Hi Dagna.
BeeTL...if you got to the JB Starkey Wilderness Park, then SR52 was only about another 6 miles give or take.
Maybe some can acclimate to the heat...I don't (and I've lived here all my life). In summer I try to ride either early am or late afternoon (prefer afternoon). I find that I can tolerate the heat better if I start in the am and it builds up on me, but its hard to start in the middle of the afternoon for me.