I started walking across the dunes early in the morning. I normally take a 1,5 liter bottle with me. For this day I chose to swap it for the 5 liter one. I met a nice American guy with an equal supply of water and we set out for a long walk across the dune, through Death Valley and beyond.

After midday it became clear I should have taken with me another bottle. I only took very tiny gulps. Nonetheless the water supplies were diminishing too rapid. So we ended up under a tree in the shade hoping for someone to give us a lift 5 km back to our car. Well, we could have made it, but I trust the state we would have arrived in wouldn't have pleased us.

By the way he was wearing sandals. This proofed to be another mistake. By midday the thermometer surpassed the 50°C mark and the sand started to be so hot he got burns at his feet. Wrapping them with towels and whatever we had was not sufficient. I was glad to have set off with my mountaineering boots which kept off the heat quite well.

And taking the boots off doesn't help either. You can't just stick your feet in the air. We somehow are bound to touch the ground. And other parts of the body can't withstand the heat either.