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Sorry, but i don't get it. There is plenty of shade and they are on the Merced river for goodness sakes. Staying cool should not be a problem. Total elevation gain on the hike, 100 freaking feet. They are not wandering around a desert. https://www.yosemitehikes.com/not-yosemite/hite-cove/trail-map.htm https://www.yosemitehikes.com/not-yosemite/hite-cove/hite-cove.htm

Nice looking truck

Many years ago in 1980, I rode a bicycle from Los Angeles to Washington DC. A friend and I crossed the Mojave desert in late July, early August. I have photos of thermometers at gas stations reading about 107 degrees. There were two of us, and we each carried three gallons of water with us each day. Had to blow on it to cool it off to make it drinkable. But I remember being about 60 miles from anywhere, and starting to get that dizzy feeling. I started seeing things, and my peripheral vision narrowed to a tunnel. I saw a tower in the desert, and thought it was a tower from an amusement part I had worked at. Saw it clear as day. I saw buzzards circling in the sky. When I focused on them, they disappeared. Hallucination. We stopped in what little bit of shade of a joshua tree made and I drank a lot of water, and drank some honey (a trick I used to use from my rock-climbing days), even wet my clothes down before hopping back on my bike to get some airflow to cool off a bit. It was really no huge deal at the time, but looking back on it, I now realize how close I came. The thing is that I didn't even care. I would have been content to just lie down and sleep. And I was young and fit. I was glad to have had a friend with me to urge me on. Heat exhaustion and heat stroke are no joke.

Crazy they would all die of heat stroke / dehydration / etc sitting upright without any sign of a struggle and they'd all do it together, nobody making an effort to get to the car, people, and bring back help. I'm not buying it. Not a bit. Sounds like a cover up. Also likely the most we'll ever get. MIB

How did you get 4 flat tires? Valve stem sabotage? I have a 12VDC air compressor and carry 2 full size spare tires. Throw the doughnut spare away. Many tires are unidirectional so I end up with a spare for each side with correct rotation. Could put both on the same side if needed. I carry all needed hoses and belts. Clutch cable too. Spare fusible links. Jumper cables. Total coolant capacity sloshing around in the back. Propane torch. I always park in the exit direction. Words of wisdom that are difficult for some of you: always buy a vehicle that you can push by yourself. Manual transmission if you can. I have AAA.

In addition to the compressor or pump, get a puncture repair kit. It wont fix a big sidewall cut, but will fix a nail/screw/branch hole through the tread area, and they're cheap. Then seriously consider a satellite locater beacon/text device, such as Garmin or Zoleo. You can text out from anywhere with one, and also have a simple push button SOS beacon, for serious emergencies.