I don’t recall the specifics other than it was a late June or early July afternoon. It was the kind of Kentucky summer day that turns the woods into a lush, green sauna—silent and steamy, threatening and dangerous. I’d spent part of the afternoon following a narrow, rocky trail searching for a ribbon of a Wolfe County trout stream that I discovered eventually. The stream—little more than a trickle dotted with dark plunged pools—was stunning, cold and so welcoming that I laid my rod aside and plunged my arms in up to my elbows and then filled my hat and bathed my face.
The afternoon produced a few trout, absolute solitude and stunning silence. The gently flowing cool water temporarily negated any concerns I’d harbored about the sizzling heat. After a couple of hours, the tilting shafts of sunlight piercing the high, leafy canopy signed a setting sun. Time to leave.
• • •
The hike out was winding and uphill. A half-dozen steps from the creek, the heat returned with smothering effect. I drained my water bottle and started the trek toward the ridgeline and adjacent parking lot.
The trailhead emerged into a pool of late afternoon sunshine. My vehicle was the only one in the small, graveled parking lot. I stumbled twice before I reached the truck, lowered the tailgate, and retrieved a water bottle from the ice chest. I recall being lightheaded and fatigued. I had been drenched in perspiration but now felt clammy, almost chilled. I had a pounding headache.
A second bottle of water and a several minutes of rest successfully fueled the long drive home. The next morning, still suffering from a heat headache hangover, I related the experience to my wife, a nurse. When I got to the clammy, almost chilled part of the story, her demeanor shifted.
“Did you check your heart rate?” she asked.
“My heart rate!? No. Why?”
“A weak or rapid shallow rate can be a sign of heat exhaustion.”
“Heat exhaustion!” My incredulous tone was not well received.
“You need to be more careful.”
That was more than three decades ago. I knew that heat could be dangerous, but probably like some of you, I foolishly failed to take it seriously until my temperature soared into the danger zone.
Kentucky summers, of course, are hot and humid, but these regular June, July and August conditions are being sharpened by climate change. Many of us simply are not accustomed to the heat. Today, most of us work and live in air-conditioned cocoons. But if you’re out and about, especially in the woods and waters, be careful not to overheat. It can happen quickly.
• • •
Two things to watch for: heat exhaustion and heat stroke.
Heat exhaustion, I suspect, is fairly common, especially among those of us whose stamina may have waned a bit thanks to a variety of factors including, but not limited to, a slip in our overall physical conditioning. Overexertion in hot weather coupled with high humidity is usually the culprit. If you’re outside in the summer, you are going to perspire. This is normal. One way the body cools itself is through perspiration. However, when the sweat begins to roll off in streams (or worse, if you stop sweating, and your skin feels cool and/or clammy) coupled with overt fatigue and/or dizziness, nausea and/or a headache, take a rest. Drink some water. Be attentive.
Heat stroke is a far more serious condition. This happens when the body’s core temperature rises to around 104 degrees (or higher). The victim can become confused and/or agitated or irritable. Speech may be slurred. This is serious business and requires medical attention. Until you can get help, loosen the victim’s clothing and cool them with whatever means are available—dampen a cloth (a sock will work) and wet their head, neck, armpits and groin.
Statistically, those most at risk are young children and folks 65 and older. I now fit the older demographic. Age alone doesn’t make heat stroke fatal, but it should be taken into account. Regardless of age or conditioning, don’t fear the heat. Prepare for it. Wear loose clothing. Know the symptoms of overheating and pay attention to them. Rest. Seek shady conditions. Drink plenty of water. Then drink some more water.
Enjoy the summer.
Readers may contact Gary Garth at editor@kentuckymonthly.com.