Some random thoughts on desert hiking ...
I love the desert; my wife and kids don't love it so much. They'd rather be by the pool. Actually, so would I, but I do like to get out in the heat once in a while and look around. I've done some of what I'd say are "advanced intermediate" hikes; I certainly don't claim to be an uber experienced hiker though.
Anyway, I just wanted to share a couple of observations.
1). As I mentioned in my earlier post, I was at JT two days after Paul went missing. I believe it was hotter then than the previous two days. We went from spot to spot, and maybe spent 30 minutes each at 4 popular spots, and although my pool-loving kids whined a bit, they did fine overall. I would never knowingly put them in danger of course. Carry way more water than you think you'll need.
2). I think all of the warning signs are great, but I think they can also lull people into thinking they're just there for liability reasons, and then people tend to ignore them like the boy crying wolf. I call this the "Disneyland Effect"; safety is so dumbed-down in our culture that sometimes it's easy to take real dangers for granted. If you're in a foreign country where you can walk into a hole in the street 2 feet deep if you're not paying attention, then you tend to have a little more respect for places like say, a National Park. OTOH, some people are just plain unreachable. See next paragraph.
3). I went to Death Valley last year in August, and got a nice photo posing by the thermometer saying 120 degrees. I did do a little hiking there with some buddies (wife and kids stayed at home, poolside); nothing extreme, maybe 2 miles at most for a little under 2 hours, at a stretch. One of my friends actually jogged. Uphill. For about 15 minutes. Anyway, outside of my friend jogging (although he's young and in shape) I felt like we were always following good safety and never felt danger in the least. However, at Badwater Basin (lowest place in U.S., and hottest temp ever recorded), many tourists were wandering around in shorts and tank tops! Some were as red as lobsters. Granted, most of these people were probably going from one spot to another in their air-conditioned cars, but still, come on, people! Cover up in extreme heat.
4). On that last note, for the life of me, I don't know why I don't see more people carrying a reflective umbrella in desert environments. I swear, in my subjective opinion, it feels 10 degrees cooler with one. Granted, there's times you can't carry it (going through brush for instance), but the weight penalty is so negligible, I don't know why just about everyone doesn't carry one. No need for that radiant heat beating down on you in addition to all the ambient heat. How many people in the desert have said, I just wish I had some shade (and some water)?
5). Comparing Death Valley to Joshua Tree, in my very limited experience with both parks (I've only been one time to each), I'd have to say Joshua Tree was a much spookier environment to my eye. Obviously, Death Valley has the name and the fame going for it (after all, they didn't call it Pleasant Valley), whereas Joshua Tree merely has Rock and Roll fame. And although both parks are obviously remote and dangerous if you're unprepared or do something stupid, it looks like it would be a lot easier to get lost in Joshua Tree, and the terrain in general looks rougher. In Death Valley, most of the "attractions" (if you can call things like the Devil's Golfcourse attractive) are on the East side of the valley, and the terrain is flat for as far as the eye can see, and the Panamint Mountains stare you in the face at the opposite side of the valley. It would almost be impossible to get lost there on a casual hike in most of the tourist spots. In Joshua Tree, I was constantly doing a double-take on my surroundings, looking for landmarks, the position of the sun, etc., and also looking at my footing; even though I never felt in danger, it definitely seemed like a more challenging environment for the many casual hikers that go there.
