Man dies hiking in Death Valley in 118-degree heat



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Photo of Amy Graff

FILE - The Badwater Basin salt marshes are visible inside Death Valley National Park on June 17, 2021 in Inyo County, California.

FILE – The Badwater Basin salt marshes are visible inside Death Valley National Park on June 17, 2021 in Inyo County, California.

PATRICK T. FALLON / AFP via Getty Images

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

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

Family members told the park that Branham plans to hike a 12-mile route through the salt marshes from Badwater Basin to West Side Road and back.

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


Death Valley experiences extreme heat in the summer and the park has 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 down the road in Death Valley by a CHP helicopter at 2:25 p.m. on July 28. said park. “The helicopter landed at Furnace Creek Airport to unload equipment to lighten the helicopter before returning with a park ranger to retrieve his body.”

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