A 71-year-old man from Los Angeles collapsed and died Tuesday at a trailhead in Death Valley National Park as temperatures reached 121 degrees, authorities announced.
Other visitors to the park noticed the man outside the restroom of the popular Golden Canyon hiking trail and called 911 at around 3:40 p.m., according to a news release from park officials.
Park rangers arrived just seven minutes later, performed CPR and used an automated external defibrillator (AED), but were unable to save the unidentified 71-year-old.
Rangers believe the man, who was wearing a sunhat and hiking clothes, and was also carrying a backpack, had likely been hiking the Golden Canyon trail.
“The Inyo County Coroner’s Office has not yet determined the man’s cause of death. However, park rangers suspect heat was a factor,” the release noted. “The official temperature at nearby Furnace Creek was 121°F around the time of his death. Actual temperatures inside Golden Canyon were likely much higher, due to canyon walls radiating the sun’s heat.”
Park officials believe this is the second heat-related fatality in Death Valley this summer. A 65-year-old man from San Diego was found dead in his vehicle on July 3.
“According to the National Weather Service, Death Valley has experienced 28 days of temperatures in excess of 110 degrees this year. Heat stroke sets in when the body’s core temperature rises above 104 degrees,” officials said.
Visitors to Death Valley during the summer months are encouraged to protect themselves against heat-related illnesses by not straying too far from their air-conditioned vehicles while sightseeing or hiking the park’s cooler mountain areas. Low elevation hikes are not recommended after 10 a.m.