a cactus that is a saguaro. It is the iconic cactus species

00:07of the desert. You know really tall can be up to 50 feet with the arms. If you're just imagining a

00:13desert scene there's probably saguaros in it. All right during this hot summer by the way

00:18have there been any medical emergencies with hikers or other visitors?

00:23No we have had about a dozen so far this summer and that's unfortunately that seems to happen

00:29each summer. We have folks who are out there hiking and they either overestimate their

00:33abilities or more likely they underestimate the heat. Then if that's the case can you share some

00:40heat safety guidelines? What are park rangers telling visitors to stay safe in a desert

00:44environment? I would say the best thing that you can do is to plan ahead. You know check the

00:51forecast, check the alerts on the park website, make sure that you know what you're getting into.

00:57If you've got a long hike planned and the forecast calls for hotter weather,

01:03have a backup plan. Have a shorter hike. Have a couple of short hikes that you can do

01:07where you can still see the park but not spend quite as long in the desert heat.

01:12If you're not exercising regularly and heat and humidity or lack of humidity like this

01:18in these conditions you know I would say just take it easier than you might think you should.

01:24And of course lots and lots of water. Have at least a quart of water,

01:28drink at least a quart of water for every hour that you're going to be out hiking.