As the Earth warms, even the most experienced recreationists can be caught off guard. Outdoor adventurers should adjust their trip plans to account for variations needed in nutrition, hydration, physical training, route selection and emergency plans. Adaptation also may be warranted due to a mix of climate-related variables that can cause stress (or worse) on the trail.
Among climate challenges, perhaps the most obvious pattern is the rise of heat waves and longer duration of the summer season. In Utah, three heat-related fatalities occurred among hikers in Canyonlands National Park and Snow Canyon State Park — including a 30-year-old who suffered in the triple-digit heat — last summer. Recently, the world experienced its warmest year on record for the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, including the land and ocean, according to the “2023 Global Climate Report” from NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.
Heat Exhaustion and Hyponatremia
Local outdoor guide Becky Fuys recalls facing heat exhaustion on a five-day backpacking trip in the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park. She and her hiking partner were switching camp locations one morning, but the temperatures were hotter than expected, especially for a trek in April.
Trudging through the canyon with their heavy packs, Fuys started to act strange — she was grumpy and rude toward her friend, Jackie. She later realized that one culprit of her heat exhaustion was a case of mild hyponatremia, a condition where the sodium level in the blood is lower than normal, which causes the emotional part of the brain — the limbic system — to flair, she explains. The early signs of heat exhaustion include experiencing general fatigue and feeling lethargic. Dehydration can occur alongside heat-related illness but doesn’t always.
Recognizing that something was up, Jackie sat Fuys down in the shade and poured a bit of water into an electrolyte packet to make a goop, which she gave to Fuys to drink. “She said that I looked like a video game character who leveled-up in two minutes from being grumpy and gloomy to being happy and energized,” says Fuys.
As Fuys waited in the shade, her headache dissipated and she used a cool compress, rested and waited for her heart rate to slow down, skin temperature to decrease, redness to dissipate, and body to relax. Blood vessels in the skin dilate to increase the transfer of fluids, leading to red skin and a warm core — both signs that it’s time to rest and cool down the body.
Fortunately, Fuys was able to recover and rebound in the field. “We slowly continued on with the activity. Afterward, I had to make sure I wasn’t going to tip back into heat exhaustion,” she says.
Following the close call, Fuys realized that she is vulnerable to heat and hyponatremia, because she drinks so much water during outdoor activities. To help, she added electrolytes to her routine.
Other Ailments and Solutions
The most common health issues that recreationists experience in Utah are dehydration and sunburn, says Fuys.
“You can mitigate that risk by stashing a sunscreen stick in your pack and bringing water with you,” she said. “A lot of people don’t realize how much water they actually lose, especially in dry climates like in Utah when they’re not feeling as sweaty. You can lose 3 to 4 liters of water an hour. Acclimation to the temperatures you recreate in is another big variable,” she says.
If you get too hot or if you’re really dehydrated, don’t chug your water, Fuys suggests. “Take small sips of water every 10 minutes that your body can absorb.” She adds, “Dunk a bandana or sun hoodie in a stream and wear it while you hike to cool your body down.”
One sign that heat exhaustion is potentially moving toward heat stroke is confusion or slurred speech. “When a person becomes really hot, their brain is cooking, so their vital signs and level of responsiveness, or mental status, can be impacted at a more alarming rate,” says Fuys.
Outdoor travelers should pay attention to the temperature variability between the lower elevations, like in Salt Lake City, versus the surrounding benches and mountains, which can be cooler, notes Fuys. “To escape heat, go up in altitude. Also, avoid being out in the heat during the hottest parts of the day or take a lunch break,” she says.
In addition to heat, outdoor travelers might notice larger or new swarms of mosquitoes at elevations and locations where they didn’t traditionally reside. Expanding mosquito populations are coupled with a rise of vector-borne diseases such as West Nile virus, as detected in Salt Lake County last summer.
Venturers may also discover that historic water resupply spots, such as on foot treks or mountain bike routes, have become leaner or dried up, following a pivot of seasonal temperatures and precipitation. It also could become increasingly important to check the air quality before a trip departure, due to the surge of wildfires, air pollution and fine particles.
Preparing has become more challenging. “You should pack rain layers and wear protective footwear that’s appropriate for mud,” she emphasizes.
Education and Emergency Plans
“It’s so important to recognize early warning signs of heat-related illness, like headaches or mood swings, and I’m happy I had a hiking partner that checked in on me,” says Fuys about her incident in Canyonlands.
To help recreationists prepare for days in the remote wilderness, Fuys founded Backcountry Ready, an outdoor education school specializing in backcountry rescue skills and empowering the adventure community, in October 2023.
Backcountry Ready offers two-day Wilderness First Aid courses, which are geared toward anyone who recreates remotely in the backcountry, including day hikers.
“You can get remote pretty quickly. By definition, a remote location is when you are an hour or more from a hospital. If you are a half-mile up a trail and break your leg, it could be more than an hour by the time you get to the hospital,” says Fuys.
The coursework covers CPR and environmental illnesses such as heat illness, dehydration and hypothermia, as well as medical emergencies like hyperventilation and allergic, anaphylaxis, asthma or diabetic attacks. In addition, students learn how to create an emergency response plan and how to call for help.
Having an evacuation plan can be essential. In one heat-related incident last summer, six motorcyclists suffered the extreme temperatures of 128 degrees in California’s Death Valley National Park. The closest hospital was more than 60 miles away from the visitor center, and a rescue helicopter could not aid the emergency. Extreme heat and humidity lead to thin air, making the rotor blades ineffective.
Backcountry Ready also provides a longer course, Wilderness First Responder, which is five to eight days for professional guides and folks that do extreme sports or multi-day trips in very remote settings without a cell signal. And Fuys teaches entry-level clinics for private groups.
Various online mapping tools are available to help plan backcountry travel as well, such as onX Backcountry app that allows users to access maps offline. The app also provides near real-time updates of wildfire locations and smoke.
“At onX Backcountry, we work closely with a trusted network of local adventurers and industry experts to verify and curate the trail information in the app. We also have a QA [quality assurance] team focused on validating this data before it publishes. As a result, onX provides relevant, reliable and responsible recreation information, equipping backcountry adventurers with expert-backed insights they can trust,” says Senior Content Manager Andy Sovick.
Preparing for outdoor adventures has never been so accessible. Whether you’re taking a wilderness medicine course or learning how to use innovative digital tools for trip planning, it’s never too late to get started or refresh your skills for remote backcountry travel.
