Latest / Wildlands Podcast — National Parks, Public Lands & Survival
#016 - Field Skills: Desert Heat | Water, Electrolytes & Hiking Down First
Some of the sickest heat-illness patients ever studied at the Grand Canyon weren't dehydrated — they had drunk so much plain water without replacing salt that they nearly killed themselves doing the responsible thing. That single fact is why desert heat deserves its own episode. Drink more water and you'll be fine is not the whole story.
Host Shawn Spainhour, a former Army officer, breaks down what actually goes wrong in the body on a hot trail. The spectrum from heat cramps to heat exhaustion to heat stroke, and why mental state — not sweating or thirst — is the clearest line between a…
The skinny
The skinny isn't ready yet — notes appear once the transcript is processed.