Woman Dies Hiking in the Extreme Heat in the Santa Monica Mountains

CNN ^

[nickcarraway]

A 41-year-old woman died after hiking in extreme heat in the Santa Monica Mountains on Saturday with temperatures above 110 degrees.

The woman was hiking with a friend and began to feel sick, so the pair turned around and headed back toward the car, according to preliminary reports from the LA County Sheriff's Department. Her friend called paramedics after the woman collapsed.

Paramedics with the Los Angeles County Fire Department arrived on the scene where they conducted CPR on the woman for about 20 or 30 minutes, said Arteaga, but were unable to revive her.

[ZinGirl]

Last year I found LiquidIV on Amazon. Single-use packets of electrolytes to add to a bottle of water. They’ve really made a difference. They’re available at Costco now.

https://www.liquid-iv.com/

[Caipirabob]

Glad to hear this - refreshing that you and others do take these things seriously.

We've always tried to prepare and at least once it's really saved us from true misery.

[cyclotic]

Ten essentials is really a thing.

We were hiking in the Smokies a few years ago. There’s a 1 mile trail that goes deep into a valley to a waterfall. It’s heavily traveled. we were prepped with water, food etc. So many people wearing flip flops, maybe a 16 oz water bottle, carrying a baby, 90 degrees, high humidity.

The walk down was fun, the walk back not so much.

Years back, I was on a hike and we crossed paths with 3-4 teenage boys, Again, very hot day. I was almost out of water but the end of our hike was 1/4 mile or so. One of the boys we passed was looking pretty rough and had an empty water bottle. I offered mine to him several times and he refused.

Found out later he ended up in the hospital that evening. Since then, I’ve become more forceful at offering help.

[webheart]

Hyponatremia

[webheart]

Perspiration works on the principle of osmosis. The sweat glands push sodium out and water follows. Water evaporates and cools leaving salt behind. Salt is not reabsorbed leading to hyponatremia. Heart rhythms and neural impulses depend on a balance of sodium and potassium. When sodium is depleted the balance changes and potassium becomes excessive. This is the condition of hyperkalemia. Potassium is an ingredient in euthanizing agents for expired pets and executed criminals. There is only one way for the body to eliminate excess potassium and that is by vomiting. That’s why feeling sick is a good indicator of hyponatremia. The solution is to eat a salty snack.

[Maigrey]

I personally would stop at the Agnes Vaille cabin at the Keyhole but then I know my limits for climbing & scrambling, much less going up to the summit.

Even on my dayhikes on flatlands I've got the 10 essentials with me, even if it seems redundant and pointless - until it's not.

[Maigrey]

I keep the equivalent of 1 gal of Gatorade powder in my pack when hiking. I’ve used it a couple of times when it got hotter than expected & I still had 4 miles to get back to the car.

[Maigrey]

I've stopped a few times and rendered aid to someone in need, whether from an Endo off their trail bike (he needed cleaning up and getting the sand out of his cuts) to a young lady a mile from the closest exit point (and yet still 3 miles from their car) who hadn't eaten before the hike and was having a hypoglycemic incident - and a Mom who wasn't being helpful and downright difficult.

At least she was until I did check her pulse and vitals and told her Mom she was close to passing out from heat exhaustion & low blood sugar.

I walked her the mile to the road & watched her get in and get a quart of Gatorade before I continued hiking and before they departed.