Death Valley Hiker Dies

According to the park, a hiker passed away on Tuesday at the beginning of a Death Valley path from what appears to have been heatstroke.

At Golden Canyon, a dayhiking destination with more than 7 miles of sometimes exposed route winding through sculpted sedimentary rock formations, Steve Curry, 71, passed out in front of the bathrooms. The incident happened shortly after 3:30 p.m., when it was the hottest time of the day. While Badwater Basin reached 121°F, the canyons were significantly hotter "due to canyon walls radiating the sun's heat." Curry, a visitor from Los Angeles who was dressed in hiking boots, a sun hat and a backpack, had just returned from a trip in the region, according to the National Park Service.

The Inyo County Sheriff's Office reported on Facebook that Curry had climbed to Zabriskie Point, about two miles from the parking lot, where he spoke with Los Angeles Times reporters Hayley Smith and Francine Orr about the park's unprecedented heat wave. Curry told the reporters that he had climbed to Zabriskie Point early in the day while hiding in the shade beneath "a small metal interpretive sign."

"The heat is dry...Everything here is heated, he declared.

Curry then presumably drove back to the Golden Canyon trailhead, where he had parked his car, and passed out shortly after. He was seen by other visitors, who dialled 911. An automated external defibrillator and CPR were used by NPS rangers and Inyo County Sheriff's deputies to try and revive him, but they were eventually unsuccessful.

Curry's cause of death hasn't been officially confirmed, but NPS officers believe it was heat-related. If confirmed, he would be the second person this summer to die at the park from heat exhaustion, the first being a 65-year-old man on July 3.

Death Valley has seen one of its warmest summers on record thanks to the ongoing national heat wave. The park has recorded 28 days this year so far where the temperature has risen above 110°F and as high as 128°F. The park recorded highs of 130°F in July 2021 and August 2020, which some meteorologists believe may be the highest temperature ever reliably measured on Earth. That is only a few degrees below those highs.

The sweltering heat has persisted even after sunset. The hottest nighttime ever recorded on earth occurred on July 17 in the park, with temperatures reaching 120°F between midnight and one in the morning.

Even regular rescues become challenging in conditions of such intense heat. Although it's unclear from reports whether an air rescue would have made a difference in the outcome, the NPS claims that a rescue helicopter from California and Nevada air ambulance service Mercy Air was unable to respond to the emergency because the high temperatures left it unable to generate enough lift. The Grand Canyon, Death Valley, and other extremely hot national parks are experiencing an increase in occurrences of such scenario.

Following the incident, Death Valley National Park officials advised hikers to take extra water, go on routes only very early in the morning and very late in the day. The signs and symptoms of heatstroke include "throbbing headache," "dizziness and light-headedness," "lack of sweating despite the heat," "red, hot, and dry skin," "muscle weakness or cramps," "nausea," "vomiting," "rapid, shallow breathing," behavioural changes like confusion, disorientation, or staggering," and "seizures," and "unconsciousness." All hikers should be able to recognise these signs and symptoms and seek.