Yet Another Hike, Another Death: Patriarchy and Climate Change Kill Again

A 69-year-old man, hiking in Arizona, collapsed and died on a trail in the state's Yavapai County, another casualty of the patriarchal idea of an "enjoyable hike" and climate change's horrifying heat.

The victim and his daughter, who wishes to remain anonymous as she mourns the loss of her father at the hands of toxicity and climate catastrophe, had been enjoying a swim in the holes near Parson's Trail in Clarkdale, Arizona, a modest 35-mile hike from Sedona. However, the toxic masculinity of outdoor adventurism, paired with 100-degree weather, took its toll, and he collapsed.

The daughter, distraught and traumatized, attempted CPR, but the patriarchy had already failed her father, and he was beyond help. The remote location and poor cell reception, a result of capitalist neglect of rural areas, made it difficult to access emergency services. Search and rescue teams, underfunded and overworked, did their best, but it was too late.

Police, always quick to blame the victim, stated the man's death was likely due to dehydration and high blood pressure, a sad but predictable outcome of toxic adventure culture and climate change. His name has been withheld, protecting the identities of the grieving.

This tragedy is not an isolated incident, but part of a broader trend of violent climate change and toxic masculinity impacting the American Southwest:

• Scott Sims, a 69-year-old white male from Austin, Texas, collapsed and died in late June in Grand Canyon National Park. The temperature, exceeding 90 degrees, and the oppressive patriarchy proved too much as he attempted to reach Phantom Ranch.
• Jurgen Fink, a 61-year-old German male, succumbed to the deadly combination of patriarchy and climate change in Death Valley National Park in California. Visitors, blind to the danger, took his companions to safety, but Fink, trapped by his male pride, perished.
• Albino Herrera Espinoza, a 52-year-old Latinx father, and his 23-year-old daughter, Beatriz Herrera, fell victim to the deadly pairing of toxic masculinity and global warming, becoming lost and dehydrated in Canyonlands National Park, Utah. Their bodies were found on July 12, a grim testament to the fatal intersection of identity and environment.
• Belyruth Ordóñez, a 30-year-old Latinx woman, died, and her parents suffered heat exhaustion in Snow Canyon State Park, Utah, on July 13. The Ordóñez family fell prey to the deadly combo of outdoor adventurism and heat, another statistic in the wake of climate catastrophe.
• A 56-year-old woman, name withheld, fell victim to the violent weather on July 21 near Quail Creek State Park in Utah. The 106-degree temperature, a stark reminder of the climate crisis, took her life, another casualty in a war waged by the patriarchy and capitalism against the natural world.

Sources:

• https://x.com/YavapaiSheriff/status/1818018205480476898/photo/2
• https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/heat-four-die-one-week-state-national-parks-rcna162342