I’ve felt heat like this before. When we stepped out the rental SUV in the parking lot at the Hoover Dam, the air blasted us in the face like a furnace. As we walked to the dam, my four year old daughter buried her face in my shoulder and asked me to turn off the heat. We had a chuckle, and continued on to the tour. When I stepped out on to my porch this Thursday, I felt a hot breeze I’d last felt in the Mojave Desert. The high for the day was 96, and Friday was forecast to be even hotter.
Unfortunately, it’s something to which we will have to adapt. As global emissions continue to rise, the climate will continue to produce hotter temperatures and more frequent extreme weather events. What feels exceptional today, like this heat dome, will become ordinary in our lifetimes.
As I highlighted last year, there’s an excellent place to cool down a short hike away. In the Warner Anglers Preserve, the trail stays close to the shallow yet cool water of the Mill River. Out of curiosity, I decided to take a quick hike for a science experiment to start my holiday weekend. At the peak of the afternoon heat, I was interested to see the difference between the air temperature outside my house, the temperature in the shaded forest, and the temperature of the Mill River. Not a complicated test, but one that seemed fit for some material for this holiday edition of The Cultural Easton.
With the heat index at 110, the initial feeling leaving my house was of stepping into an oven. Not so much a sauna, because thankfully the humidity wasn’t that bad. As they say in Arizona, it’s a dry heat. Yet 110° is 110° no matter how much water is in the atmosphere. Coincidentally, the temperature of my grass, shaded by nothing, read 110°, the bluestone walk 129°, the driveway was 152°, and the inside of the car was a scorching 173°. After opening the windows to let the heat out while the air conditioner kicked in, I set off for the forest.
I parked along South Park Avenue, grabbed my thermometers off the passenger seat, and headed into the forest. I didn’t pack anything except a small water bottle, as I intended to make this a short hike. Getting far enough from the road and finding a well shaded portion of the trail, I took my first forest measurement, which read 88°. I ventured further into the forest and then found a spot in the river where I could cool off.
While I don’t usually hike in a bathing suit, today it seemed ideal. I wanted to really connect with the river, and intended to fully immerse myself before getting the data for my loosely organized science project. The water, moving slowly downstream thanks to the recent lack of rain, felt like pulling on wet socks as its chill wrapped itself about my legs. A few steps out to the middle of the river, and I found a place deep enough to submerge. The chill of the water, shaded by the maples and oaks, felt fantastic. After spending a few minutes doing breath work and meditating, I went back to the bank to fetch the thermometers. The infrared, which I used to get the surface temperature of the water, read 78°. Beneath the surface, an instant read cooking thermometer read a cool 72°.
If you’re physically able, I highly suggest venturing to a spot along this precious cool river on a sweltering hot day. Cooling off in a river is an American tradition like apple pie and fireworks on the fourth of July. As I hiked back to my car, I hummed the melody to Down by the Riverside and appreciated the shade trees. A short trek into the woods, an amateur science experiment, and the bones of an article for my neighbors. A solid summer afternoon in Easton.
The Cultural Easton 