This month, extreme endurance athlete Marshall Ulrich and firefighter Dave Heckman finished an unprecedented expedition, going on foot around the perimeter of Death Valley National Park during the hottest part of summer, completely unaided and unassisted. They began on July 22 and concluded 16 days later on August 7.
While others have trekked in this area, no one has attempted to circumnavigate the park, and certainly not during the height of summer when the threat of dehydration and heat stroke are dire. To grasp the gravity of this, consider that on the same day Ulrich and Heckman finished their trek, another accomplished ultrarunner died in Death Valley after just a few hours under the blazing sun.