DEATH VALLEY DUEL

An ultramarathon in the California desert draws attention to the fight over water rights.

Though he isn’t thrilled when Carmelita Ortega, his teenage stepdaughter, vows to run her first ultramarathon, Chuck Bender knows she has two things that will make her race a success: mental fortitude and willpower. After all, her determination is what has made Carm such an accomplished climber before she’s even out of high school. Little sister Rosie is determined to do what she does best by documenting Carm’s conquest of the 150-mile Whitney to Death race while she and Chuck act as the support team in the absence of Carm’s mom, Janelle, who has to stay in Colorado for work. Race organizers Marian and Doug are excited to see Carm and Margot, another young competitor, enter the race, which they devised 10 years ago as a way to draw attention to water rights near California’s Mount Whitney and Death Valley. And Chuck, who’s happy to support Carm, has a little adventure of his own planned. His archaeological work has uncovered a tooth among ashes in the area, a possible connection to Paiute water rights activist Russell Raining Bird. Chuck hopes that sharing the site with his employer, Tabitha Eddy of Stanford University, will help her work more closely with the Native Peoples Foundation. As troubles on the trail worry Chuck about Carm’s progress, both he and Carm wonder if a string of mishaps befalling the racers could be more than just a coincidence.

A well-informed nature series hits its storytelling stride.