A Proposed Hiking Ban in Phoenix Draws Outrage

Credit...Caitlin O'Hara for The New York Times

PHOENIX — When the temperature hits the triple digits here, hikers continue to hike. They snake their way up Camelback Mountain, which has a 2,680-foot summit with spectacular views of the city. They pack the picturesque mile-long trail up Piestewa Peak. They traverse the towering cactuses dotting South Mountain Park.

And some of them find themselves lost, parched, in distress.

Six hikers in Arizona died in a single weekend last month, and Phoenix firefighters have rescued 141 people from the city’s mountains and trails so far this year, many of them overcome by the summer’s stupefying heat.

To reduce the number of hikes that go awry, the city has tried offering safety tips (“plan ahead,” “don’t hike alone,” “avoid huffing and puffing”) and leaving free bottles of water and ice at the parking lots of some of the most popular spots.

Going further, city officials recently proposed closing trails altogether when the temperature hits 110 degrees. That plan drew considerable criticism.

Opponents griped promptly and loudly, deriding the proposed ban as the actions of a nanny state.

“Maybe they should close bike lanes when it gets too hot as well?” one man asked on Twitter.

On the trailhead at Piestewa Peak on Thursday, one of the most popular hiking spots here, Bret Lawson, an accountant, suggested creating a “stupid hiker law,” modeled after the “stupid motorist law,” which charges drivers for the cost of their rescue if they go around barricades to enter flooded roadways and get stranded.

“I don’t need government interfering any more in my life, and definitely not when it comes to when and how I hike,” said Mr. Lawson, 55.

At a meeting of the city’s Parks and Recreation Board to consider the proposed ban Thursday evening, the reaction was as searing as Arizona’s summer sun.

According to city statistics, the number of rescues on the trails has gone up every year since 2013, at least, and they peak during the summer, though the Fire Department does not keep track of how many rescues were specifically related to the heat.

With so much criticism, the city decided against banning hikers during extreme heat but did approve restrictions prohibiting hikers from taking their dogs and other animals on the trails when temperatures reach 100.

That same afternoon, a 23-year-old hiker who showed signs of dehydration had to be flown off Camelback Mountain. The temperature was 97 degrees.