I worked the deserts for many years. The Sonoran from Gila Bend to Ajo to Yuma. Sometimes it was very hot and dry. Reaching the 120 mark.
I don’t understand people who go into these areas and do not understand the risk.
I live about 20 miles from the northern border of Death Valley and about a decade ago, I met a young British couple with a less than year old baby. They asked me about taking a back way into to Death Valley that looks like a shortcut on a map. I explained to them that it was mostly a rugged dirt road and that their rental car, a sedan, would likely get stuck and they could die in the heat. They were very insistent that they were going to do it anyway when I told them that maybe their skeletons would be found in the Fall. I think that changed their minds, but I'm not sure of that.
I got lucky when I worked for the National Forest and got stationed in Sierra NF beat. We would cruise the logging roads looking for people and clearing roads from fallen trees. (I loved that job). People didn’t die from heat, but occasionally they would break down and freeze to death. I can’t imagine visiting Death Valley again, (or any of the deserts out there) without gallons of water, food, blankets (120 in the daytime and 30 at night) shelter, and a CB.
Mother Nature is a cold hearted bitch and does everything in her power to kill us.
Prepare accordingly. Always.