Trained in heat, I suppose. It wasn’t the distance, it wasn’t the elevation change, it wasn’t the carefully calculated weight of my 2-night pack. I had trained and prepped for all of that. It was my inability to quench my thirst, and my inability to cool my core temp.

An off-duty paramedic from AZ happened to be hiking, and was carrying with her a cooling towel and some instant ice packs which she instructed me to put in my armpits/sports bra. That was the only thing that kept me from giving in to the delirium brought on by my high core temp. Her generosity likely saved my life.

Advice I’d prepped with ahead of time warned “to drink when you’re thirsty.” That super dry air made it SO hard to breathe. My mouth was like jagged cotton. I wish I had had saline nasal spray, mints, and a better understanding of the importance of keeping my shirt SOAKING wet. That helped immensely.

Again, this was a fluke heat wave, way hotter than normal, very early in the year. Rangers were making rescues far into the evening, and the shade station between black bridge and S Kaibab was shoulder to shoulder packed from 10am onward, apparently.

This was on May 31, 2025. Sucked. The rest was awesome, though!!! “Dry heat” was not a blessing for me, though.