OK, it’s that time of the year. It has been summer in Death Valley for weeks and folks are visiting from other states or countries with more moderate climates. Many people wonder how safe they will be, so here are the basics.
Yes, it does get hot. May-to-September daytime temperatures in the 120’s F range/48-52ºC are not rare. It often stays above 100ºF at night. The relative humidity is very low, 10% or less, unless thunderstorms are coming. Health risks include dehydration, heat exhaustion, severe sunburn, and heatstroke. But thousands of people do enjoy the park in the summer and live to tell about it.
STAY HEALTHY
• Carry and drink lots of water, about gallon a day per person. DON’T SKIMP. In this weather, we constantly lose moisture from evaporation. It goes out when we breathe, talk, eliminate, and perspire, two quarts or more per day even at rest. If you feel thirsty, you are already dehydrating. Try not to drink spring, well, or other untreated water unless it is a dire emergency, and filter it if possible. Carbonated or alcoholic drinks are not a substitute for water.
• Even if the heat saps your appetite, eat a little occasionally to maintain your body electrolytes. Those are minerals like sodium, potassium, calcium, etc. that act on the same principle as battery electrolytes: they carry electrical impulses that keep our nervous system operating. The salty sweat that stings our eyes is precious electrolytes leaving, and large water intake dilutes the remaining minerals. Over a long period this can cause drowsiness, loss of muscle control, even heart problems. Food helps restore the electrolytes.
• Wear a hat, preferably with a brim, to shield your head and neck. If you want, add a “cool collar,” a fabric band or scarf containing crystals that absorb water to form a cooling gel. Used as a bandanna or headband, it can cool your carotid arteries or jugular veins by several degrees, cooling the blood supply between your heart and brain. I have seen these sold at the visitor center store. A wet bandanna does the same thing, but dries quickly; cool collars work for several days on one soaking.
• Use the sunscreen of your choice for your skin type. Loose lightweight clothing of light-colored natural fabric works best, and woven is cooler than knit. Long or short sleeves or pants is your choice. Wear sunglasses. Wear some kind of footwear. I prefer shoes or hiking boots for anywhere unpaved, because sandals don’t give the ankle support I need, or protect from bumps, scrapes, or loose gravel and sand getting in.
• If you observe high fever, headache, dry, hot, flushed skin, disorientation, lapses of consciousness, and/or diminishing perspiration in anyone, these are symptoms of heatstroke. The body has lost its temperature-regulating ability. This is a dire life-threatening condition and the person must be gotten into shade, cooled off by any means, and brought to medical treatment immediately. Untreated, heatstroke victims go into a coma and die
STAY SAFE
• Be aware of the weather, especially thunderstorm forecasts. You might think this would be welcome relief at lower elevations, but in fact, DV is so dry that rain in the mountains often evaporates in the atmosphere, never reaching the Valley floor. You can see gray “streamer” clouds up high and feel the humidity. If you think 120º under a clear sky and blazing sun is unbearable, wait until it’s clouding up and 120º with 30% humidity. The big risk is flashfloods. DV’s many alluvial fans (fan-shaped formations at canyon mouths) are the product of repeated deposits of thousands of tons of rocks, sand, plant material, etc., washed down and swept through the narrow areas with enormous force. Never hike or camp in canyons or washes if storms are coming. We cannot outrun a flashflood. If you’re trapped, your body may never be found.
• Don’t approach, feed, or handle animals. In the heat of the day, you’re unlikely to see snakes because they can’t regulate their body temp so they stay under cover. But don’t put your hands, feet, or face where you can’t see. Don’t try to get cozy with coyotes, kit foxes, ravens, or any other creatures. Federal law prohibits interfering with wildlife, and any animal may become defensive and attack people.
• Drive carefully. The biggest cause of visitor deaths is traffic accidents. Not collisions, but one-car wrecks. Traffic is usually light, a temptation to speed. Dips and curves can sneak up on you. Combined with inclines (esp. on Daylight Pass, Mud Canyon, Beatty Cut-off, Emigrant Canyon, and Townes Pass roads), they can send vehicles out of control.
TAKE CARE OF YOUR CAR
• Keep the gas tank half full or more. Stations are at Furnace Creek, Stove Pipe Wells, and Panamint Springs in the park; Beatty, Pahrump, Lathrop Wells, Shoshone, and Lone Pine outside. Beatty is typically the cheapest, Panamint Springs the highest.
• Consider carrying a couple gallons of radiator water, even though most modern cars will be OK. On some roads, you’ll see signs before a long upgrade advising to turn off a/c to prevent overheating. This may not be necessary, but do it if the engine does overheat. Tanks of water are located around the park where vehicles are likely to overheat; this is not for drinking. Remember never to open a hot radiator.
• Don’t overuse your brakes. On long descents, use your brakes and transmission together to slow down. Many Americans who have driven only automatic transmission are not used to downshifting. But “riding” brakes excessively will eventually overheat them and perhaps make them fail.
Keep in mind, there is no cell phone coverage in the park. Pay phones are at resorts, visitor centers, and a few major road junctions. Other than that, your means of communicaton is to drive to get help. Death Valley is a wilderness where we met nature, not a YMCA or Girl Scout camp. That%26#39;s part of its appeal. So use a few common-sense measures, stay well, and have a wonderful time enjoying one of the Earth%26#39;s greatest treasures.
Summer Travel in Death Valley
Excellent post full of great advice.
Meet me for dinner at the steak house on June 24? July 8? Your choice.
June 23-July 8 — Las Vegas and Phoenix
June 23 Bakersfield? Yosemite?
June 24 Death Valley?
June 25 Gold Dust Lounge
June 26 Big Band at Italian-American Social Club
June 27 Gold Dust Lounge
June 28 Jazz Jam at Armadillo Lounge, Texas Station
June 30 Blues Jam at Legends Lounge, Stratosphere
July 2-6 Greater Phoenix Swing Dance Club%26#39;s
Fourth of July Convention; Biltmore
July 7 Blues Jam at Legends Lounge, Stratosphere
July 8 Death Valley? Yosemite? Bakersfield?
July 9 Home!
Summer Travel in Death Valley
Frisco Roadrunner !
Excellent post, you covered a lot of topics, great work !
Thank you, Opie. I hoped it would be useful, especially for newcomers to DV.
SwingCha, I might be around DV at that time, but not positive. My summer isn%26#39;t planned out in that much detail yet. I%26#39;ll be away for the next few days but may be here off and on in the evenings. I%26#39;m taking Amtrak to Utah, will visit some friends and relax for a few days. If I decide to go to DV then, I%26#39;ll let you know.
Heat wave in Southern California. If it is hot in Los Angeles, it will be hotter in Death Valley.
www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi…
According to today%26#39;s park Morning Report, yesterday%26#39;s high temperature at Furnace Creek was 121ºF/50ºC and the low was 91ºF/33ºC. Even at Scotty’s Castle, which is quite a bit higher in elevation, it was 108ºF/33ºC. Today%26#39;s prediction was for similar temperatures.
Here is the park website for current info.
http://www.nps.gov/deva/index.htm
If you are going, take care of yourself!
Just to keep everyone posted, the daily report for Death Valley for today predicted a high temp of 121ºF/49º+C, with light winds, gusting up to 20 mph/30 kph in the afternoon. There was also a forecast of some smoke, which is an issue all over California and nearby states.
The lows are in the high 80sF/low 30sC. This means at night when there is no sun. There are some nights when it never goes below 100º. The summer heat should be peaking in the next couple of weeks.
So keep in mind your health and safety, don’t skimp on the water, and be sure to eat occasionally because you lose lots of salt and other minerals through your pores.
I am trying to plan when to go. Summer is my extended break time, but gas and food are so expensive and also I am having new windows put in at home so I have to schedule around that.
Enjoy Death Valley! I’ll post when I go and it might be fun to arrange a meet with a TA or two who might be there.
It%26#39;s only February, but people are planning ahead for summer. So it%26#39;s time to bump this up again.
Thanks, appreciate the tips.
Bump up for the new summer.
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