Posted on 07/29/2021 10:21:39 PM PDT by Berlin_Freeper
Also, use a buddy-system.
68 years old.
While I am impressed and inspired that someone a little older than me is willing to hike in the desert, he was doing it wrong, in my opinion. Bring somebody with you.
This whole state has been going through wild temp fluctuations, as is typical in the summer.
I doubt the cause of death will take much investigating.
Admittedly I am not a hiker, but what is the point of hiking a salt flat.
All of the hikers I know hike scenic areas. They want to seem beautiful vistas.
What is there to see on a salt flat?
And to top that off there is no water or shelter for miles in any direction.
“…His cause of death is under investigation, but the sheriff’s office says Branham likely started his hike on Sunday or Monday when temperatures were 118 degrees and humidity was 91%….”
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Hmmm…I wonder if he had COVID-19 vaccinations. This might be yet another vaccine related death. /sarc
The valley is named that for a good reason. I don’t think it is going to take Dr. Quincy to solve this one.
Wait, someone died in ‘Death’ Valley?
Now I’ve heard it all.
Umm......never mind. 🧐
91% humidity? In Death Valley? I honestly didn’t know that was even possible, I assumed it was much like the interior West, in those desert areas humidity is astonishingly low.
I like deserts, a lot, they are fun to explore. But I’ve never visited in $&@king July. I don’t know much, but I know better than that. Springtime is much safer, although unsettled.
They thought they were going to “mildly irritating valley” but GPS lied to them.
Bring a ham radio or other device with you. Cell service may not work but at least you’d have a means of communication. Bring matches and/or a lighter to set a fire. Tell people what your route will be and when to expect you back.
That said, they call it Death Valley for a reason.
Well to each his/her own. Salt flats seem good for extreme motorcycle speeds. I agree, no appeal to me to hike across a flat desert of salt.
The Chinese virus got him, no doubt.
Add it to the tally.
That is a curiosity. I recall reading many years ago that humidity in Las Vegas has risen greatly because of all the development - front and back lawns, golf courses, great man-made fountains etc all contribute to creating humidity in the desert that didn’t exist before. But over the salt plains? Doesn’t seem to make sense but hey, this global climate change stuff is very unpredictable for something they say is very predictable.
I’ve lived in the DFW Texas area for about 30 years. Each year, the humidity seems to get worse and worse.
I don’t think global warming is a problem, but global humidification is.
Some people do things just to see if they can do them. Like traning to run a marathon to be able to say you’ve done one.
I can imagine going six-miles out into the middle of a salt-flat in triple-digit heat in Death Valley would be that sort of thing: to say you did it and saw weird mirages of the mountains floating in mid-air in a cloudless sky.
Put that way, it sounds kinda fun to me. I’ve hiked 12 miles on roads and through terrain...when in shape in my twenties. But if I did such a thing now, I’m training up, taking a buddy, a charged phone, first-aid kit, snacks, and a LOT of water with me!
Yeah, it’s the expansive use of water resources, imo.
That said, I think it’s a good think you don’t live in Houston ;-p
Yeah ... I just checked, knew that figure was BS. It’s gotta be a typo.
19% (Not 91%) is right in line with typical daytime humidity for July in Death Valley. It might crack 50% or so at night, in the winter months. 118° F. and 91% humidity is just short of Sous Vide. Ain’t gonna happen in Death Valley.
These days, I can hardly tell the difference.
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