A woman who started a multi-day backpacking trip through Grand Canyon National Park died on a trail Sunday, the park said.
Delphine Martinez, 59, of Window Rock, Arizona, “became disoriented and later passed out” while hiking along the Thunder River Trail and could not be revived, according to a statement from the park.
While the park did not release Martinez’s cause of death, it noted that high temperatures in the inner canyon were well above 100 degrees on Sunday. At Phantom Ranch, which is at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, the high temperature reached about 115 degrees, the release said.
Martinez died about a mile from where Tapeats Creek and the Colorado River converge, the park service said. Her death is being investigated by the park service and the Coconino County Coroner.
“Rangers at Grand Canyon National Park are urging Grand Canyon visitors, especially hikers and backpackers, to be prepared for extremely hot days in the coming weeks,” the statement said.
Temperatures on exposed parts of the trail can reach more than 120 degrees in the shade during the summer, and rangers warn people not to hike the inner canyon during peak heat hours between 10 A.M. and 4 p.m.
“Hiking in extreme heat can lead to serious health risks, including heat exhaustion, heatstroke, hyponatremia and death,” the statement said.
Another Arizona hiker died Monday of heat exhaustion while hiking near the Spur Cross Trailhead, about 40 miles north of Phoenix, officials said.
Arizona, like much of the West, has been sweltering under extremely high temperatures in recent days as a heat wave sweeps through the region. The high temperatures prompted the National Weather Service to issue an extreme heat warning for the Grand Canyon area through Wednesday night.
Heat is the leading killer among natural disaster deaths, studies show. An extremely high temperature can put a significant strain on the heart or make breathing more difficult, and can also cause a person to dangerously overheat to the point of serious illness – or even death.
