Okay, as a newbie I’m going to make a bold move and go out on a limb here. Feel free to throw tomatoes my way
It was not the heat, folks. Heatstroke didn’t kill them, full stop. Which means there was no long, horrible suffering, no babies or dogs in agony, no dramatic trailside decisions. You can continue to imagine all kinds of awful things about this poor family’s last hours if you wish, but there’s absolutely no reason or evidence to support those imaginings.
Let’s quickly set aside LE’s apparent lack of focus on heatstroke. Some of you have rightly pointed out how much of a nonissue it seems to be to them, and how irresponsible it is that they are not being more vocal. That should tell you something. LE is in the business of protecting people. When two people died recently a few days apart in Death Valley, LE was calling “suspected heatstroke” shortly after the bodies were recovered and long before autopsy. They’re not doing that here. For good reasons.
Here’s why. You cannot conclude that because it was, say, 105 degrees, the heat killed these people, or even made them uncomfortable. That’s a basic misunderstanding of how our bodies physically change and acclimate to our temperature surroundings. Hot weather is relative, and what feels insufferable to you may feel mild to someone else. Ever wonder how a tourist from Chicago can succumb to heatstroke in less than an hour hiking in Death Valley in 115 degree heat, while the rangers who live there can perform SAR for hours on end in long pants? It’s because the rangers’ bodies are acclimated.
Here’s a good description of the heat acclimating process:
Heat Index - Acclimatizing Workers | Occupational Safety and Health Administration
From the above OSHA article:
“ Workers become gradually acclimatized when exposed to hot conditions for several weeks. Physical changes in blood vessels and in sweating occur to dissipate heat more effectively.”
and
“Humans are, to a large extent, capable of adjusting to the heat. Much of this adjustment to heat, under normal circumstances, usually takes about 5 to 7 days, during which time the body will undergo a series of changes that will make continued exposure to heat more endurable.”
This family lived there, and by all accounts spent a lot of time outdoors hiking in the weather. All of them, even the baby, were acclimated. Acclimating doesn’t mean you get used to feeling hot and uncomfortable- it means your body has made physical changes so that you DON’T feel hot and uncomfortable, you can stay cool more efficiently, and you are at not at high risk for heat injury or heatstroke.
Now, if they were like some residents of the California Foothills who spend most of the summer months inside in air-conditioning, that might alter my opinion. But that doesn’t sound like them.
Someone here a few threads back used the temperature readings at El Portal, CA as a good comparison of the conditions in the trail area, and that’s fair. So, here are the daily highs recorded at that station for the entire month before August 15:
7/15 - 99.1
7/16 - 99.3
7/17 - 103.5
7/18 - 103.6
7/19 - 99
7/20 - 102.6
7/21 - 103.3
7/22 - 104.5
7/23 - 102.9
7/24 - 104.9
7/25 - 104.5
7/26 - 99.7
7/27 - 102.7
7/28 - 104.2
7/29 - 105.1
7/30 - 105.1
7/31 - 100.4
8/1 - 103.1
8/2 - 104.0
8/3 - 108.1
8/4 - 107.4
8/5 - 100.0
8/6 - 100.0
8/7 - 100.6
8/8 - 100.8
8/9 - 101.7
8/10 - 102.9
8/11 - 106.0
8/12 - 106.0
8/13 - 105.1
8/14 - 106.3
8/15 - 107.1
Source:
Personal Weather Station Dashboard | Weather Underground
The corresponding temperatures at the Jerseydale Station were a few degrees lower, but still high 90s to low 100s.
So, Jon, Ellen, and Miju were like the Death Valley rangers, while most of us would be like the Chicago tourist. Physically, the three of them were different than us. They would feel cooler and be able to keep a normal core temperature for much longer than we would.
Now… throw in the facts that 1) at least 1/3 of their hiking route had them walking consistently alongside a river that had access points along the way, 2) that section of the river was upstream from the algal mats found at Hites Cove, 3) they had at least some water that we know of, and perhaps things like food and empty water bladders we haven’t heard about, and 4) they were all found together on trail.
Can ANYONE find a case of multiple outdoor heatstroke deaths (couples, hikers, etc) where the bodies were found within 200 yards of each other? I can’t.
Okay, commence the tomato throwing, lol.
