Get a job, lardass

[Jester]

I'd never been hiking in the desert before. I did several stupid things.

I'd learned a valuable lesson.

Allow me to provide you with some more lessons about hiking in the desert or in high heat. There are three important rules you need to know about such hiking:

1. Hydrate.
2. Hydrate.
3. Hydrate.

I don't care if you bring water, Gatorade, some other sports drink, fruit juice....bring SOMETHING. Now, as much as I love beer, that is for after the hike, as alcohol dehydrates you. The only way I would make an exception for this is if, in addition to the beer, you have plenty of other rehydrating liquids available.

Now, here's some tips for you non-desert folks that could come in handy the next time you find yourself in my kind of area, and definitely things I recommend from my last time hiking the Grand Canyon.

Before I even started down the trail, I went in to the men's room, took my t-shirt and ballcap off, threw them in the sink, and soaked them down. Before even starting and, and ignoring the fact that I'm more used to the desert than most of the rest of the people on the trails, this one thing made me ten degrees cooler than everyone else. And since it's a DRY heat, not a humid heat like here in Florida, it worked really well. Also, it's not a bad idea to stick your head under the faucet and soak your hair down. Hint to the ladies: desert hiking is not the activity for showing off your latest impressive 'do, whether or not you soak your hair down. Anything more complex than a pony tail, you are the wrong person in the wrong place, mmmkay?

Also, I took a backpack with me, within which I had trail mix, Gatorade, and water. More than enough for me, probably would have been enough for a non-desert person. But always bring more than you think you'll need. "Oh, but I can fill my canteen along the way." Really? Not a lot of streams in the desert or in the Canyon. Yeah, there's the Colorado River....but that's at the bottom, and there's a lot of desert between here and there. "Oh, but they have water stops along the way." Yes. Yes, they do. And the water mains break in the Grand Canyon Park A LOT. They were broken the day I was there, and a lot of people were "trapped" in various rest areas, as they had not brought any of their own water. I, on the other hand, was free to come and go as I pleased, as I had my own supply, thank you very much. (It was 114 that day. In the shade. Fine for me. Not so much for the folks from Iowa.)

Footwear: While you don't necessarily need hiking boots, you want something solid that you are comfortable with, and that is not open. Sandals? No. We have a lot of nasties in the desert. Flip flops? Hell no. Good cross trainer sneakers, hiking boots, hiking shoes, something with grip. I prefer cross trainers, but whatever....just make sure it's solid, it's closed, and it's comfortable.

If you are uncertain with your footing on rough trails, there is nothing wrong with bringing a walking stick. I did, even though I am usually very sure-footed. I also wore my full-fingered biking gloves, not only for holding the stick, but just for grabbing anything in general. Things get hot in the desert. Believe it or not, the gloves helped.

Headwear: This is a good idea. I wore a ballcap, but brimmed hats in general are good, especially if you are not from the desert and/or of the fair complexion type. Sunglasses are highly recommended as well.

Brain: not optional in the desert. Sadly, so many people leave theirs behind.

i have to disagree on your first point, though. there's nothing wrong with solo hiking if 1. you know what you're doing and where you're going...

Ah, but the OP did not, on either point. So in their case, solo hiking was not an intelligent decision, as they themselves ascertained.

[Sapphire Silk]

Ah, but the OP did not, on either point. So in their case, solo hiking was not an intelligent decision, as they themselves ascertained.

Exactly. I had never been to the Superstitions before (though I did have USGS maps and a compass, which I know how to use). I did NOT leave any information about where I was going with anyone. No one would have known I was missing had I gone missing.

I wore appropriate clothing for the climate. I wore a hat. Hair in pony tail. I soaked down the hat, not the rest of my clothing (good idea btw). I wore sunblock on my exposed skin. I wore hiking boots that were well broken in and good quality socks. I had a backpack that was actually a camel pack, filled with water plus two water bottles. Had trail mix, and a first aid kit. Maps and compass. Good quality knife. My camera of course (I did get some great pics while I was out there).

I'd have been good to go here in North Carolina. I'm well familiar with the terrain and with the Appalachians in general. Been hiking them, alone or in groups, since I was 9.

I was NOT good to go in the Superstitions.

I got very lucky.

[AdminAssistant]

I was talking with my hairdresser about the Oscars, and 127 Hours eventually came up. My hairdresser just huffed and said, "Dumbass deserved it! You don't go out alone without telling someone when you're leaving, where you're going, and when you expect to be back. Guess he was never a Boy Scout."

[Moirae]

You're nicer than me. I love my mom, I really do. She was my best friend for most of my life before she died. But I was not above using the f word, the b word, and more on her if she was being a jerk to me.

[Jester]

I'd have been good to go here in North Carolina.

I was NOT good to go in the Superstitions.

You were actually better prepared than a lot, if not most, of tourists in general. Hell, you were somewhat better prepared than I was when I hiked the Canyon! I had no knife, no maps, no compass, no GPS, no first aid kit, went solo, never had been there, and the Camelbak was impressive. Now, I had no sunblock either, but I only ever really bother with it when I'm out on the water....didn't really need it at the Canyon, though I do recommend it for most people. My only real advantage over you was that, while I was not familiar with the trail itself, I was quite used to and familiar with the desert in general, and knew my abilities and limitations therein.

You're nicer than me. I love my mom, I really do. She was my best friend for most of my life before she died. But I was not above using the f word, the b word, and more on her if she was being a jerk to me.

Heh.

I had a roommate in the college dorms that was very respectful of his parents, bordering on fearful, always referring to them on the food as "Sir" and "Ma'am." So of course he about had a heart attack when he heard me on the phone with my mom saying stuff like, "Mom, that's a load of shit and you know it."

I love and respect my Mom, but we are far more casual than his family was.

The funniest was one morning when the phone rang at about 8 in the morning. It was right near the head of my bed, so of course I answered it. I believe my exact words were, "It's 8 in the morning. What the fuck do you want? Oh...hold on. Dude, it's your dad."

My roommate shot awake and upright and was Yes Sirring and No Sirring on the phone like mad. Me, I went back to sleep.

Hey, not my fault his dad called at 8 in the damn morning.

[Seshat]

I'd have been good to go here in North Carolina. I'm well familiar with the terrain and with the Appalachians in general. Been hiking them, alone or in groups, since I was 9.

My father used to live next door to a national park, here in Aussieland. One of his first paid jobs was maintaining the tracks in that park.

Rescuing lost tourists was a sort of sideline....


I've said this before, but we get a lot of people going off into the Outback unprepared. This is why when people talk to me about coming to Australia, I tend to say 'in the cities, you'll be fine. In the wilds, stick to specific tourist spots, or talk to the locals BEFORE going out. The police or tourist information centres should be your best friends; the Surf Lifesaving Association if you're heading for the beach'.

Panacea: in our forests, you'd probably have been fine. May have ended up with an uncomfortable night if you were counting on twilight and were in a rainforest; but by the sound of it, you'd have just stayed put, wrapped yourself up and slept until morning, then finished following the trail then.

In our deserts... you'd have had the same experience as in Arizona.

[AdminAssistant]

I've watched entirely too much Crocodile Hunter to go off traipsing in the Outback without armed guards. Australia is beautiful and I'd love to visit, but damn if you guys don't have all kinds of deadly wildlife.

[Seshat]

Honestly, it's not that bad. Just make sure you take the reasonable precautions the locals recommend.

I mean, okay, yes Steve Irwin was an expert AND had a full film crew with him and still died... but he also made a career of seeking out and dealing with the dangerous and deadly.

As a tourist, you'll be listening to the locals and avoiding the river that the crocodiles are in, or the beach that has the box jellyfish. Right? Right!

For swimming at beaches/rivers/etc, trust the Surf Lifesavers.
For hiking, tourist information can provide you with the walking tracks suitable for your skill level, and can direct you to the appropriate Parks & Wildlife information service for whichever of our states you're in.
If you're planning to drive in the Outback, check with BOTH the police AND the state's automobile association. (Tourist information can give you the info for that, too.)
If you're here between November and March, *especially* in January or February, contact the fire association before planning trips in bushland; or when talking with Parks & Wildlife or Tourist Information, find out what the fire hazard level is and what that means.
Personally, I'd recommend staying out of bushland (desert is fine, but tree/shrubland is not) on days of moderate fire danger or higher. But I'm conservative when it comes to our bushfires. I deliberately live away from the danger zone.

[ShadowBall]

Blah, I hate when my mother gets an idea in her head and then acts like she knows fucking everything about it. I cannot put anything in my mouth without her barking at me about how many calories it has. She keeps talking about how wonderful the Atkins diet sounds too - personally, I can't imagine what eating nothing but meat and fat would do to a person's cholesterol. And she was convinced that rice is bad for you too, but then I told her about how I lost 20 pounds in two weeks in college when I ate nothing but stir-fry and white rice, so now she's all about eating that.

My body definitely does not like this change - I've been kinda sick since starting this diet shit my mom's forcing me on. And she never misses a chance to tell me how fat I am and look how much thinner I was last year, how my face is so fat now, etc. Negative reinforcement works for some, but not for me...it just makes me have even less faith in myself and my abilities.

Between that and bitching at me to get a job and telling me how to write a resume (she feels that, "Tell 'em you got a hundred in English class!" is a good thing to put on a resume for a news article writing job) and making me go to college...maybe I ought to just tie some marionette strings to my limbs so she can fully control my entire life. She can decide when I take a shit and what clothes I wear too.

Losing weight is something I always try to do, but whenever my mother preaches at me to do shit, that alone is what makes me want to go and do the exact opposite. By doing what she says, even if by coincidence, it establishes the belief in her mind that I am listening to her and care what she says, so she'll keep it up.

I liked her better when she didn't give a fuck about my weight. I wish she'd go back to not giving a fuck or would just diet herself and leave me out of it. Telling me we're going to have granola bars for dinner just pisses me off.