May, 2009 Updates
View near the Tonto Trail between South Kaibab & Bright Angel Trails. Bright Angel Canyon and Phantom Ranch can be seen on the left, while the Kaibab (Black) Bridge crosses the river near the center of the photo. (Photo: Brian Lane)
Overview
Inner Canyon temperatures are fluctuating between wonderfully pleasant and hot. The difference being day and night temps - days in the mid-nineties, with nights near 60 degrees. This weekend may bring thunderstorms on Saturday as the Nat'l Weather Service is setting the chance for rain at 60 percent. The heat will soon return with temps near 100 degrees by mid-week (May 6th, 2009).
Havasupai Still Closed Until June 1st
Havasu Canyon will remain closed until (at least) June 1st, 2009. The Havasupai Tribe recently announced that the Havasu area will stay closed during the month of May due to the Swine Flu outbreak. The canyon has been closed since the flood of last August which wiped out large portions of the trail and campground. It had been scheduled to reopen on May 1st.
Good Trail Eats - The Backcountry Bar
I recently purchased a few of Karie Jean - The Cookie Queen's Backcountry Bars for my recent trip into the Canyon. I have to say that they are the best tasting energy bars I have ever had. Tasting like a nutty peanut butter cookie with ingredients including: rolled oats, peanut butter, brown sugar, mixed dried fruit, mixed nuts, eggs, butter, pumpkin kernels, sunflower, flax, and sesame seeds, honey, baking soda, and vanilla, they are an excellent source of nutrition for Canyon hikers. They do have a higher fat content than Cliff Bars, but oooh, the taste. Try them out, I don't think you'll be disappointed. For more info visit Karie Jean's website at www.cookie-queen.com.
Hiker Rescued from Grandview Trail
On April 29th,2009, a 47 year old hiker from Ohio traveling down the Grandview Trail stopped to check out the view, lost his balance and fell about 60 feet. He and his companions were several hundred feet down the trail, headed for their designated camp at Cottonwood Creek (west of Grandview) when the mishap occurred. The accident happened about 3:20 p.m. and a visitor at the trailhead heard their calls for help and notified the Park Service. The man was air lifted from the Canyon; his injuried are not known at this time.
NPS paramedic Bonnie Taylor with injured Ohio man during the short-haul rescue operation. (NPS Photo)
As Always...
Hike Smart & Have Fun!
Brian
I cannot express enough my disappointment at the extended closure of the Havasupai Falls and campground by the Supai tribe, due to the ridiculously overblown "Swine Flu" hysteria.
This decision was clearly based upon nothing but panic and fear. They are far more likely to have a visitor bring in Tuberculosis, hepatitis, HIV, or the regular everyday flu, than the "Swine Flu", and yet none of those ever spark a closure.
There have been 4...count them....4 cases of this flu in Arizona so far, in a state of 6 million. In the US as a whole, there are 109....total...out of 300,000,000 people! For them to close and ruin the vacation plans of a few thousand people, not to mention the loss of dollars to their community, on the basis of .000000363 percent of the population having a flu that is hardly any worse than any other flu, is absolute over reaction and hysteria.
A huge thank you to the media for turning this into the "pandemic" that is clearly isn't.
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