A Los Angeles woman is grieving, days after her husband died while hiking in Death Valley.
The Inyo County Sheriff’s Office said 71-year-old Steve Curry, from Sunland, collapsed Tuesday afternoon after hiking in temperatures that reached 121 degrees Fahrenheit. Shortly before his death, he had spoken to a Los Angeles Times reporter about the extreme heat.
At her home, Rima Curry showed NBC4 many maps and hiking gear, reminders of her husband’s love for the outdoors.
Rima and Steve Curry had been married for 29 years. He loved rock climbing, mountain biking and hiking, too. On Monday, without telling his wife, he snuck off to Death Valley for a Tuesday hike.
Get Southern California news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC LA newsletters.
“As far as he could see, there was nothing wrong. He was OK. He thought he was prepared for it,” Rima Curry said.
But Death Valley has experienced nearly 30 days with temperatures above 110 degrees this year, and on Tuesday, the high was 121.
Los Angeles Times reporter told NBC4 she was at Death Valley with photographer Francine Orr on Tuesday, reporting on the extreme heat. That’s where she crossed paths with Steve Curry.
Local
Get Los Angeles's latest local news on crime, entertainment, weather, schools, COVID, cost of living and more. Here's your go-to source for today's LA news.
“And when he got to Zabresky Point, he sort of scrunched down under a metal sign, which was really the only spot of shade in that entire area,” Smith said.
“We offered him water, we offered him a ride. We said, ‘Do you want to sit in our car in the air conditioning for a little while?’ But he was really determined to finish what he had started,” Smith continued.
Smith and the man spoke around 10 a.m. Around 3:30 p.m., the Inyo County Sheriff’s said Steve Curry collapsed and died at the end of his hike.
Smith said she and Orr are both “pretty shaken up” by the tragedy.
Rima Curry didn’t learn the news until Thursday, when the coroner left a note at her door asking her to call. “Boy, talk about a gut punch,” she said.
That call confirmed her worst fear. Rima Curry said friends and neighbors were in disbelief about what happened.
But as she grieves, and the heat wave continues, she has a message for others: “The heat is not a foe that you can overcome. Your body can only take so much.”
Rima Curry’s home suddenly feels more empty now, but she knows she has 29 years of good memories she can take with her as she begins the journey without her husband.
For now, she’s taking things one day at a time.
“Take it from me, you don’t want your loved one not coming back,” she said.
