sweltering

Los Angeles may be a mecca for hiking, but not necessarily in the depths of summer when it’s too sweltering to hit the trails, even in the morning.

The closeness of the race was evident during a recent sweltering weekend observing canvassers who were handed plastic coolers filled with water bottles and ice, as well as electrolytes and snacks, before heading to neighborhoods in Phoenix and nearby communities.

When podcast producer Ruth Evans and I knocked on his door one sweltering day in rural Wisconsin in August 2023, he sank onto his steps, put his head in his hands and swore.

He scored just 68 of his 264 runs in boundaries meaning the rest were taken by running ones, twos and threes in sweltering heat nearing 40C.

But California’s interior certainly has been sweltering.