The death of 17-year-old Jake Parks from heat illness after a hike in the mountains above Santa Barbara earlier this year was an incalculable loss for his family.
Jenni and Todd Parks’ son was stricken during the May 14 outing, and died a few hours later at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.
Despite their ongoing grief, the Parks family — including Jake’s twin sister, Julia, and older brother, Jesse — has found a way to have something positive come out of their heartache.
Thanks to the efforts of a local Girl Scout, the Montecito Trails Foundation and others, signs will be placed at local front-country trailheads providing information about the causes, symptoms and required treatment for heat stroke and heat exhaustion, as well as preparations to prevent those conditions while hiking.
“If I could spare one parent, one family from having to go through this nightmare of losing a child … ,” Jenni Parks told Noozhawk. “All I want is for people to be aware. Even 17-year-old kids can get in a pickle.”
Jake was a San Marcos High School senior who was set to graduate in June. He was hiking with friends on the Jesusita Trail on that fateful Saturday morning when he started to feel ill on the way to Inspiration Point. He soldiered on with the group for a time before his condition worsened, and one of his friends called his mother, who instructed him to call 9-1-1.
A trail rescue was initiated, and Jake was taken to the hospital with a body-core temperature that reportedly may have reached as high as 110 degrees.
Despite the efforts of the medical staff, Jake died at the hospital.
An investigation by the Santa Barbara County sheriff’s Coroner’s Bureau confirmed that the cause of death was complications from heat stroke, Parks said.
Parks shared Jake’s story with Noozhawk in June, which led to her connecting with Ashlee Mayfield, president of the Montecito Trails Foundation, and Abbey Gaston, a Girl Scout who is working on her Gold Award project, the organization’s equivalent to the Eagle Scout Award in the Boy Scouts of America.
Mayfield said she was moved by Jake’s story, and talked about the idea of posting information signs with Stephen Dougherty of the Santa Barbara County Search & Rescue Team.
“He and I discussed Jake, and how signage would be helpful,” she said.
Shortly thereafter, Mayfield was contacted by Abbey and her mother, Kara Szymanski-Gaston, who also had been touched by what happened to Jake.
Abbey, a 15-year-old Santa Barbara High junior who plays lacrosse and soccer, has experienced some heat-related illnesses herself, and was moved by Jake’s story and the Parks family’s desire to see something good come from the tragedy.
“I’ve passed out a couple times playing lacrosse when it was really hot, and I didn’t eat or drink enough,” Abbey said, adding that what happened to Jake was somewhat of an epiphany for her. “I read the Noozhawk article about Jake, and immediately when I read it, it hit me. I had had issues myself, and I realized this is real, this is a kid, he is my age.”
With the support of the trails group and others, Abbey got to work fulfilling one of Jenni Parks’ desires in the wake of Jake’s death — to have the informational signs placed at local trailheads.
From there, the project rapidly began to take shape.
“I was able to get things rolling pretty quickly,” Mayfield said, adding that she had help from the Search & Rescue folks creating the signs, which the foundation is underwriting.
She noted that there have been several heat-related rescues from the local trails in the months since Jake’s death, adding a sense of urgency to the project.
The parties involved set up a pop-up table and display at the Cold Spring Trailhead last Sunday to show off the draft signage and get feedback. They also offered hikers water, fruit and pretzels, and electrolytes.
In addition, they surveyed people on their knowledge of heat-related illnesses, and how to prepare for safe excursions into the wild.
“We got a lot of really positive feedback,” Mayfield said.
More pop-ups are planned within the next month, according Abbey’s mom.
Among those supporting this project are Montecito Bank & Trust, Mountain Air Sports, Riviera Towel Co., Rascal’s Vegan Food, Aligned Pilates Studio, Sprouts Farmers Market, Ralphs Supermarket and Nutrishop.
Mayfield said she hopes to have temporary laminated signs, which will be in both English and Spanish, ready for posting in a couple weeks, while waiting for the more-permanent versions, which probably won’t arrive for about six weeks.
Initially, the signs will be posted at front-country trailheads from Montecito to Carpinteria, she said, but she is confident they will spread to trails in other local jurisdictions, including the city and county of Santa Barbara, and Los Padres National Forest.
“This is one of those things that shouldn’t be guided by superficial boundaries,” Mayfield said.
Abbey shared that one of the lessons she has learned from this experience is the importance of “pre-hydrating” hours or even a day before a big hike, especially on hot days, in addition to bringing plenty of water along.
She added that hikers should not be afraid to speak up if they are not feeling well, and shouldn’t hesitate to ask other hikers for water if they need it.
Meanwhile, the Parks family is still coping day to day with the pain of Jake’s death, but taking solace in the sign project.
“I can’t tell you how grateful I am that they are doing this,” Jenni Parks said. “They got things done so quickly — I was shocked.
“I struggle with the loss of him every day, but I know that Jake would want to help somebody.”
— Noozhawk executive editor Tom Bolton can be reached at tbolton@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
