As soon as the sun comes up, the temperature starts to rise rapidly. But the real problem is the heat absorbed by the body in direct sun. We again use the shadows cast by the cars to cook and eat our breakfast. Even in this no man's land, there are plenty of grasshoppers and a few biting flies. We then set out to park the cars for our first day's walk. We park my Acura a mile south of the camp, Joy's Explorer 7.5 miles north of the Acura and Warren's Kia 15 miles north of the Acura. We cover each window of each car and the top of the Acura's trunk with sun-shades. We are ready to begin our walk here at almost 6,400 feet, and at 9:30 AM the temperature is quite pleasant. Even though this is our first day of walking, we are not too concerned. We know that it is mostly downhill today and at these higher elevations, it will not be too warm. We are, however, surprised at the intensity of the sun's rays. We each have a large umbrella covered with sun-reflecting material. However, whenever we put down the umbrella to take a picture or to urinate, our bodies seem to heat up almost instantly. I was glad that I had insisted on a "no shorts" policy.

The morning's walk is pleasant and interesting. There are Pinyon pine and Joshua trees as well as various flowers as we walk towards Joy's Explorer parked at about 4,100 feet elevation. We spot a large yellow-brown snake making its way across the dirt road as well as several long-tailed lizards. As if to remind us that we are still in a desert environment, carcasses of two cows stare us in the face as we round a bend in the road. We reach the Explorer at about noon and eat our lunch and refill our water bottles. We had covered 7.5 miles in two and a half hours, a respectable 20 minute per mile pace. It is 92°F but we are not that uncomfortable. We are pretty elated at how well things are going. "Not so fast, my children", Mother Nature seems to whisper in our ears almost immediately. We have been walking in the Cucomungo Canyon, shielded from the winds, but as we enter the open Eureka Valley, the gusting head winds bring our forward march to a crawl. The umbrella that is so effective against the sun is now becoming a liability. Warren wasn't very meticulous in taping the sun-reflecting material to his umbrella and the material is already starting to come apart. I had anticipated the umbrella-in-the-wind problem, but I am now wondering if I should not have included some upper-body workouts in our training.

We have not seen a single car since yesterday evening. Prior to starting this walk, I had informed the National Park Service about our plans. As we walk the lonely Eureka Valley Road, I wonder if a Ranger might not come by to talk to us. Lo and behold, as we near the end of our day's walk, a truck pulls up behind us and the driver identifies himself as an off-duty Park Ranger. It is the same ranger, Charlie, whom I had talked to previously. He is returning from an outing in the mountains, where he had gone to escape the Valley heat. So much for the Death Valley Rangers braving the heat. He tells us, that, in summer, most rangers just stay in the office.

We finish the walk, retrieve the cars and return to our camp. It is 5:30 PM and about 100°F. We relax a bit in the shade of our cars before tackling the dinner chores. I was feeling pretty energetic when we finished the walk but now, an hour later in the camp, I don't seem to have much energy. Then I realize the problem. While we were busy retrieving the cars and setting up the camp, I had neglected to continue to drink water and I was becoming dehydrated. We were all so careful about staying hydrated while walking but became complacent as soon as the walk ended.

Late that evening, Patrick drives up from Reno. He is going to join us for the next four days.

Dinesh's caption:
Day 1. My wife, Joy, starts hiking with her reflective umbrella.

Car Talk's caption:
"How many miles to the nearest divorce lawyer?"

Dinesh's caption:
Not an encouraging sight! A dead cow.

Car Talk's caption:
"Gee, where's the umbrella she had when she left this morning?"