Under a midday sun, when the mercury rises above 100 degrees, a person can begin to suffer from heat-related illness in just a few minutes. With most of the southern United States鈥攁nd now the Pacific Northwest鈥攂aking under two months of unrelenting heat, this summer has been deadly for hikers, even on well-traveled terrain.

Among the most recent of these deaths is James Hendricks, 66, who in Utah鈥檚 Arches National Park. Hendricks had been on a cross-country road trip to celebrate the life of his late father鈥攈e planned to scatter his dad鈥檚 ashes on a peak outside Reno, Nevada. A retired carpenter from Austin, Texas, Hendricks had spent the week before his death hiking through the Southwest, before going missing on a day that hit 106 degrees Fahrenheit. Officials said it appeared that .

Like the rest of the United States, Utah has experienced prolonged, life-threatening heat this summer. Temperatures went as in mid-July, breaking a series of records. And summers like this one are going to become the norm as the planet warms, creating a new kind of risk in national parks and elsewhere.

The National Parks Service on potential cases of heatstroke in the Grand Canyon, and has found that for every degree the temperature increases, 3 percent more people will experience heat illnesses. Depending on how much the planet warms, a recent paper predicted that cases of heat illness at the Grand Canyon could more than double by 2100.

And that鈥檚 before you take into account skyrocketing attendance. According to data released by the Park Service, Arches saw its annual visitorship grow by 600,000 between 2010 and 2019, to roughly 1.6 million people. In 2021, the park was so crowded that it had to shut its entrance on 120 different days after hitting capacity. This summer, it has implemented a timed-entry system.

The firehose of parks goers and the risks of extreme heat mean that more people are more likely to be out of their element. Across the Park Service, officials are coming up with ways to combat extreme heat. Big Bend National Park in Texas, which has seen three heat-related deaths this summer, warns visitors with signs posted at all park entrances. Grand Canyon National Park maintains an updated webpage with trail and weather conditions, and tips on how to avoid the heat.

Five people have died at Arches over the past year. All have been older men, the demographic most likely to die under any circumstances at a national park. Only Hendricks’ death appears to be directly related to heat, although it may take weeks before an official cause of death is released. The rest appear to have had sudden medical events, some on trail, some in campgrounds.

But outside of Arches, heat has killed a shocking number of outdoor tourists, many of them young. And more may have died due to heat that we don鈥檛 know about. Determining whether a person died from heat, or a different medial event, can pose challenges to medical professionals. And there is no nationwide agency that documents heat deaths鈥攁nother challenge for determining just how dangerous extreme heat can be.

But heat deaths do tend to involve similar situations: a person who went hiking, biking, or running on a day when the temperature was above 100 degrees, and either got lost or ran out of water. That鈥檚 how Steve Curry, 71, likely died during a July outing in Death Valley. It鈥檚 how Kai Torres Bronson, 24, died in Southern California in July; Torres Bronson who were dehydrated, and he gave them his water. He later collapsed and died.听At least 13 other hikers are believed to have died from heat across the Southwest this year: A teenager in Big Bend National Park, a pair of women under 35 in Nevada, and ten people in Arizona ranging from 19 to 33, all caught off guard while hiking or biking in temperatures over 100 degrees. 鈥淎ll of this is 100 percent avoidable,鈥� a Tucson-area sheriff told . And heat isn鈥檛 just deadly for people pursuing recreation. On August 16, officials in Maricopa County, Arizona, said that 89 people in the greater Phoenix area had likely died from heat in 2023. That鈥檚 up from 66 in 2022.

Once heatstroke sets in, it can overwhelm even experienced athletes in minutes. Hendricks, the Arches man, died while hiking a 2.3-mile loop, his second short hike of the day. He鈥檇 spent his whole life hiking, and through his road trip, had posted panoramic views from Texas mountaintops. But his that security footage from the day of Hendricks鈥� death shows him stumbling in the early morning air, which was already in the 80s. His remains were found off the trail, suggesting that he became confused as he overheated and lost his way.

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It鈥檚 been a rough few weeks for bear-human relations.

Thee incidents occurred on Saturday, August 5 alone. In Colorado, a man camping on the banks of the Purgatoire River near the New Mexico border next to his hammock. When the man shined his flashlight at the bruin, it bit him on the arm.

In Tennessee, a black bear of a car driving through Great Smoky Mountains National Park and scratched a man sitting inside. (, the park described his injuries as 鈥渕inor.鈥�)

In Wyoming, a man was doing survey work in the Shoshone National Forest . He sustained injuries but survived the incident.

These three came on the heels of two deadly encounters. On August 3, a Montana man that had crawled into his house through a screened window. And on July 22, there was a , also in Montana. The victim, a 49-year-old woman, was found on a trail just west of Yellowstone National Park, with the tracks of a mother grizzly and cub nearby. The attack differed from the others, however, because a local coroner determined it 鈥渄id not appear to be predatory.鈥� Officials believe the woman was out for a run when she accidentally encountered the bear family. Wyoming cops in the non-fatal grizzly attack in Wyoming on August 3.

In the wake of these bear incidents, officials have reacted with similar strategies to catch the aggressive bears in question, and to limit areas of bear-human interaction. Colorado Fish and Wildlife officials if they found it. Wyoming rangers scouted the Shoshone National Forest with an overhead drone. Park Service officials in Tennessee closed the road where the scratching took place in an attempt to break bears鈥� association with cars and food.

After the Montana killing, authorities closed the area, set out non-lethal bear traps, and even searched from the air (they ). A Montana Fish and Wildlife official said that traps only work for a short window, since eventually the culprit moves on, leaving another bear to take the bait.

Good news for the bears, but bad news for their futures

Bear encounters with humans are often signs of a conservation success story. Across the country, bear populations are recovering from the predator extermination campaigns of the early 20th century. Great Smoky Mountains now reports that it鈥檚 , more than two for every square mile of the park. Colorado鈥檚 black bear population has almost doubled to around 20,000 over the last ten years. And the greater Yellowstone ecosystem鈥攁n area that encompasses both the park and surrounding protected areas鈥攊s now , up from just 136 in 1975, when the species was listed as endangered.

But the more run-ins bears have with humans, the greater chances there are for something to go wrong. These encounters sometimes risk undoing the work of conservation groups.

After the fatal Yellowstone attack, Montana congressmen Matt Rosendale called to remove the grizzly from the endangered species list, which would .

鈥淚t鈥檚 time for Congress to pass my bill to delist the grizzly bear and return management to Montanans,鈥� .

Conservative lawmakers in the West periodically push for relaxed protections on major predators鈥攂ut the evidence on whether it reduces human-bear conflicts is mixed at best. found that more hunting reduced the number of black bear complaints. But a noted that many studies had determined the opposite to be true鈥攊n one case, grizzly bear hunting had no effect on how often people were attacked, while in several others, black bears actually ended up causing more property damage after big hunting years.

It鈥檚 true that majorly reducing predator numbers has, in some cases, meant fewer conflicts. But as the Minnesota researchers found, public hunting is a 鈥渂lunt instrument:鈥� after several decades of heavy hunting through the early 2000s, the population crashed (hunters were especially likely to shoot breeding-age females), and has never recovered. There are other examples of this dynamic playing out in recent years: in 2021, killed 14 percent of Wisconsin鈥檚 gray wolves in four days, and biologists are still debating the long-term consequences.

A leading grizzly bear researcher that there鈥檚 been no measurable increase in bear attacks around Yellowstone even as grizzly populations have tripled.

If killing bears isn鈥檛 the answer, then perhaps humans simply need to be more mindful with our own relationship to the outdoors. After all, humans are encroaching on the places where recovering bears often live. Americans in the exurban fringes of forests and mountains between 1990 and 2010鈥攅xactly the places that a young bear setting out from its mother might find an unlocked garbage can. (See the in the summer of 2020, or the family of suburbs earlier this year.)

More tourists than ever are venturing in the wilderness areas that provide core bear habitat. Approximately 300 million people visited the National Parks last year鈥攂asically the entire population of the United States trotting around the tiny patches of forest we protect.

It鈥檚 clear that bears cause trouble when there鈥檚 , or when limited natural food supplies force them to scrounging for sustenance. Great Smoky Mountains National Park superintendent told the Charlotte Observer that 鈥渂erries, acorns and other primary food sources are not in season鈥� in August, which may explain why the bear was bold enough to reach into a car.

There are other ways to reduce bear attacks than to kill bears, and Great Smoky Mountains National Park happens to be a . In the 1950s, when black bears were much rarer, the park might record a dozen bear attacks in a typical year. At one picnic area, visitors would set up chairs every evening to watch bears eat out of trash cans. Park rangers regularly killed nuisance bears that had learned to approach people.

But in the 1990s, the park began a campaign to bear-proof its garbage鈥攁nd its visitors. Rangers went from relocating a dozen bears a year to just one. A record 14 million people visited Great Smoky Mountains in 2021, making it possibly the place with the most humans and bears in the country. Bear attacks so happen, but they are rare.

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In the middle of the , a pair of hikers in the mountains above Zermatt, Switzerland, discovered the body of a climber who had disappeared decades before. The human remains had been entombed in ice just a short distance from an international ski resort, and near the route up the famed Matterhorn. The discovery occurred on July 12.

Local authorities have released few details about the climber beyond the basic timeline of his disappearance. 鈥淚n September 1986, a German climber, who was 38 at the time, had been reported missing after not returning from a hike,鈥� the local police department . His remains were identified using DNA tests at a local hospital, the release said, but authorities have not released the climber鈥檚 identity.

Police also released a photo showing a pair of crampons, a single black leather boot, a gray piece of fabric, and a length of rope resting on ice.

How the climber lost his life is still unclear. The mountains surrounding Zermatt are popular and infamously deadly, and several hundred people have died while attempting the Matterhorn. In 2018 alone, on the mountain.

The location of the body gives few clues about his cause of death. He was found along the Theodul Glacier, rather than at the base of a notorious Matterhorn route. The upper portion of the glacier is more than 12,000 feet above sea level, and it sits adjacent to Zermatt Ski Resort鈥攑arts are served by multiple chairlifts. In the summer, the glacier is popular with hikers, who regularly traverse it in short-sleeve shirts. In 1965, on a bicycle. A gondola line, constructed in the 1970s, provides a panoramic view of the ice flow on its way to a luxury viewing lodge, complete with a restaurant and a theater.

Despite its proximity to buildings and chairlifts, the area presents dangers for outdoor recreation users鈥攕torms often descend on the area and trap hikers on the snow.

鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 matter really how tame the glacier is,鈥� says Dave Miller, owner of guiding company Alpine International Guides. 鈥淵ou get caught in one of those alpine storms, and even if you鈥檙e close to the ski resort, that can do you in right there. You can literally be a half mile from the ski resort and not be able to find it.鈥�

The location where the climber was discovered isn鈥檛 necessarily where he disappeared. Glaciers slowly flow downhill, and can carry bodies miles from their original locations. And as climate change melts the ice, that flow accelerates.

In recent years, the retreating glaciers across the Alps have revealed ancient relics, archaeological discoveries, and yes, human remains. In 2017, a French climber found three bodies on the Italian side of Mont Blanc鈥攁uthorities believe the three had died two decades earlier. That year a ski resort worker in Zermatt found the bodies of a couple who disappeared in 1942 while herding cattle in their mountain pasture.

Last summer, multiple hikers in Switzerland made similarly gruesome discoveries. In July, hikers found a mummified body clad in ; in August, a French climber found in the retreating Chessjen Glacier in Valais, Switzerland. Then, on August 4, debris from a plane crash on the Aletsch Glacier in Switzerland鈥檚 Bermese Alps. The plane, a Piper Cherokee, had crashed on June 30, 1968.

The Theodul Glacier has also from bygone eras. In 1985, archaeologists found coins, a dagger, and remains of a human thigh bone amid the retreating ice. Subsequent digs in the area unearthed the body of a merchant who had perished听during a crossing in the 1600s, wearing a thin pair of leather shoes.

The melting glaciers around Zermatt are bound to reveal more finds like this. According to the news site Swissinfo.ch, in the mountains of Valais Canton, where Zermatt sits.

That a body could be found so close to an international ski resort illustrates how dramatically the Alps are changing due to climate change. More than a quarter of Theodul Glacier has melted over the last 50 years. That melt has been dramatic enough to between Italy and Switzerland鈥擳heodul Glacier sits on a ridge between the two countries, and its retreat has slowly pushed an Italian alpine refuge onto Swiss territory.

This past winter dealt an especially bad blow to the Alps鈥� glaciers: temperatures in Switzerland rose above , and of the country鈥檚 glacier mass disappeared in 2022. More areas that were once covered in ice are now exposed鈥攁nd items that were stuck in the glacier are also thawing out. So common are these discoveries that the Valais Canton produced a smartphone app, called Icewatcher, which allows hikers to photograph tools, wood, or even human remains that they find on the edge of the ice, and alert the local archaeological department.

The post A Melting Swiss Glacier Has Revealed Human Remains鈥擜gain appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

My mom learned to ski in the early 1970s alongside her two younger brothers in upstate New York. My grandma鈥攚ho was not a passionate skier鈥攚ould rent gear for the whole family, drive to the mountain, and march up to the ticket window to purchase day passes. This casual approach to the sport feels like a relic today, considering the skyrocketing price of skiing.

Imagine it: parents get up in the dark and lay out winter clothes for their kids. They鈥檝e skied a few times before, not enough to own their own gear, but enough that they want to try it more. The whole family piles out of a steamy car into a pre-dawn parking lot, and heads to the ticket counter. I sincerely hope that they looked up prices ahead of time, because if not, they might be in for a nasty shock. Between rentals, lift tickets, lunch, and gas, they鈥檙e likely to spend close to $1,000.

The rising cost of skiing has been linked to consolidation within the ski industry, and to the听rise of mega-passes. This magazine has written about this shifting financial landscape, with some writers arguing that the multi-resort passes throw 鈥�a lifeline鈥� to 20+-day-a-year skiers. But that also means that the cost of single-day tickets鈥攚hich entry-level skiers often buy鈥攁re getting higher and higher.

I wanted to know what a family of four casual skiers would pay to spend an unplanned day on the hill. So I crunched the numbers. In my scenario, they are paying current gas prices, and I鈥檓 assuming that they haven鈥檛 planned this trip far enough in advance to take advantage of discounted online ticket and rental prices. They鈥檝e decided to ski on the first weekend of February鈥攄uring peak season, but not on a holiday. (Ticket prices are based on online reported prices in October, but are subject to change.) And full disclosure: I couldn鈥檛 calculate an exact cost for food. I spoke to resort public relations departments, asked local tourism offices, and even trawled online photos. Based on this research, I鈥檝e estimated the cost of lunch at the resort lodge to run between $20 and $25 per person.

Here鈥檚 how it all shook out.

Vail Ski Resort, Vail, CO: $1,341

Drive to and from Denver: $21, for a 194-mile round trip drive in an SUV鈥攍ike a Toyota RAV4 or Honda CRV鈥攚hich gets 32 MPG on the highway, with gas prices hovering around $3.50 per gallon. You can catch a Greyhound bus to the slopes from Denver, but it鈥檒l run $150 for four. (There鈥檚 also an Amtrak to Winter Park for $34 one way per person.)

Parking: $30 to park in one of the main parking garages, although you can park for free in a satellite lot and catch a shuttle in to the mountain.

Adult lift ticket: $265. You can save about $30 by buying it a little ahead of time, and Vail that 鈥渓ift tickets will be limited鈥濃�攕o there鈥檚 no guarantee that you鈥檒l be able to get one at the ticket window. For all four, that adds up to $1,060, since teenagers don鈥檛 get a special rate.

Gear rental: $66 for the base package, and more if you want powder skis or other upgrades. You can save a bit鈥攁bout $12鈥攂y reserving a few days ahead, which is because they could run out of sizes. The whole family will pay $220.

Lunch: In 2019, a cheeseburger ran $15 at Buffalo鈥檚 Roadhouse Grill. Add a drink and a cookie, and we鈥檙e close to that $20 to $25 range per person鈥攕ay, $80 for the family.听

Total: $1,341鈥拦辞耻驳丑濒测 of a one bedroom apartment in Denver!

Alta Ski Area, Alta, UT: $815

Drive to and from Salt Lake City: $8鈥攊t鈥檚 under an hour each way, even if gas in greater Salt Lake City is $4 per gallon.听

Parking: $25. , which you鈥檒l need to snag either in October, or the week before you want to go. If you buy lift tickets online, reservations go down to $10. You can also catch from either Historic Sandy Station or Midvale Fort Union Station on the Blue Line.

Adult lift ticket: $159 at the window. You鈥檒l save $8 by buying early, and you can get steeply discounted tickets at the window (about $70) if you just ski the end of the day. There鈥檚 also a $70 鈥淏eginner鈥� ticket that gives access to entry-level terrain. That鈥檒l be $636 for the family.听

Gear rental: $35, or $30 for a half-day, also for a base package. You need to call to reserve rentals by 2PM the day before. Call it $110 for the lot.听

Lunch: In 2018, a cheeseburger was $10.50 at Alf鈥檚 Restaurant. More recent photos from other base-area restaurants听show similar prices, so lunch is going to run in the neighborhood of $60.

Total: $815, this is one of the best deals we found, of a one-bedroom apartment in Salt Lake City.

Palisades Tahoe, Olympic Valley, CA: $1,300

Drive to and from San Francisco: $75. The three-ish hour drive is a bit further than most other resorts, and California鈥檚 gas prices鈥攁round $6 per gallon鈥攁re particularly expensive. The sole public appears to have closed鈥攊ts phone has been disconnected鈥攚hich is a shame because the it seem like a good time.

Parking: Free, but the resort to get a spot in one of the main lots. There are also overflow lots further from the resort that are connected by a shuttle.

Adult lift ticket: $270, but you can save $40 by buying in advance online. It鈥檒l run them $952, but if they bought earlier, they could have saved $160.听

Gear rental: $59, and again, the resort 鈥渟trongly鈥� recommends making a reservation at least the night before. $190 for four sets.

Lunch: Burgers at the Rocker tavern are $17, or around $90 for a family.听

Total: $1,300, or just over a third the average rent of a one-bedroom apartment in Oakland.

Killington Ski Resort, Killington, VT: $1,167

Drive to and from Boston: $37 for a three-hour drive, including a toll road. I鈥檓听assuming the family has an E-ZPass.

Parking: Free, with shuttle-served overflow lots.

Adult lift ticket: $195, which includes our best estimate of taxes and fees that aren鈥檛 immediately shown in the ticket price online. It鈥檚 about $40 cheaper to buy online in advance. Ticket price for two adults and two teenagers: $690 day of鈥攖eenagers get a slight discount.

Gear rental: $94 day-of, or $80 in advance. The family will pay $288 day-of.

Lunch: A customer service agent estimated that burgers and fries were about $15, so about $80 for a family.

Total: $1,167, or a quarter of the for a one-bedroom in Boston.

The Summit at Snoqualmie, Snoqualmie Pass, WA : $828

Drive to and from Seattle: $16. This is the smallest resort I鈥檝e included, and it is about an hour outside Seattle (though that can be an optimistic estimate depending on traffic). Gas in the region is about $5 per gallon. FlixBus offers a a few weekends over the winter for $7 each way.

Parking: Free, but distributed in lots across the mountain face.

Adult lift ticket: Must be purchased online, and prices vary depending on the day. Peak weekends in February are $129. You half-price beginner鈥檚 ticket with access to a limited number of lifts, as well as afternoon and night tickets. They鈥檒l pay $516鈥攁dult ticket prices apply to anyone over 12.

Gear rental: $54 and must be reserved in advance. It鈥檒l shake out to $216.

Lunch: This one stumped me, unfortunately. About $20 per person feels safe, so for the sake of consistency, I will add $80 to the total.

Total: $828, or approximately half the average price for a one-bedroom in Seattle. As it turns out, the biggest problem with paying for a ski day might be affording the cost of housing in a city nearby.

The post How Much Does It Actually Cost to Ski? appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

On April 16, 2016, Danielle Davis stepped off an overnight flight from San Diego to New York City with her mother, Lana. The morning before, Danielle鈥檚 older sister, Lauren, had been killed by a driver while riding her bike to her job at the Pratt Institute, an art and design school in Brooklyn. She had just turned 34. Lana had the address of a police station, the location of the crash site, and nothing else.

Danielle and Lana went to the site of the crash, on the corner of Classon Avenue and Lexington Avenue in Brooklyn鈥檚 Clinton Hill neighborhood. A streak of Lauren鈥檚 blood was on the cement, next to a broken pair of sunglasses. 鈥淲hen you鈥檙e grieving, you鈥檙e just looking for signs that she鈥檚 still around, that this person has not completely disappeared,鈥� Danielle says.

Later that morning, one of Lauren鈥檚 friends drove them to the New York City Police Department (NYPD)鈥檚 Collision Investigation Squad (CIS) headquarters in Brooklyn, where they met an officer named Christophe Paul, who was in charge of the case. 鈥淗e told us that she was 鈥榮almoning鈥欌�攂iking against traffic鈥攕outh, instead of north, to her place of work,鈥� says Danielle. The NYPD , too.

In the notebook that Danielle kept at the time, she wrote, 鈥淭he car bumps Lauren, she falls off the bike, they鈥檙e unsure how.鈥� Paul handed them a copy of a crash report that said the same, but he told them the final copy he was writing could change if more information came to light during the investigation.

From the police station, Danielle and Lana went to the medical examiner鈥檚 office in Brooklyn to identify Lauren. In life, Danielle says, her sister had been the brave one. 鈥淪he wouldn鈥檛 take no for an answer,鈥� Danielle told me. She was 鈥渁 self-described goth鈥� and had spent the previous few months studying the way the Dutch masters symbolized death in their paintings. 鈥淟auren really encouraged me to go outside and explore鈥攖o not feel afraid,鈥� Danielle says. But now all of that was gone. Her face was smashed beyond recognition, her skin swollen and bruised. 鈥淪he was an amazingly beautiful person,鈥� Danielle says, 鈥渁nd the crash just tore all of that away from her. Not only her life, but whatever semblance of who she was. She wasn鈥檛 there.鈥� They ultimately identified Lauren by a tattoo of an Egyptian ankh on her back instead.

Danielle, now 36, describes this day as a series of fragmented scenes, full of surreal decisions. 鈥淵ou want to know: What happened, where鈥檚 Lauren, why isn鈥檛 she alive? And suddenly you鈥檙e asked, 鈥榃hich organs do you want to donate?鈥欌�� She tried to make sense of the passing time by keeping fastidious notes. 鈥淚 documented everything, every single day鈥攚hat we did, where we went, what happened. I think it was just because I didn鈥檛 believe it myself.鈥�

Back at Lauren鈥檚 apartment, Danielle and her mother agreed that there was a disconnect between what they鈥檇 seen at the medical examiner鈥檚 office and the detective鈥檚 account of the crash. 鈥淭here was this one quote that made me really start to doubt him,鈥� Danielle told me. 鈥淗e said he doesn鈥檛 believe that she made contact with the car.鈥� The medical examiner told them that Lauren had likely been run over鈥攖he car had left a smear of red paint across her helmet. (When asked about these initial discrepancies in Paul鈥檚 account of what happened, the NYPD responded, 鈥淲hen the NYPD鈥檚 Collision Investigation Squad responds to a collision, a preliminary investigation is conducted based on available evidence. However, the investigation is ongoing and is subject to change as additional evidence is gathered and documented over the coming weeks and months.鈥�)

The next morning, Danielle and Lana decided to go back to the scene of the crash to set up a memorial and to see if they could figure out more about Lauren鈥檚 death on their own. 鈥淲e were told that videos would disappear from local businesses within a week,鈥� says Danielle. 鈥淪o we had seven days to hunt down witnesses, videos, whatever evidence we could to help Officer Paul do his job.鈥�

They staked out the corner where Lauren was hit, figuring they might meet someone who had seen the crash on their regular commute. Lana says she flagged down sanitation workers and anyone passing by who might have been nearby that morning. Danielle stood by the spray of blue and yellow flowers they placed on the sidewalk and solicited people as they walked past: 鈥淢y sister was killed here on Friday, do you know anything?鈥� Danielle describes herself as the more reserved of the two sisters, but stopping strangers on the street felt natural, she says. 鈥淚t just felt like what Lauren would have done for me.鈥�

A woman in scrubs told Lana that she鈥檇 been walking past on her way to work at a hospital and had held Lauren in the road after the crash. Others told them about being hit by drivers on nearby streets. 鈥淢y mom and I were so desperate to find answers that, even though it was traumatic to hear, it felt like piecing together the puzzle,鈥� Danielle says.

Three days later, they found what they were after. A woman in a red bike helmet rode past the memorial. 鈥淪he looked at us from the other side of the street,鈥� Danielle recalls. 鈥淎nd then she rolled up and asked us, 鈥業s she OK?鈥欌��

They鈥檇 soon learn that the police did have it wrong. 鈥淲atching a person who鈥檇 been made a victim be erased, almost consumed by an institution that was supposed to serve and protect her, it felt like a betrayal,鈥� Danielle says. 鈥淚t just felt like humanity let us down that day.鈥�

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At the end of last summer, a close friend of mine, Zoe, snagged a permit to hike the 215-mile John Muir Trail, which runs along the spine of the Sierra Nevada. To prepare, she and a friend loaded up for a four-night backpacking trip southeast of Yosemite National Park.

鈥淲ildfires weren鈥檛 really on our radar,鈥� she told me this year. There hadn鈥檛 been any fires in the area when they headed out. 鈥淏ut we were up pretty high. When we saw a flat cloud on the horizon, it kind of crossed our minds鈥攎aybe that鈥檚 smoke, maybe not.鈥�

As the day continued, they started to smell fumes and passed a couple who confirmed that there was a fire somewhere ahead, so they headed back the way they鈥檇 come and set up camp for the night, with plans to finish their retreat the next day.

鈥淲hen we got up the next morning, we were totally engulfed in smoke,鈥� Zoe said. 鈥淲e woke up coughing. The sun was really red, and it was hard to breathe.鈥� She wore a mask and a buff on the way down听to the trailhead.听

As it turned out, they鈥檇 stumbled onto the first days of , which became the fourth-largest fire in California history at the time. (It鈥檚 been surpassed by this year鈥檚 Dixie Fire.) It wouldn鈥檛 be contained until New Year鈥檚 Eve and burned close to 400,000 acres. By Zoe鈥檚 estimation, they were some 25 miles from it.听

If you鈥檝e ever gone backcountry skiing, sea kayaking, or floated down whitewater, you鈥檝e planned around natural hazards. You鈥檝e researched terrain, checked dam releases, tide charts, or avalanche reports. You鈥檝e learned to use a beacon and probe or to set up rescue lines.

With wildfire season stretching nearly the entire year in parts of the Southwest, and massive, unpredictable fires becoming common in California, Oregon, and Washington, it鈥檚 clear that hikers and backpackers need to treat fire risk in the same way: as a fundamental part of a trip plan, not an afterthought.

But it鈥檚 probably not something you were taught, since conditions have changed so dramatically in the past few years. So we talked to land managers and trail groups for their advice on how to plan for fire in the backcountry.

Where to Go听

鈥淔irst and foremost, know where not to go,鈥� said Kindra Ramos, outreach director with the nonprofit .

Many online hiking maps now include details on active fires. The has a fire layer that includes fire data across the Mountain West. (You access it by clicking the three stacked squares in the upper-left corner of the map.)听

鈥淚 think that drawing a parallel with avalanche risk is an intuitive way to think about it,鈥� said Ben Mayberry, a recreation and land-use manager with the Washington Department of Natural Resources. 鈥淚t鈥檚 these layers that stack on top of what you鈥檇 normally think about. You have to completely reframe, and focus on what the terrain is like, how it influences risk.鈥� Still, he cautioned, 鈥渢he big caveat is that avalanches are much more of a science that can be well understood. Wildfires are more unpredictable鈥攚ould you try to plan around a hurricane or a tornado?鈥�

For more in-depth fire information, includes a number of add-ons, including one for visualizing fires, as well as others that show satellite-detected heat layers and the location of historic fires. (Gaia GPS is owned by the same parent company as听国产吃瓜黑料. for free.)

Smoke Prediction

In the past few years, some tools have appeared to help monitor and even predict the air-quality index, a measure of airborne particulate matter. An above 100 will likely be harmful to someone with asthma or other health conditions, while 150 is harmful to anyone.

The Pacific Crest Trail Association鈥檚 map includes a smoke layer, and others are available on Gaia GPS. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration also produces a that provides state-by-state maps, though it only projects out for the day. (You鈥檒l want to look at maps of surface smoke, since the tool maps multiple pollutants.)

For longer-term information, try . It includes major fires all across North America and forecasts smoke levels roughly two days out.

鈥淚t may be that it鈥檚 not a good time to hike, because there鈥檚 so much wildfire smoke or things are changing so quickly,鈥� says Mayberry.

He, like Zoe, says he鈥檒l be backpacking with an N-95听mask. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 interesting. If we had not been wearing masks for the past 18 months, would that be something we鈥檇 be reaching for?鈥� he said. 鈥淚 think, separate from COVID, I would not have thought of carrying an N-95. I would feel more like, Clearly I shouldn鈥檛 be out here if I have to wear a medical mask.鈥�

After walking out of the Creek Fire鈥檚 smoke, Zoe said that she canceled听her John Muir Trail plans. 鈥淭he Sierra听were on fire,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t sucks, but there鈥檚 nothing you can do about it. It鈥檚 pretty dumb to push on. Some people will continue to hike in smoke, and I saw people doing that, but what鈥檚 the point? You can鈥檛 see far. The views aren鈥檛 as good.鈥�

Planning the Route听

Once you鈥檝e picked an area that鈥檚 smoke- and fire-free, check with local agencies for any trail closures or burn restrictions, which will help you pick a route and give you a sense of the area鈥檚 potential fire danger.听

鈥淭rail closures often begin and end many miles from a fire,鈥� said Scott Wilkinson, director of communications for the Pacific Crest Trail Association. 鈥淭his is done for good reasons. Either firefighters want to ensure nobody could impede their efforts, or because the best place to get off the trail may be miles away from the fire itself. For all these reasons and more, it is imperative that hikers obey trail closures鈥攁nd don鈥檛 look around and keep walking because they don鈥檛 see any smoke or flames.鈥�

Bring a paper map that shows the entire area, urged the Washington Trail Association鈥檚 Ramos. (And be comfortable navigating with a map and compass.)听鈥淢ake sure that you have the big picture of where you鈥檙e going, so that if you need to plan an alternative route off-trail, you have the right map.鈥�

You should also use the map to get a general sense of where evacuation routes might be: look for trails along the route where you could cut over to a road, or otherwise cut the trip short and find help.

And the more days you鈥檙e out, the riskier things get, simply because you won鈥檛 have up-to-date information.

鈥淥n longer trips, I think it鈥檚 always a good idea to carry some kind of satellite communicator,鈥� Mayberry said. That way, if you spot smoke, or the air quality gets bad, you can text a friend for current information that might help you plan an evacuation.

Of course, that means telling someone where you plan to be and making sure they know which websites to check. If you鈥檙e going on a long hike or an overnight trip, you should also let local rangers know your itinerary in case conditions abruptly change and they need to evacuate the area.

What to Do if You Encounter a Wildfire Threat on the Trail听

Finally, you need to be comfortable bailing if conditions get too bad.

鈥淚t鈥檚 about having that situational awareness,鈥� Ramos said. 鈥淚f you are all of a sudden smelling more smoke or seeing smoke, I think that鈥檚 a clear indication that something has changed in the area, so you want to be comfortable leaving at that point.鈥�

If you find yourself near a fire, take time to gather information.

鈥淭he only thing I鈥檓 really comfortable with recommending is communicate with someone,鈥� Mayberry said. Use a satellite device to get a report on where the fire is and where it鈥檚 moving so you don鈥檛 end up heading into it.听

If you do end up in a dangerous situation despite taking all the precautions, how you should evacuate will depend enormously on the terrain and state of the fire. But there are . Fire generally moves fastest uphill, so avoid staying on ridges above any flames. Stay away from chutes, as these will channel flames upward. The less vegetation an area has, the safer it will be. Move out of a fire鈥檚 path, if you know it鈥攜ou won鈥檛 be able to outrun one that鈥檚 moving fast. And if you have bright clothing or gear, put it on to make yourself visible to first responders.

But if you鈥檙e up on to date on the latest conditions, and you鈥檙e prepared to turn back at the first indication of smoke, the experts I spoke with believe your chances of getting into an emergency situation are slim. Take 鈥渢hat extra moment to realize that your safety shouldn鈥檛 be at risk for a great view,鈥� said Ramos. 鈥淭here鈥檚 always another day, and the trail will be there.鈥澨�

to plan your hike in clean air, away from wildfires.

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The rarity of foraged food is a distinctly modern phenomenon听and one that鈥檚 led to strange distortions in the way we eat. These days, foods like wild-caught salmon, fiddleheads, or truffles are considered luxuries. They are听found in especially rugged outdoor environs, but most people consume them in highly cultivated indoor settings.

Those are the contradictions that Gina Rae La Cerva sets out to explore in ,听a book that鈥檚 part travelogue and part natural history. It begins with a whirlwind of culinary trips, each excursion roughly centered around a wild food: ramps in a storied Copenhagen cemetery, glossy lobsters cooked in seaweed on the shores of the Gulf of Maine, bird鈥檚 nests from caves in the jungles of Borneo.听

The trips are just La Cerva鈥檚 launching point and, one suspects, a way to draw the reader in. What she鈥檚 really after is an understanding of the word wild,听at least as it relates to food. Should we mourn the loss of wild food at the hands of industrialization?听Why do we consider wildness to be sacred instead of profane? As she writes almost plaintively in the introduction: 鈥淲hat does it mean to eat wild food鈥攐r the closest thing to it in a world so thoroughly dominated by humans?鈥� La Cerva supplies vague definitions of wild听early on, describing the subjects of her fascination as 鈥渦ndomesticated鈥� or 鈥渦ncultivated鈥� ingredients.听As the book progresses, those words begin to feel听shallow.

Other food writers have plumbed these depths before: notably, back in 2006, Michael Pollan became entranced by a wild boar hunt in the final chapters of .听He described the resulting hunted, foraged, and homegrown听feast as 鈥渢he perfect meal,鈥� despite some culinary flaws. The author鈥檚 sense of satisfaction came from the idea that he knew exactly how each chanterelle cap and boar loin had arrived on the听table.

But did he really? The听boar may have come from the Sierra, as Pollan noted, but one could question how boars came to be on that western range, and when and under what circumstances people are allowed to hunt them. Pollan left those questions unanswered, but听Feasting Wild听advances the conversation by placing wild bounties in their ecological and cultural history.

La Cerva notes that wild foods, once eaten exclusively for survival, are currently considered staples of fine dining and luxury cuisine鈥攁 鈥渇etishization of need,鈥� as she dubs it. In one example, she describes a celebrity chef studying a 1960s Swedish-army survival guide to find inspiration for recipes at Noma, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Copenhagen considered among the best in the world. 鈥淓ven if you have never experienced famine,鈥� La Cerva writes, 鈥淣oma is happy to invent this memory for you.鈥�

Historically, people have attached a special luster to听wild food in moments of broad, social anxiety about disconnection from nature. During the industrial revolution, for instance, fine-dining establishments in New York City heaped wild birds on tables, gathered by an army of 鈥渕arket huntsmen鈥� who picked the country鈥檚 wetlands clean. 鈥淎t one particularly ambitious hotel, you could order heron, bald eagle, vulture, and owl,鈥� La Cerva writes. Her argument is that the primitivism associated with wild birds was a 鈥測ou are what you eat鈥� attempt to transcend the drumbeat of urban life鈥攁nd she implies that the fascination with foraging on display at Noma comes from a similar place. (One should note that today鈥檚 wild-food movement often aligns itself with sustainability goals,听whereas market hunters in the 19th century blithely drove bird species like the passenger pigeon to extinction.)

The consumer obsession with preindustrial (or, in some instances,听preagricultural)听food gathering听is complicated by the question at the heart of Feasting Wild: Were there ever wild foods to begin with?听Sure, the bison that roam Poland鈥檚 protected forests aren鈥檛 raised by humans. But their existence and habitat is so completely shaped by human behavior and settlement that it鈥檚 hard to think of them as truly separate from our touch, even if we do not intentionally raise them.听

Feasting Wild听draws heavily on the writing of environmental historian William Cronon as it searches for answers. As Cronon laid out in his seminal 1995听essay听鈥淭he Trouble with Wilderness,鈥� both the word and the idea of wilderness听underwent a dramatic shift during American colonization. Originally, it signified something akin to a wasteland, where spiritual aspirants would face God through deprivation. During the Romantic and environmental movements, the significance of wilderness was recast as a sacred place outside of civilized history, where God could speak to visitors through the landscape鈥檚 grandeur鈥攁 condition bound up in aesthetics. A key part of wilderness, according to that definition, was a lack of human cultivation.

While Cronon alludes to some non-human 鈥渨ild,鈥� he argues that wilderness is a fiction. La Cerva favors that interpretation as well, noting that the precolonial forests and plains of North America were also gently groomed by humans to encourage the growth of game. However, even if wilderness is a romantic听illusion, La Cerva argues that something essential has changed in the way we eat听during the modern era that鈥檚 important to consider.听

鈥淚n losing wild food from our diets, from the landscape, we have lost something unnamable,鈥� she writes. 鈥淭he silences are so loud, they have become their own sound. We face a spiritual crisis, an existential loneliness greater than any heartbreak.鈥�

The English critic John Berger offered another definition of wilderness that鈥檚 helpful as we try to understand what La Cerva might mean. In a 1977 essay, Berger wrote that animals provide a kind of spiritual 鈥渃ompanionship鈥� unlike any between humans, 鈥渂ecause it is a companionship offered to the loneliness of man as a species.鈥� Wild things, in his telling, are ones that live parallel lives to our own, that we recognize as fellow travelers in the world. Some farm animals can possess this kind of autonomy, meaning that wildness isn鈥檛 so much about the absence of humans or domestication听but about how other species can cause us to reflect on our understanding of the natural world.听

Drawing a firm line between humans听and nature ignores those who exist in the middle. Left out of听the realm of听luxury wild food, La Cerva writes, are the stories of people鈥攎ostly women鈥攚ho learned how to harvest the food in the first place. In the Middle Ages, 鈥渉erbal knowledge was kept alive as folk medicine, handed down from mother to daughter,鈥� she writes.听When disaster struck, they could turn to听the surrounding countryside to forage 鈥渄ock and nettles, woody roots of wild carrot, parsnips, leeks, skirret, and turnips; the leaves of wild strawberries, the leaves of violets and roses,鈥� the same species that world-renowned restaurants like Noma turn to听in modern times.

When La Cerva听describes more听fraught terrain in her travels, such as听the bushmeat markets in听the Democratic Republic of the Congo, she finds that gender still mediates the wild-food trade. Women sell the meat听and manage networks that bring the product听from interior forests to the cities. Game, in La Cerva鈥檚 descriptions, sounds mysterious and appetizing, chunks of flesh smoked over the course of weeks until they鈥檙e as tender as butter. In Kinshasa, the capital city, bushmeat (antelope, pangolin, even bonobo) takes on a more complicated moral valence听when pushed up against contemporary marketplaces and buyer-seller dynamics. But when La Cerva encounters a game-meat cook, the ethics of wild food are articulated in a way that will sound all too familiar to modern readers: 鈥淚t鈥檚 natural,鈥� says the cook. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important to know the origin of your food, to know the source. We ate more as children, when we lived in the countryside.鈥�

Reading Feasting Wild, it鈥檚 easy to find strange harmonies in the chaos of the last few months. Disease ecologists that the novel coronavirus jumped from bats to humans using wild game as a stepping stone.听As people around the globe were forced indoors during the pandemic, they听 with the wild things that appeared in urban public听spaces in our absence. Being at peace with the ways that humans and wild animals now interact is听a more difficult听task鈥攅ven La Cerva finds herself fantasizing about retreating into truly 鈥減rimeval鈥� wilderness, as though she still believes such a thing might exist.

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America鈥檚 streets have gotten safer for those behind the wheel of a car, but they鈥檝e become more dangerous for everyone else. While overall traffic deaths have been on the decline for at least 40 years, cyclist and pedestrian fatalities hit a 30-year high in 2018, as Americans buy bigger cars, use more distracting technology, and spend more time on the road.

No one wants to think about getting hit by a driver, but it鈥檚 important to know what to do if it happens. The moments after a crash are full of shock and confusion, and you鈥檒l need to keep your wits as much as possible听so you can prepare (if necessary) to deal with insurance companies, law-enforcement officials, and lawyers in the days and weeks to come. When you鈥檙e on a bike or walking, it can be easy to get pinned with the blame. As the resource guide published by , a New York鈥揵ased advocacy group, puts it: 鈥淚f you wish to hold the driver accountable in any way for the crash, just know it can be a long and complicated process.鈥�

Lenore Shefman, an attorney in Austin, Texas, 鈥攑eople on foot, bikes, and motorcycles鈥攅mphasizes the same point when she gives talks at local bike shops. 鈥淓very person on a bike should know that, just by being on an alternate vehicle, you鈥檙e already at a disadvantage,鈥� she says. 鈥淓verybody drives a car, everyone leans toward听car drivers. We tend to be informed about those rules.鈥� When it comes to bikes, though, that鈥檚 not the case. Shefman routinely finds that even police officers have little or no training about cyclists鈥� rights, which can lead to hasty investigations and victim blaming.

Here are steps that should lead to more positive outcomes.

At the Crash Scene

Get Somewhere Safe

Before you do anything else, move off the street. If you can, leave your bike where it fell, because it may provide useful evidence to an investigator. Then call 911, or ask someone else to do it.

Even if you feel all right, stay at the scene. You may need medical attention even if you aren鈥檛 in pain, and you鈥檒l want to see听that the responding officer gets your side of the story and talks to witnesses.听In some states, police to write a report for the crash if there don鈥檛 appear to be any serious injuries or damages.

Make Sure the Scene Is Documented听

If you haven鈥檛 been seriously injured or taken to the hospital, Shefman recommends taking down the responding officer鈥檚 information so that you or a lawyer can follow up with them later. Cases abound in which officers misinterpret traffic laws or simply fail to talk to witnesses who may be able to back up the victim. Chana Widawski, a community organizer with Families for Safe Streets, says that, in her experience, you can鈥檛 always rely on officials to do their jobs. 鈥淪ome of the [victim鈥檚]听post-crash considerations are ridiculous things, like making sure that evidence is gathered,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hat should be the job of whatever relevant police department. But the reality is that it often doesn鈥檛 get done.鈥�

Be sure to get insurance and contact information from the person who hit you. If there are people around who saw the crash, ask for their contact information听as well. Take photos and video footage of your bicycle, the car that hit you, and the road.

Widawski says that victims are often inundated with听offers from听concerned loved ones asking how to help,听and that you should take them up on their generosity. They can chase down surveillance videos or put up signs around the crash scene asking witnesses to come forward. Such actions听can yield information that changes the trajectory of court cases.

No matter what, you should review the final crash report, which in most states听can be obtained by contacting the police department of the officer who responded. The report should take only a few days to be completed, and you鈥檒l want to get it as soon as you can to make sure the details are right. Shefman regularly finds errors and omissions in these reports, and听in many cases, you can offer corrections by talking directly to the police.听

The Aftermath

Seek Medical Attention

Shefman recommends going to the hospital no matter what, because there鈥檚 a good chance you won鈥檛 know how badly you鈥檙e hurt in the shock of the moment. 鈥淥ften听people appear much better than they are because adrenaline is pumping through them,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 had one person walking around on two broken legs, and an older woman who walked on a broken knee for two months.鈥� Moreover, she says, her clients have almost always sustained some kind of brain injury; helmets are meant to protect the outside of your head from an impact, but they do nothing to prevent your brain from hitting the inside of your skull. You鈥檝e just been struck听by a multiton metal object. Get a doctor鈥檚 opinion.

Even if you鈥檙e not seriously hurt, it鈥檚 worth going to the hospital to get your injuries documented. Keep all receipts and documents related to your medical care.听

Get a Lawyer

Many attorneys focus specifically on cases involving people injured on a bike, and a number of them have formed that operates in 18听states and Washington, D.C.

Families for Safe Streets, lawyers are generally paid on a contingency basis, meaning they get a portion of whatever settlement you receive (usually about a third). Widawski recommends talking to several attorneys to find a good fit. The most important consideration, she says, is making sure they听have experience in this area of the law. Families for Safe Streets offers as you evaluate your options.

A lawyer will help you听determine whether your crash report has been听filled out correctly, and they can help negotiate the insurance and medical systems. You鈥檒l likely need to file an insurance claim soon after the crash, which may involve talking to the driver鈥檚 insurer, and you鈥檒l want assistance听with that. You can start by calling the insurance company and telling them who was involved in the crash and when it occurred, but you鈥檒l want a lawyer with you before giving further details. If the driver is criminally charged, a lawyer may be able to connect you with resources to mitigate costs associated with your role in the case, like the justice department鈥檚 .

In the long term, one of the biggest risks you face will likely听be financial. Liability laws vary state by state, and figuring out who is responsible for medical bills can be complex. It鈥檚 also possible that your own insurance company will try to take a portion of any compensation you win in a civil trial. Both Widawski and Shefman say they鈥檝e seen crash victims lose jobs听and even slip into homelessness听as they try to recover.

Find a Community

鈥淭his is all about trauma,鈥� says Widawski, noting that the initial trauma of the crash is often compounded by the prolonged听insurance and criminal-justice processes that follow. Others have been through something similar and can help you cope. Families for Safe Streets holds in New York City for people who鈥檝e been injured by drivers, and additional听chapters across the country are starting their own support groups. The organization also has a to connect survivors of car crashes across the country.

Speak Up

Many crash survivors find a sense of purpose in pushing local politicians, prosecutors, and urban planners to take traffic violence seriously. If you feel the system has failed you in some way鈥攑erhaps a reckless driver is back on the road, or you were hurt on a poorly designed or dangerous street鈥攁nd you want to work for change, Families for Safe Streets and other groups can help you get your voice out there. Parallel organizations tackling the issue in other cities include听, , and the听. 鈥淲e want to provide a channel for people to turn their anger, frustration, and sadness into action to prevent anyone else from knowing the pain that they鈥檝e gone through,鈥� Widawski says.

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