August 6, 2008
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So I decided to hike up Squaw Peak today...not a good idea. I had hiked in the mountain preserve and up Lookout Mountain right after I first got here but I guess I've really gotten accustomed to my air conditioning over the last few weeks. It was HOT today. No shade. Little hot breeze. Not to mention a tall steep climb.
I had more water than anyone I saw out there, I took it slow, and I still didn't make it to the top. In fact, when I had about 20 oz. of water left I decided to just go back down. However, that did not stop what will now forever traumatize my mind. Everyone else I saw hiking the summit trail had one bottle of water! And they were like running up there huffing and puffing but doing fine none the less! I felt like my stomach was just FULL of water (I had drank 2 bottles already in like half a mile walk). I was workin on my last bottle which happened to be an insulated extra large bottle full of ice that I usually take on my bike. Anyway, I noticed that despite my constant intake of water and bulging veins, I was not sweating any longer. I also noticed my skin was BRIGHT red. I started to feel sleepy, weak, complete with muscle shakes. I became a little confused. I was already on my way down (which is always much easier than going up) and I missed the trail at one of the turns (this is how confused I became... I was to the point of wandering off aimlessly). I was nauseous. Things felt cloudy, I was very hot but getting goosebumps and feeling a little hazy and numb. I just wanted to lay down where I was.
Of course, being a nurse and also having read this book about Death in the Grand Canyon, I knew I didn't really have long and was just praying to make it down to my car safely without consequences. Literally praying, every step. I could see my car; it looked so small and far away! I ran out of water before I was down partly because I had to use small amounts to splash on my skin since I wasn't producing sweat anymore. Oh mercy. I somehow made it down but I was NOT okay. I got in my car and felt SO weak, I couldn't hardly drive my car. It was hard to use the pedals. I was driving home and felt like it was worse than being drunk. I missed my exit because I was so hazy and confused. The AC on high just wasn't helping that much. I needed cold liquids!
So I had no choice but to stop at the first place I saw which happened to be Jack in the Box and got a cold soda (I know, not the best for rehydration but it was cold). That felt good but I didn't recover for several hours. I almost didn't make it up the stairs to my apartment either! It took a long cold shower, rest, and some potassium and sodium rich guacamole to feel more alive
Trust me, Arizona is hot. I am so sick of hearing "it's a dry heat". I can ride my bike 20 miles in KC in 100 degree weather, but I can't walk up a mountain in AZ more than like half a mile without almost dying.
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