As beautiful as the Inner Gorge of Grand Canyon National Park is, it can be a dangerous place, too/NPS, Mark Lellouch
Many of us are awestruck by the beauty and grandeur of Grand Canyon National Park, but enjoying that landscape comes with the caveat that it can be a dangerous place if you're not careful or simply unlucky. A recent day in the life of Grand Canyon rangers drives that message home.
September 24 was a particularly busy day for rangers, as seven people were evacuated from the canyon via helicopter in seven separate incidents:
* A 53-year-old woman on a private river trip with cardiac problems was evacuated from the National Canyon area.
* A 69-year-old woman on a commercial river trip who'd suffered a femur fracture was short-hauled via helicopter from Havasu Creek to a landing zone near the Colorado River for evacuation to the South Rim.
* A 33-year-old man from a private river trip was evacuated from the mouth of Havasu Creek after suffering a serious laceration in the groin area.
* A 43-year-old female backpacker with an acute abdomen (appendicitis) was evacuated from Phantom Ranch.
* A 29-year-old man with cardiac issues was extracted from the North Rim developed area.
* A 52-year-old male backpacker with a leg injury was evacuated from the Nankoweap area.
* A 51-year-old woman on a commercial river trip with a knee injury was evacuated from the Nankoweap area.
In addition to the medevacs, there were several other incidents, including:
* A flipped and stuck raft below Crystal Rapids that necessitated four rangers and two sling loads of equipment flown in to begin a two-day recovery operation;
* A warrant/intoxication arrest in the South Rim developed area;
* An intoxicated and possibly suicidal person approximately a mile and a half down the Bright Angel Trail; and
* A hyponatremic 65-year-old woman treated and transported via NPS ambulance from the South Rim after attempting to hike rim to rim in a day.
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