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Alex Cabrero ReportingAn autopsy will tell for sure how a man died while hiking in Southern Utah; heat exhaustion is suspected. He was part of an outdoor survival school teaching clients how to survive in harsh desert conditions.
It's the type of place people go to to get away from it all, but sometimes that's the problem. If something goes wrong, you are away from it all.
Eric Spreng has bills to pay, which is why he works at REI. But if he had it his way, he'd spend most of his time outdoors.
Eric Spreng, REI: "There's always the temptation to put yourself out there and test yourself with how you're going to do against the elements."
Spreng has tested himself several times in the deserts of Southern Utah, and has great stories to share. But when he hears stories about hikers dying in the deserts, he just wonders if whatever went wrong could've been avoided.
Eric Spreng: "A lot of accidents in the backcountry, the vast majority of which are preventable."
Two hikers died already this week. The first, a 16-year old girl from Boston, with the group "Outward Bound" in the Lockhart Canyon area near Canyonlands National Park. The second, a 29-year old New Jersey man with the "Boulder Outdoor Survival School" near Cottonwood Wash Canyon in Garfield County.
Their deaths are still being investigated, but temperatures for the first death were in the 110 area, the second death in the 90's.
Eric Spreng: "The thing you gotta keep in mind the most is to stay hydrated."
Spreng says water-holding backpacks and powdered electrolyte type mixes are the best way to keep going when you're hiking.
Eric Spreng: "when you're exerting yourself in warm temperatures, you might be sweating away as much as a liter of water an hour."
Spreng also says it's okay to hike when temperatures get as hot as they've been, you just have to take extra careful.
