What Could Have Possibly Gone Wrong?

[dales]

Man dies hiking in Death Valley amid 118 degree heat


SFGATE
July 30, 2021
Updated: July 30, 2021 7:39 a.m.

A 68-year-old man from Tukwila, Wash., was found dead in Death Valley National Park Wednesday, officials said.

Douglas Branham missed a scheduled flight home to Washington and a family member called The Inn at Death Valley on the morning of July 28 and learned that his belongings were still in his hotel room, the park said in a statement.

Family members told the park Branham planned to hike a 12-mile route across salt flats from rom Badwater Basin to West Side Road and back.

The Inyo County Coroner Office is investigating the cause of death, but a preliminary investigation revealed that Branham likely started his hike on Sunday or Monday, when temperatures were up to 118°F, with humidity up to 91%.

Death Valley experiences extreme heat in the summer and the park advised against hiking after 10 a.m. The park recorded its highest temperature ever on July 10, 1913, with a high of 134 degrees. The hottest temperature the park has seen so far this year is 130 degrees on July 9.

Branham was found about two miles from the road in Death Valley by a CHP helicopter at 2:25 p.m. on July 28. "Helicopter rotors struggle to create enough lift in hot air, and temperatures were about 115°F at the time," the park said. "The helicopter landed at Furnace Creek airport to off-load equipment to lighten the helicopter before returning with a park ranger to recover his body."

[Gob]

Death (valley) Wish

[Long Run]

McTeague/Greed ending.

[BoSoxGal]

I read an article recently about extreme marathoners who run through Death Valley every year in the worst weather conditions, i.e., July - but they do it with a support crew who regularly provide water and check their vitals, etc. - and also provide them with fresh running sneakers every so often because the soles melt on the pavement.

118 degrees with 91% humidity is lethal wet bulb temperature conditions, not congruent with human life. The body can’t perspire sufficiently to maintain a zone of life, even if the person is adequately hydrated. Remarkable that so many people are so ignorant about how deadly heat can be and how quickly that deadliness can occur.

[Gob]

My mate "Mad" Bob Brown was running an ultra marathon, from Darwin to Sydney. When he got back here, I asked him how he'd got on.

"I came in second, I would have been third but the Japanese guy in front of me dropped dead."

[Long Run]

My mate "Mad" Bob Brown was running an ultra marathon, from Darwin to Sydney. When he got back here, I asked him how he'd got on.

"I came in second, I would have been third but the Japanese guy in front of me dropped dead."

Old age, it was.

[Big RR]

BSG--I recall reading that Death Valley was one of the driest places on earth, and I recall the humidity being similar to that in Vegas or Phoenix (very low) when I was there. Are there times when it approaches 97%? if so, it must be a fairly short season. High heat and high humidity is one of the most uncomfortable conditions you can experience.

That being said, hot, dry weather can still be deadly as you will dehydrate quickly and generally not even realize that you are sweating much as the perspiration will evaporate quickly.

[BoSoxGal]

BSG--I recall reading that Death Valley was one of the driest places on earth, and I recall the humidity being similar to that in Vegas or Phoenix (very low) when I was there. Are there times when it approaches 97%? if so, it must be a fairly short season. High heat and high humidity is one of the most uncomfortable conditions you can experience.

That being said, hot, dry weather can still be deadly as you will dehydrate quickly and generally not even realize that you are sweating much as the perspiration will evaporate quickly.

From the OP:

The Inyo County Coroner Office is investigating the cause of death, but a preliminary investigation revealed that Branham likely started his hike on Sunday or Monday, when temperatures were up to 118°F, with humidity up to 91%.

[BoSoxGal]

Good article here explains wet bulb temperature and the limits of the human body to endure heat.

How hot is too hot for the human body?
Climate change is bringing extreme heat and testing the limits of what people can tolerate.

[ex-khobar Andy]

That humidity bothered me too. It does rain in DV - a few mm monthly in the summer - and there can be floods due to rain elsewhere. So high humidity is not impossible. Weather.com gives me current (noon Pacific) 104F and 21% humidity which is typical.

[Big RR]

Thanks for pointing that out BSG. Andy, I agree it could be 91%, but seriously question if that is an inaccurate number, especially in the summer. I recall being in Saudi Arabia near the water (at the Ras Tanura refinery) when the afternoon temperatures were 112 -114 with 95% humidity; you couldn't stay outside very long.

[MGMcAnick]

I may have mentioned that one of my neighbors, a well educated 77 year old retired airline pilot, was (luckily) found face down in his front yard after almost completing a four mile walk with no refreshments in 90°F heat. The EMTs took him to the hospital for an overnight stay.
Two weeks later, he did it again. That time he said he didn't know how long he laid there before stumbling into his house to cool off some more. No one found him.
Once is a mistake. Twice is down right stupid.

[ex-khobar Andy]

Didn't know you were at Ras Tanura, Big. I spent three plus years in Damman/Al Khobar a few miles down the coast. Humid days were the exception - most of the time it was livable, and even the hottest days - the only time I have ever seen 50C = 122 F on a thermometer - were bearable. But I wouldn't spend any time in it - it was more a case of experiencing it so you could boast about it afterwards. Not that I would do that . . .

I've been in South India (Kerala State) during monsoon. Even when it's not raining stair rods it's humid because the ground is sodden and there is standing water everywhere. July and August - but when I was 16 I was invincible.

[rubato]

I may have mentioned that one of my neighbors, a well educated 77 year old retired airline pilot, was (luckily) found face down in his front yard after almost completing a four mile walk with no refreshments in 90°F heat. The EMTs took him to the hospital for an overnight stay.
Two weeks later, he did it again. That time he said he didn't know how long he laid there before stumbling into his house to cool off some more. No one found him.
Once is a mistake. Twice is down right stupid.

When people get older a lot of them don't experience thirst so they can become dangerously dehydrated.
(or suffer kidney disease or a UTI).

yrs,
rubato

[Big RR]

Interesting Andy, I was in SA for a month, including time in Ras Tanura, Al Kobar (actually Dharan) and Abqaiq; Ras Tanura was the hottest and most humid (Al Kobar was a lot better, nit sure why). I was teaching a course for the Institute of Chemical Engineers.