国家公园的爱好者们正在进行他们一年一度的夏季朝圣之旅，前往他们最喜欢的户外门户，但是困扰美国大部分地区的极端高温使得这一跋涉变得更加危险。
尽管持续的高温打破了全国的记录，尤其是西方——国家公园管理局的公共事务专家辛西娅·赫尔南德斯告诉美国广播公司新闻说，人们仍在涌向国家公园。
赫尔南德斯说:“不管那里的条件如何，即使是在酷热的条件下，人们仍然对来到国家公园感到兴奋。”
但事实证明，这种热情是危险的，在某些情况下甚至是致命的。
据NPS报道，在国家公园死于中暑的人数正在上升
NPS节目向ABC新闻提供的记录显示，自2007年以来，夏季的这个时候，极端高温导致的死亡人数比任何其他年份都多。根据国家公园管理局的新闻稿，自夏季开始以来，至少有五人在国家公园死亡，他们被怀疑死于与高温有关的疾病。
A14岁男孩死亡据NPS报道，6月23日在德克萨斯州的大弯国家公园，他的继父在他倒下后试图寻找帮助时死亡。当天气温飙升至119度。
公园官员说，7月3日早上，在距离加州北高速死谷国家公园大约30码的地方，一名65岁的男子被发现坐在他的轿车里。据NPS报道，前一天的最高温度是126华氏度，最低温度是98度。
那天下午晚些时候，一个57岁女性死亡据NPS报道，在亚利桑那州大峡谷国家公园进行一次8英里的徒步旅行时失去知觉。那天公园周围的一些地区温度高达114度。
最近的一次死亡发生在7月18日，一名71岁的男子死于死亡谷国家公园的黄金峡谷小径，当天那里的气温达到了121度。公园官员说道。据NPS报道，这名男子被拍到涂了厚厚的防晒霜，戴着遮阳帽，穿着徒步旅行者的衣服，突然昏倒在厕所外的热门徒步旅行路线上。
根据NPS的说法，中暑被认为是这些死亡的一个因素。
酷热并没有影响国家公园的游客
专家告诉美国广播公司新闻，尽管是一年中最热的时候，夏季传统上一直是人们前往国家公园的热门时间。学校放假了，家庭抓住机会在户外重新创造。
大峡谷国家公园是2022年第二大游客最多的公园，游客超过470万。死亡谷国家公园2022年的游客数量约为110万，而大弯国家公园根据NPS的数据，2022年约有50万游客。众所周知，这三个地方夏季的气温都在三位数以上。
赫尔南德斯说，尽管最近几周高温笼罩了美国的几个地区，预计在本赛季剩余时间内还会如此，但这些出席人数可能会保持在正轨上。
当情况不稳定时，一些活动如护林员带领的徒步旅行可能会被取消。但是公园不太可能关闭，埃尔南德斯补充道。
三位数的气温很少能阻止60岁的硅谷银行家凯文·库克参观他最喜欢的国家公园。
他告诉ABC新闻，在过去的25年里，库克经常光顾国家公园，经常在加利福尼亚州圣贝纳迪诺的莫哈韦国家保护区和死亡谷国家公园度过时光。他说，他在两个公园的最高温度105度的小径上徒步旅行和骑自行车。
“对我来说，总有更多的东西有待探索，”他说。
2021年6月5日，60岁的徒步旅行者凯文·库克在死亡谷国家公园徒步旅行，当时一些地方的气温达到了110度。
凯文·库克提供
他说，虽然高达120度的气温可能会阻止他冒险远足，但他在过去的访问中经历了与热有关的疾病。他说，疾病很快降临到他身上，模糊了他的视力，降低了他的官能。
他说，通过一些休息、阴凉和水，库克能够恢复并继续他的旅程。
他补充说，库克计划下个月去死亡谷国家公园徒步旅行，那时气温预计不会降太多。
如何在国家公园徒步旅行时保持安全
据世界气象组织称，中暑是世界上与天气相关的头号杀手，美国每年有超过600人死于中暑疾病控制和预防中心.
北卡罗来纳大学教堂山医学院急诊科主任凯瑟琳·达文波特告诉美国广播公司新闻，当气温高时，身体的功能下降。
当身体出汗时，它失去的不仅仅是水。它也会失去盐分和电解质。达文波特说，过度出汗造成的严重失衡会对肾脏造成损害，并会给心脏和体内所有依赖这种平衡来发挥功能的系统带来压力。
“你甚至不知道自己在流汗，”库克说。“当它达到100时，你会发现你的皮肤上有砂砾，而这些砂砾就是你的盐。”
达文波特说，严重脱水会导致热衰竭或中暑，尤其是在提高心率的剧烈活动中。
“那时人们就会陷入真正的麻烦，”她说。
对于脆弱人群来说，风险甚至更大，如幼儿、老人和任何已有疾病的人。服用某些药物的人，如导致你排出更多水分的利尿剂，也有更高的患热相关疾病的风险。
埃尔南德斯说，游客在国家公园娱乐时有责任确保自己的安全，因为那里“是野生的，条件非常恶劣”。
“我们要求我们的游客为他们的国家公园之旅做好准备，以帮助他们保持凉爽和抵御炎热，”她说。
埃尔南德斯建议游客多带一些他们认为不需要的水和一把遮阳伞。
达文波特说，许多人没有意识到的是，他们的身体可能不适应他们正在旅行的气候，这增加了在炎热的温度下患热相关疾病的可能性。
在极端天气下开始艰苦的徒步旅行之前，达文波特建议游客让自己的身体有时间适应新环境。
达文波特说，人们还应该尽可能地预先补充水分，避免在一天中最热的时间(上午10点至下午3点)外出，并经常在阴凉处休息。她补充说，如果你开始感到头晕、目眩、恶心或肌肉痉挛，立即用湿衬衫或毛巾冷却身体，并在阴凉处休息。
赫尔南德斯敦促那些计划在今年夏天参观国家公园的人研究每个公园的地形和典型气候，以便他们能够为各种因素做好充分准备。
“你需要了解中暑的危险，”她说。
Deaths due to extreme heat at national parks increasing, data from the National Parks Service shows
National parks aficionados are making their annual summer pilgrimage to their favorite gateway to the great outdoors, but the extreme heat that has been plaguing much of the U.S. is making that trek more dangerous.
Despite the unrelenting heat that has been breaking records all over the country -- especiallythe West-- people are still flocking to national parks, Cynthia Hernandez, public affairs specialist for the National Park Service, told ABC News.
"People are still excited about coming out to national parks in whatever condition there exists out there, even in high heat conditions," Hernandez said.
But that enthusiasm is proving to be dangerous, even deadly in some cases.
Death toll from heat illness at national parks is rising according to NPS
Extreme heat has killed more people at this point in the summer than any other year since 2007, records provided to ABC News by the NPS show. At least five people who have died in national parks since the start of the summer months are suspected to have succumbed to heat-related illness, according to press releases by the National Park Service.
A14-year-old boy diedon June 23 at Big Bend National Park in Texas, and his stepfather died while trying to find the teen help after he collapsed, according to the NPS. Temperatures soared to 119 degrees that day.
On the morning of July 3, a 65-year-old man was found inside his sedan about 30 yards off-road from North Highway Death Valley National Park in California, park officials said. The high temperature the previous day was 126 degrees Fahrenheit and the low was 98 degrees, according to the NPS.
Later that afternoon, a57-year-old woman diedafter becoming unconscious while embarking on a remote 8-mile hike at the Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, according to the NPS. High temperatures reached 114 degrees in some regions around the park that day.
The most recent death occurred on July 18, when a 71-year-old man died at the Golden Canyon trailhead at Death Valley National Park, where temperatures had reached 121 degrees that day,park officialssaid. The man had been photographed slathered in sunscreen and was wearing a sun hat and hiker clothes when he collapsed outside the restroom on the popular hiking trail, according to the NPS.
Heat illness is considered to be a factor in each of those deaths, according to the NPS.
Extreme heat has not affected national park attendance
Despite being the hottest part of the year, summer has traditionally been a popular time for people to head to national parks, experts told ABC News. School is out, and families take jump at the opportunity to recreate outdoors.
Grand Canyon National Parkwas the second-most visited park in 2022, with more than 4.7 million visitors.Death Valley National Parksaw about 1.1 million visitors in 2022, andBig Bend National Parksaw about half million visitors in 2022, according to the NPS. All three locations are known for temperatures in the triple digits during the summer.
Those attendance numbers will likely stay on track, despite the high heat that has blanketed several regions in the U.S. in recent weeks and is forecast to do so for the rest of the season, Hernandez said.
When conditions are precarious, some activities like ranger-led hikes may be canceled. But it is unlikely that the parks will close, Hernandez added.
Triple-digit temperatures have rarely stopped Kevin Cook, a 60-year-old Silicon Valley banker, from visiting his favorite national parks.
Frequenting national parks for the past 25 years, Cook often spends time in the Mojave National Preserve in San Bernardino, California, as well as Death Valley National Park, he told ABC News. He has hiked and biked trails in both parks in temperatures up to 105 degrees, he said.
"For me, there's always more to explore out there," he said.
While temperatures as high as 120 degrees would likely deter him from venturing on a hike, he has experienced heat-related illness in past visits, he said. The illness came over him quickly, blurring his vision and decreasing his faculties, he said.
With some rest, shade and water, Cook was able to recuperate and continue his journey, he said.
Cook plans on hiking Death Valley National Park next month, when temperatures are not expected to cool off much, he added.
How to stay safe while hiking national parks
Heat illness is the No. 1 weather-related killer in the world, with more than 600 people dying from heat-related illnesses every year in the U.S., according to theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention.
When temperatures are high, the body's ability to function decreases, Kathleen Davenport, medical director for emergency departments at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Medical School, told ABC News.
As the body sweats, it loses more than just water. It loses salt and electrolytes as well. The significant imbalance created from excessive sweat can cause damage to the kidneys and can stress the heart and all systems in your body that are reliant on that balance to function, Davenport said.
"You don't even know you're sweating," Cook said. "When it reaches 100, you'll often find that there's grit on your skin, and that grit is your salt."
Severe dehydration can then lead to heat exhaustion or heat stroke, especially during strenuous activity that raises the heart rate, Davenport said.
"That's when people get into real, real trouble," she said.
The risks are even greater for vulnerable populations, such as young children, the elderly and anyone with preexisting conditions. People who are on certain medications, such as diuretics that cause you to expel more water, are at higher risk of heat-related illness as well.
Visitors have the responsibility of ensuring their own safety when recreating in national parks, which "are wild and have extreme conditions," Hernandez said.
"We ask our visitors to prepare for their trips to national parks in a way that helps them stay cool and beat the heat," she said.
Hernandez advised visitors to bring more water than they think they need and a UV umbrella for shade.
What many people don't realize is their bodies may not be acclimated to the climate they are traveling to, which increases the likelihood of experiencing heat-related illness in scorching temperatures, Davenport said.
Before embarking on a strenuous hike in extreme weather, Davenport advised visitors to allow their body time to acclimate to their new environment.
People should also pre-hydrate as much as possible, avoid going out during the hottest times of the day, between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., and take frequent breaks in the shade, Davenport said. If you begin to feel lightheaded, dizzy, nauseated or muscle cramps, immediately cool down the body with a wet shirt or towel and rest in the shade, she added.
Hernandez urged those planning on visiting national parks this summer to research the topography and typical climates of each park so they can adequately prepare for the elements.
"You are going to need to understand the dangers of heat illness," she said.
