According to a National Park Service news release, the 42-year-old Belgian tourist was taking a short walk Saturday in the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes in 123-degree heat when he either broke or lost his flip-flops, putting his feet into direct contact with the desert ground. The result: third-degree burns.
“The skin was melted off his foot,” said Death Valley National Park Service Ranger Gia Ponce. “The ground can be much hotter — 170, 180 [degrees]. Sometimes up into the 200 range.”
Unable to get out on his own and in extreme pain, the man and his family recruited other park visitors to help; together, the group carried him to the sand dunes parking lot, where park rangers assessed his injuries.
Though they wanted a helicopter to fly him out, helicopters can’t generate enough lift to fly in the heat-thinned air over the hottest parts of Death Valley, officials said. So park rangers summoned an ambulance that took him to higher ground, where it was a cooler 109 degrees and he could then be flown out.
Sandals and flip flops are very different things for walking.
There are awesome hiking sandals that provide excellent support, grip, and all. But flip flops? Oof.
I’ve had the misadventure of having to do a small jungle trek with flip flops (my super duper fancy hiking shoes were soaking wet). I managed but it wasn’t ideal. The Australian rainforest is not exactly flip flop friendly.
I’m one of those special kinds of idiot where I pride myself on my ability to traverse any terrain in my thongs (flip flops).
