A hiker who was attempting a popular trail in the area of Great Falls, Maryland, suffered a medical emergency, likely brought on by heat, and died Saturday afternoon.
U.S. Park Police identified the hiker as Rachel Parkerson, 32, of Severn, Maryland. She was unconscious and suffering from a medical emergency in the area of the Billy Goat Trail. She was airlifted to a hospital, but later died.
Park police called her death accidental and said an attributing factor was hyperthermia.
Montgomery County officials are warning hikers to reconsider hiking Billy Goat Trail A during the recent heat wave after 10 people required medical attention.
Warm weather can be a good time for a hike along one of the many beautiful trails throughout the D.C. area, but dangerously high temperatures and humidity can be formidable opponents during a heat wave.
Technical Rescue 鈥� Great Falls, MD C&O Natl Park- Tech Rescue/sick person (likely heat/weather related) 鈥� Billy Goat Trail A, Swift Water Rescue (Boats), EMIHS, USPark Eagle, etc responding
鈥� Pete Piringer (@mcfrsPIO)
Billy Goat Trail sec. A near Great Falls is CLOSED due to excessive heat. Excessive Heat Warnings and Heat Advisories are in effect. Heat indices are ranging between 105-115潞F. Staff will reevaluated conditions on Monday, July 21.
鈥� C&O Canal (@COcanalNPS)
Expert advice on DC-area hiking
Montgomery County first responders have responded to the Great Falls area more than 50 times this year alone.
“Most of those incidents of late have been for injured people along the Billy Goat Trail,鈥� said Pete Piringer, spokesman for Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service.
The 鈥� which vary in difficulty.
鈥淪ection A is extremely strenuous, and involves a lot of rock scrambling and the need for good balance with its difficult terrain. It鈥檚 about 2 miles of a hike that most visitors take two or three hours to complete,鈥� Piringer told 草莓传媒.
鈥淭he B section is a moderate hike,鈥� Piringer said. 鈥淪ection C is an easy walk.鈥�
Those who hike the Billy Goat or any trail are advised to 鈥渃arry adequate fluids and replenish fluids regularly in the summer months,鈥� Piringer said.
In other words 鈥渉ydrate, hydrate, hydrate,鈥� he said.
鈥淒ehydration and heat stress can lead to heat stroke and death. Most of our calls are for heat-related illness, of late.”
The need to bring plenty of water along on a hike is a warning also sounded by Kate Van Waes, the executive director of the .
鈥淵ou need to have that water. It鈥檚 really critical. It could be [a matter of] life or death,鈥� she said.
Van Waes also recommends wearing adequate footwear with good tread.
鈥淧ut shoes on that are going to make sure that you don鈥檛 break a toe or twist your ankle,鈥� Van Waes said. She strongly advises against wearing flip-flops or sandals.
And when out and about, paying attention to all posted warnings is key not only to preserving human health, but the natural environment.
鈥淚f you see a sign that says this part of [a] trail is cut off or is closed for the day 鈥� that really does apply to you. It applies to everybody 鈥� no matter how much of an expert hiker you are, those signs are put up there for a reason because [the trails] are too dangerous to travel right now,” she said.
“And because whatever it is that has happened to the trail 鈥� people might end up trying to go off-trail in certain places to get around those obstacles. That ends up being [potentially] bad for, fragile plant life and wild life that鈥檚 off trail. So for multiple reasons, you鈥檝e got to pay attention to the signs.”
Van Waes said staying on the established trail is best because 鈥済oing off-trail, you actually can get lost pretty fast.鈥�
The American Hiking Society website has resources to help hikers prepare for an outing, including .
草莓传媒’s Zeke Hartner contributed to this report.
