Yaki Point, South Rim (Photo: Brian Lane)

FIRST EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING HAS BEEN ISSUED...

The National Weather Service has issued its first Excessive Heat Warning of the year in Arizona for Wednesday, June 22nd. Inner Canyon temperatures are set to exceed 110 degrees in the shade, and there ain't much shade inside the canyon unless you are by the Colorado River or an active side drainage.

PLEASE, be sure to employ the proper Grand Canyon summer hiking strategies:

* Be off trail between the hours of 9am-4pm.
* Drink plenty of fluids with electrolytes -  a minimum of a quart (plus) per hour.
* Rest often.
* Eat salty snacks.

Man Dies while Rafting
39-year-old James Waring, Jr., of Lexington, SC died on June 9th when the row boat he was in flipped and Mr. Waring was swept down river. Commercial rafters found the man and administered CPR to no avail. The body was removed from the Inner Canyon on June 10th.

Human Caused Fires
Recently the southwest has become a tinderbox due to the lack of rain, high winds, and no humidity. There have been a few human caused fires within Grand Canyon National Park this season, but so far they have not caused any huge concern. Please be aware of fire restrictions and exercise extreme caution and/or curtail activities including: outdoor cooking, open fires or flames, smoking, use of chainsaws, etc. which often lead to wildfires. There are currently two massive wildfires in Arizona and we do not need any more.

As always...
Hike Safe & Have Fun!

Brian