RDAU_2026-ISSUE0809_DIGITAL MAGAZINE

Under the Sweltering Sky Della, hoping that he would get to see them again. Desperate, he fired a distress signal from the 10 mm handgun he carried to fend off bears—a last-ditch call for help. The sound carried across the rocks andmesas to John Zeto Jr., a 57-year-old retired firefighter from Tampa, Florida, enjoying his new hobby—hikingmoun- tain trails in Arizona. He’d passed a sign banning target practice, so he thought the pair of shots might be someone shooting at an animal. But when he heard another pair about half an hour later, his instincts, honed over 30 years responding to calls for help, told him the repeated shots must be a distress signal. On previous hikes, Zeto had come across other hikers in need. There was a O n a Wednesday morning in May 2024, Colt Johnson, a 26-year old electrician on va- cation in central Arizona, set out to hike a remote trail in the Superstition Mountains by himself. Accustomed to hiking the shaded, cooler trails near his home in Blackfoot, Idaho, Johnson was undone by the brutal 100-degree heat of Arizona’s naked sun. After five hours, he found himself lost and out of water. Lightheaded and dizzy, he texted his wife, “I need help.” But his text didn’t go through; his phone had no service. Johnson nibbled some gummy worms, fearing they would be his last meal. He thought of his wife, Malia Johnson, five months preg- nant, and their 3-year-old daughter, BY John Rosengren A retired firefighter knew that a delirious hiker was close to death in the 100-degree heat. Could he coax the much larger man down the mountain and save both their lives? reader ’ s digest EVERYDAY HEROES 6   August/september2026  | reAdersdigest.com.Au photography by Marion Rhoades Photography John Zeto Jr.’s lifesaving skills kicked in on a dangerous trail. World of Good 7