Third hiker in a month dies in Death Valley,
Extreme heat likely involved in all deaths
A third hiker in under four weeks has died in Death Valley National Park, most likely due to causes related to the extreme heat conditions.
On Saturday, August 22, Blake Chaplin, 52, Leawood, Kan. was found deceased near the Manly Beacon formation along the Golden Canyon Trail in Death Valley National Park. This was the second fatality along this trail within a week, and the third hiker fatality in the park in less than four weeks (see below).
According to the park, park staff received a report from an early morning hiker who discovered Chaplin next to the trail. Park rangers responded and confirmed the report. No helicopters were available to assist, so National Park Search and Rescue team members hiked in to recover the body.
The Inyo County Sheriff’s Office and Inyo County Coroner are investigating the cause of death; foul play is not suspected.
Temperatures on Aug. 21 and Aug. 22 reached
109 degrees, which is below the daily normal of 115 degrees. Although these temperatures may be cooler compared to a typical Death Valley summer day, precautions should still be taken while visiting in the heat, park officials said this week.
Only a few days earlier, on Aug. 18, another hiker on the same trail, Lawrence Stanback, 60, San Francisco, died while hiking near Red Cathedral along the Golden Canyon Trail. Following reports of a suspected heat stroke and CPR in progress at 1:40 p.m., an inter-agency Search and Rescue was initiated, with park rangers responding on foot locating Stanback and confirming that he was deceased, park officials said then. They said a California Highway Patrol Inland Division Air Operations helicopter H-80 responded to assist with the recovery, but winds were too strong to safely land. In the cooler evening hours, National Park staff were able to safely complete the recovery, they said. The Inyo County Sheriff’s Office and Inyo County Coroner are investigating the cause of death.
A third hiker fatality occurred last month, sometime between July 25 and July 28 when a Washington man died while trying to hike from the lowest point in the
United States, located in the park and called Badwater, to the other side of Death Valley to West Side Road, a 12-mile round trip across open desert.
A California Highway Patrol (CHP) helicopter crew later found his body about two miles from the closest road in the park, according to officials at the time, but helicopter rotors struggled to create enough lift in the hot air, with temperatures at about 115 degrees at the time. The helicopter then had to land at Furnace Creek airport to off-load equipment to lighten the helicopter before returning with a park ranger to recover the hiker’s body.
The Inyo County Coroner Office is investigating the cause of death. The man likely started his hike on July 25, they said, when temperatures were up to 118 degrees, with humidity up to 91 percent.
Park rangers urge summer travelers to visit Death Valley safely by hiking only before 10 a.m. or at high elevations, drinking plenty of water, eating snacks, and by staying close to an airconditioned building or vehicle to cool down or stay in the shade.