The number of people wildly, fatally unprepared for visits to Death Valley recently is disturbing… I can kind of excuse the ignorance of a Northern European who simply has no concept of, no frame of reference for, the kind of heat involved though. They didn’t know enough to know they had to be prepared. He’s really going to pay for that ignorance, though - third degree burns on the feet (which don’t heal easily) is probably going to impact him for the rest of his life.
It’s not clear what happened to the man’s shoes — whether they fell apart or he lost them
It seems that when the air temperature hits around 113F, rock and paved surfaces are hot enough to melt at least some types of shoes. So I’d expect flip flops wouldn’t survive those temperatures. I also can’t imagine someone losing a shoe in that situation and thinking, “oh no, it’s fine, I can get along without it…” and continuing on without the lost shoe.
This is a routine occurrence in cities in Arizona as well. More than a dozen people die from burn injuries alone in Phoenix every year caused by touching the ground. Many more people get third degree burns. It doesn’t take much. There was a story of someone who fell over in their back yard, but the pain of the burns from touching the ground prevented him from just pushing himself back up. By the time his family heard his screams and came outside to help him, he had widespread third degree burns. It’s only California’s deserts that have this kind of heat and few people live there, so it’s mostly tourists having this kind of issue.
Even when driving locally I carry an extra car key on my ‘home’ keyset. When working as a locksmith in the 80s I made a bundle every winter morning opening locked running cars at people’s homes. They didn’t even have a spare key in the house!
I occasionally locked myself out of my car but carried picks in my wallet and stashed a spare key outside my service truck because of occasionally slamming a door shut with the lock button down.
I get that people are only human but Death Valley is famous for oven temperature heat and part of the reason people go there to experience it. Belgium and other European countries have had high temperatures and heat domes so the tourist doesn’t have any excuse. I’ve had the soles of old steel toed running shoes melt on really hot asphalt (luckily the steel sole plate stayed attached to the upper). The next protective footwear had much better construction.
Government interference in personal choices and all, but maybe the NPS should close it down or otherwise restrict access in summer. The disappointed tourists can always go to Yellowstone and boil themselves.
Better than denial: criminalising the thoughtcrime of paying attention to it!
English Conservative Party are way ahead of the curve (but then they do owe Russian oligarch money for the most corrupt and incompetent regime ever. That’s them btw.)
Had a similar experience at a local beach about six years ago and got second degree burns on my feet. It was a beach I went to all the time but the sun was unusually bright that day so I wasn’t prepared for how freakishly hot the sand was. I realized my mistake about halfway between the sidewalk and the water and figured I might as well ditch the flip flops and sprint to the surf rather than continue burning slowly. Probably not the best idea it retrospect.
The worst part was getting back, because I didn’t want my dog’s feet to burn too so I ended up having to limp back through the hot sand carrying an 85-pound golden retriever. Luckily my kids had proper shoes on and were able to walk ahead and lay down a towel for us to stand on every 40 feet or so.
I’ve done the hot sand relay thing a couple of times in my life. At least two times that I remember, thankfully made it both times without burning my feet but it’s a good life lesson, flip flops are convenient but don’t expect them to be durable. And no matter what, bring shoes even if you won’t need them.
We may be entering a climate era when just wearing shoes isn’t enough. You have to make sure the shoes are sufficiently heat resistant. I don’t know how to do this.
i have profound neuropathy in my left foot. so much so that i can walk, barefoot, across the crushed coral rock that is my yard. i won’t feel the shred to the sole of my foot, and track a bloody mess into the house, if i am stupid enought to do this.
with that unsavory image in your mind, picture this:
post amputation of my right foot - due to a nasty accident (not diabetes) - i was still in a wheelchair and living in that hell-on-earth, Phoenix, AZ. papi had flown in to be with me while i got used to navigating my new condition (he has extensive training in wheelchair fitting and rehab). we decided to grill some chops on the patio and i was out there tending the grill in my chair - no shoe or sock on that foot. in only a very few moments, my foot had become deeply blister-burnt over the entire sole from repeatedly touching the cement of the patio. i did not feel it at the time.
ER department at the local hospital to treat the burn and weeks of recovery before i could resume my PT. summer temps about 110F. who knows how hot that sun-baked cement patio was.
lesson learned - i have to wear a shoe always!
a “flip flop” just won’t do.
