Grand Canyon Rim to Rim History: 1971-1989

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By Davy Crockett

This part will cover additional stories found through deeper research, adding to the history shared in found in the new book, Grand Canyon Rim to Rim History.

Overcrowding Concerns

In 1971, because of overcrowding in the inner Canyon, the Park Service started to implement a reservation system for camping. They shared a situation on the Easter weekend when 800 people tried to camp at Phantom Ranch, which only handled 75. Park Superintendent Robert Lovegren (1926-2010), said, “We readily accept quotas on tickets to a theater or sports event. If the performance is sold out, we wait for the next one or the next season. We don’t insist on crowding in to sit on someone’s lap.” Reservations requests were made by mail. In the first month of the system, 1,463 people wanted to reserve 100 camping spots for Easter weekend. They used a lottery system for that weekend.

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Phantom Ranch Chef

John Boggess worked as the chef at Phantom Ranch for ten months and was ready for a new assignment in 1971. But there was a problem, and it looked like he would be trapped at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. “When Boggess showed up here for his cooking job, he weighed 216 pounds. There’s a rigid rule that no one over 200 pounds could ride the mules down the walls of the canyon. Boggess went on a diet, shed 16 pounds and rode down to his job.” But during his ten months down there, he ballooned well above the 200-pound limit. He paid a helicopter pilot to bring him out of the canyon.

1971 Flood Damage

In July 1971, a wall of water washed down Bright Angel Creek and stranded eleven hikers at Phantom Ranch who were on the wrong side of a washout area. They had to spend the night out in the canyon. Rangers came to the rescue the next day, strung ropes across the rain-swollen creek, and helped the hikers on their way.

The washout exposed a 60-foot section of the new trans-canyon water line about a mile above Phantom Ranch. Major breakage points required tools and a giant welder to be brought in by helicopter. The North Kaibab Trail was closed for more than a week to make repairs. Then just a month later, a two-hour storm dumped 1.34 inches on the South Rim and washed out a portion of Bright Angel Trail near Indian Garden and left an inch of water in the Ranger Cabin. Thirty hikers had to go across the Tonto Trail and exit using the Kaibab Trail.

Grand Canyon Noise Pollution

“Noise levels at this once tranquil vacation spot have risen steadily over the years and now rival levels on a busy downtown street, two Northern Arizona University researchers reported.” The 1971 test was conducted on Labor Day weekend and measurements reached as high as 90 decibels in tests on the South Rim, the inner trails and at Phantom Ranch. Most of the noise came from air traffic which was not yet restricted over the corridor region.

Hump to Hole Attempt

On October 26, 1973, Ross Hardwick, age 20, of Anaheim, California, and Scott Baxter, age 27, of San Diego, California, both students at Northern Arizona University started a run from the high point in Arizona, the summit of Mr. Humphreys (12,633 feet) to Phantom Ranch (2,546 feet). They were attempting to complete the run of about 80 miles in less than 24 hours. They didn’t carry food or water, but placed caches along the way and had a support crew on U.S. 180. Unfortunately, they quit less than halfway. Later in 1982, Baxter and Alan Williams accomplished the reverse direction which became known as “Hole to Hump” in 21:26.

Runaway From Inner Canyon

On February 6, 1974, a group of troubled youth from a Texas school went on a hike down Bright Angel Trail, turned west on the Tonto Trail at Indian Garden and camped at Salt Creek three days later. The next morning, it was discovered that Ed Aaron, age 16, of Austin, Texas, was missing. A search involving a helicopter started up and down the Canyon. His overcoat was found at Indian Garden. It turned out that Aaron had run away from camp during the night, went back up to the South Rim, retrieved his clothes out of a van, and took off. Three days later, he turned up in Austin, Texas. His mother said he had a history of running away.

Concerns About Crowded Inner Canyon

The corridor campgrounds could only handle 205 people per night. About 73,000 hikers poured in and out of the Canyon in 1974. An electric-eye counter was installed at the trailhead of Bright Angel Trail. Park Superintendent Merle E. Stitt (1920-1980) announced on December 9, 1974, “No group of hikers may be larger than 15 persons.” Debates started taking place about whether the trails were too crowded with day hikers, overnight backpackers, and rim-to-rim hikers and runners. On the May opening weekend, it was estimated that 600 hikers used the Corridor trails. No runners were seen. It was asked, “How many people are too many people in the Grand Canyon?” This is still a question asked 50 years later.

One observer wrote, “It’s not uncommon to see parties lugging two-pound jars of peanut butter and gallon jugs of Kool Aide. They are totally oblivious to the fact that there are no trash cans and what goes down should, by all good conscience, come back up. On one hand, you have the people who lug in tents and down sleeping bags, which are totally unnecessary during summer. On the other, there are those whose entire food stash consists of a box of Cheerios. What these people do not realize is that the Grand Canyon is not a Sunday stroll.”

Bruce Aiken at Roaring Spring recalled on a day in June. “It was blazing hot. At least 100 degrees. And up the trail comes a guy with a long-sleeve white shirt, a tie, a long-sleeve black sweatshirt, pants and regular street shoes. And on his shoulders, he’s carrying a bundle that must have weighed 100 pounds and was six feet long. It was the entire set of the Encyclopedia Britannica.”

The Fragrance of Mules

During the summer of 1975, K.C. Cole made her way down and up Bright Angel Trail at the prompting of her husband. She wrote, “Bright Angel Trail is the easiest of dozens of trails in the canyon and the most heavily traveled by hikers and mule trains alike. It is also the most heavily deposited with mule droppings. And where one mule drops, all mules tend to drop, a custom fostered by muleskinners who stop periodically to yell, ‘Pitstop!’ The result is a stench that only hikers too breathless to hold their noses for the full length of the pit stop can fully appreciate. The mules and their droppings plagued our entire climb. But worse than the mules, were the happy hikers skipping down the trail, all of whom, undoubtedly, thought that hiking the Grand Canyon was a great idea. They must have, for they looked straight into my watering eyes, at my decrepit, exhausted and sopping body and cheerfully said, ‘Hi!’ I contented myself with visions of what these happy hikers would feel like on their journey out tomorrow.”

Five Hang-Glide into Canyon

On May 8, 1976, the National Park Service allowed five hang glider pilots to fly into the Canyon from Maricopa Point, which is the point to the northwest of Grand Canyon Village, well in view from Bright Angel Trail. As parks were still trying to decide if they would allow hang-gliders, the chief park ranger, Robert Branges explained, “We wanted to make this test with fellows who know what they are doing. I think the next four weeks will see some concrete guidelines established.”

There was concern that the kites would frighten the mules carrying tourists down the trail and that the air turbulence would create hazardous conditions. When about 400 enthusiastic people gathered near the point, and two others nearby, to watch, the park nearly canceled the flights, fearing that a spectator would fall off. But the first glider pilot took off and descended 3,200 feet, landing on the Tonto Platform below. When the second pilot performed some acrobatics on his flight, rangers warned the others to not perform such stunts. Park Ranger Ernie Kuncl, who had some hang-gliding experience said, “We’re just lucky nobody fell off.” One pilot, Chuck Rhodes, age 28, of Flagstaff, Arizona, said, “I wasn’t actually scared about doing it because I had done cliff launches before. It was just that the cliff was so high and dropped off so fast.” Back in 1970, William Moyes, of Australia, was the first to fly through the canyon after being towed behind a car to the rim and cut loose. He was fined $150.

Refurbishment of Phantom Ranch

In 1977, $90,000 of reconstruction was completed at Phantom Ranch. The former change room for the discontinued swimming pool was remodeled into a bunkhouse for the ranch staff. A former generator shack was transformed into a bunkhouse for mule train guides. The guest bunkhouses were originally constructed of tent canvas. These were replaced with new solid roofs. Pre-cut materials for the roofs were airlifted with more than 250 round-trips by helicopter.

Rim to Rim using Old Bright Angel Trail

The winter and spring runoff in 1978 caused significant damage to the North Kaibab Trail above Roaring Springs and was closed until August. During the closure, the only way to do rim-to-rim was to use the Old Bright Angel Trail that was used in the early 1900s. Jim Abbott and Champ Terney, of Mississippi, experienced backpackers, got permission from the Park Service to use the old trail that Theodore Roosevelt went up on a horse in 1913. Abbott and Terney went North to South descending the rarely used route, which is much more difficult and dangerous than going up.

They reached the top of Bright Angel Canyon and started to descend carrying their 45-pound packs. Abbot wrote, “The old abandoned trail was hard to follow in places. It was dangerously steep along some cliff-side cut-outs. In some places the trail was not there at all, and was only marked by some long-ago trail blazer who had stacked several small stones on top of each other every 100 yards or so. The trail had poor footing in places, and darn if those places weren’t in the most precarious spots, on ledges that narrowed to two hiking boots wide. Some rockslides covered the trail. As we stepped over the rockslides, we tried not to teeter backward.”

They finally made it down to the Bright Angel Canyon floor and camped at Cottonwood Campground. The next day at Phantom Ranch, they met 13-year-old Brooke Shields who was with a small film crew filming scenes for an upcoming movie (Wanda Nevada). They had been helicoptered in a few days before. The two backpackers continued on, camped at Indian Garden and safely reached the South Rim the next day.

Sewer Problems at Indian Garden

In July 1978, Indian Garden was closed to overnight camping because the sewer system had failed. Park Superintendent Merle Stitt explained, “Until we can design and construct the proper system we will install and use chemical toilets as an interim measure. This will require that the treated effluent be hauled out by helicopter.”

Balloonist Flies Rim to Rim

On December 12, 1978, hot-air balloonists, Jeff Wingad and Dan Beecroft, of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, floated two hot-air balloons across the Grand Canyon, the first to do so. “Wingad said his flight began two miles south of Grand Canyon Village. The balloon floated northeast and descended into the canyon. From there, the balloon headed west along the Colorado River toward Phantom Ranch, then climbed to about 12,500 feet and drifted east 60 miles before landing near The Gap, Arizona. The flight lasted four hours, 19 minutes.” The Park Service was aware of the stunt and apparently approved of it.

1980 Flash Flood

On September 9, 1980, a flash flood occurred affecting the trail. Rain and hailstorm deposited more than one inch of rain in less than 20 minutes and then it kept raining the rest of the day. There was substantial damage. Many sections of both the Bright Angel and North Kaibab trails were completely obliterated.

Park Superintendent Richard “Dick” Wakefield Marks (1935-2006) said, “The campground and water system at Indian Garden on the Bright Angel trail were washed out. Fortunately, the trans-canyon water pipeline remained intact as far as we can tell.” Bright Angel and North Kaibab trails were immediately closed, but the South Kaibab trail remained open. After two weeks of work, most of the trails were opened, but Bright Angel to Phantom Ranch was closed for nearly two months to hikers and another month to mules. Repair costs exceeded $120,000.

Wild Burros

By 1980, some believed the Grand Canyon was being “ruined by jackasses.” Wild burros had multiplied over the decades down in the canyon, descendants of animals abandoned by early prospectors. Legal suits had been contested to prevent a removal effort. “Is it better to remove the 250 burros or allow them to continue to destroy that many or more bighorn sheep, deer, and smaller animals by destroying plant life and by contaminating the few waterholes found along the Tonto Platform where most of them have settled?”

The Park Service was in favor of just shooting them, but an adoption program was organized for those who wanted a burro. A corral at Yaki Point was used to collect them. “The donkey airlift got underway, as helicopters swooped down and lifted the animals, their hooves tied in giant net hammocks. The animals would be flown to Texas to await adoption by ‘responsible families.’” The effort involved five cowboys, 20 horses, five mules, and helicopter pilots.

Lost Hiker

During mid-August 1980, hikers down in the inner canyon could not miss a massive search effort taking place all over the Canyon with helicopters, rangers, sheriff deputies, search dogs flown in from Denver, and even the Airforce. Three high school boys from Indianapolis, Indiana, had hiked down the Grandview Trail (about 10 miles east of South Kaibab Trail) onto the Tonto Platform for a two-night camping trip. On the first afternoon, they became overcome by the summer heat. John Allen Fountain (1962-) age 18, was feeling well and volunteered to head back up to get help. But help never came. When the two others felt better the next day, they hiked out, expecting to find Fountain, but there was no sign of him. An urgent search started the next morning after he had been missing for nearly two days.

To the shock of everyone, after six days in the inner Canyon, Fountain walked into Phantom Ranch at 7 a.m. He was reported to be a little hungry and tired, but was okay. Somehow, nearly 100 searchers had missed him. He had walked about 24 miles on the Tonto Trail to Tipoff and then headed down South Kaibab to Phantom Ranch. Authorities said, “In the last little distance of his hike, he met another hiker who called our dispatch office and said there was a fellow with him by the name of John Fountain who wanted to report his whereabouts.”

Apparently, Fountain became disoriented while heading back, took a wrong turn, headed west on the Tonto Trail, and eventually lost it, probably trying to find water in one of the drainages. The four-day search had cost $32,000, but the Park was glad about the happy ending. His dad had flown out to help with the search and was greatly relieved. He said, “If you can believe in miracles, that’s what it is. John’s completely a novice. I don’t think he is afraid of being lost. He just makes up his mind on something and then goes full steam. He’s a survivor, there’s no question of that.”

Fountain had traveled mostly at night, found shade when it was hot, and stayed two nights in one place. He said, “The first day was the worst because I was in the sun the whole day. After that, I tried to sleep during the day and hike in the morning and night, but I didn’t sleep much. The first night I was very frightened because I ran out of water. When I found some the next day, I wasn’t scared anymore.” He ate frog legs and found water each day in places where rangers didn’t know there was water. He lost about 20 pounds during the ordeal.

Double Crossings

In the 1980s, newspapers were highlighting double crossing successes with more frequency, causing increased interest in making attempts. In 1982, two men from New York City, Joe Dugan (1938-) and Pete Vernier, accomplished the double. “Bolder-than-average runners wanted to conquer the Grand Canyon by racing down one rim, across the Colorado River, up the other rim and then back down and up the other way. The 41.2-mile round-trip is known as the Grand Canyon Double.” Dugan said, “I was worried about getting lost. I once ran in a race in Central Park and got lost.” He compared the climb up to the North Rim, like climbing up the stairs of the Hyatt Hotel in New York City. “On the 50^th floor, you look up and see you have 50 floors to go.” He finished in 10:12:48. “I had this goal since December. It’s like climbing Everest. I ran across the Grand Canyon.”

Donald Ray Cushman (1943-) of Mooresville, Indiana, a photographer for the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, accomplished a solo double crossing in 24 hours in 1982. In the early 70s, he failed to accomplish three single-crossings because of the heat. “This time Don decided to hike in late afternoon, through the night. He felt confident he could maintain his 2-mile-an-hour pace along the steep trails.”

His double required careful planning because the Canteen at Phantom Ranch was closed due to flood damage. He succeeded. “I did what I had set out to do. Going across was devastating, coming back was exhilarating. I felt happy, very peaceful. It was the first time I’ve walked out of the canyon and been able to say, ‘I had fun today.’ I might have been crazy to try it, but I wanted it on my record.”

Each year, starting in 1978, John “Jack” Frederick Weckesser Jr. (1938-2010), a carpenter from Glendale, Arizona, staged annual long hikes in the Canyon to raise money for charities, usually hiking well over 100 miles each trip. He was a veteran rim-to-rim hiker, with more than 25 crossings. In October 1984, he was accompanied by a blind Arizona State University student, Terry Lopez, hoping to raise $40,000 in pledges for the ASU Disabled Students Resources Department. “Lopez is accompanying Weckesser through the canyon through the use of a safety bar that attaches to Weskesser’s backpack. They are also attached through the use of a safety belt, so Weckesser will know immediately if Lopez slips.” They split up their journey by camping out at the Aiken’s home at Roaring Springs. The two repeated their hike in 1985.

Starting in 1977, Bill Maxwell, an electronics technician for Honeywell-Sperry in Phoenix, Arizona, started leading groups each year to hike rim-to-rim and then hike back after a day of rest. 1987 was the eleventh year for Maxwell. Unlike other groups, Maxwell would secure permits with the park, make reservations with the lodge on the North Rim, and coordinate shuttles for those doing a single crossing. Each year, the group got larger. In 1986, there were 54 people in the group, the oldest 55, the youngest 10. “The hike is more of a fun trip than a competition. Everyone walks at his own pace and enjoys the scenery and companionship.” All members of his group always completed the hike. “Of course, some who complete the hike swear they’ll never do it again. But it wears off, and they remember all the good times. Next year they’re ready to do it again.”

Crowded Trails

In 1983, it was noticed that the inner Canyon corridor trails were getting crowded. “Once upon a time people hiked down Bright Angel or Kaibab Trail simply to enjoy a different perspective on the Canyon. Now the trails have become so busy they are virtual promenades. The Canyon experience today has more than a little in common with a California beach.” It was noted that one young hiker, carrying a heavy load, was playing “a very large, battery powered stereo, the kind of thing that is impolitely known as a ghetto blaster.” At Indian Garden, a young man sat on a picnic table playing the same tune on the harmonica repeatedly. An out-of-shape woman was seen going down the trail only carrying a styrofoam cup full of water, relying on other hikers to rescue her by filling the cup up along the way. Despite all of this, it was predicted, “The Canyon will endure it all.”

Visit with the Aikens

In 1985, Serrin Eudora Anderson (1939-) of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, agreed to give Margaret, an artist, a ride across the country from South Florida to the Grand Canyon. In exchange for the five-day drive, Margaret invited her to stay at her son’s house, down in the Canyon. The lady was Margaret (Davis) Aiken (1924-2003) and her son was Bruce Aiken (1950-), who maintained the pumps at Roaring Springs. (See chapter 15).

From the South Rim, Margaret took a helicopter ride to Roaring Springs and Anderson went on foot down into the Canyon from Yaki Point and reached Roaring Springs. “Margaret met me on the trail with her granddaughter Mercy, 13. They showed me broken pottery from Indian ruins I would never have noticed. They guided me through ‘the library’ where layered sandstone looks like stacks of books. Broken apart, stress lines on the rock look like ancient hieroglyphics”

Flights Over the Canyon

The first known tourist flight over the Grand Canyon occurred in February 1919. By 1985, there were about 48,000 tourist flights, ridden by 400,000 people each year over and through the Canyon, as low as 2,000 feet, bringing in $70 million to the tourism industry. Hikers and environmentalists banded together to protest the noise explosion over the Canyon, eliminating the peace and quiet that once was experienced in the inner Canyon. The Park Service initially avoided the controversy, although rangers called for a ban on flights. Grand Canyon Airlines general manager, Ronald Lee Warren (1947-) said, “The aircraft makes no impact on the canyon except for a temporary sound of one to three minutes. There is no residual damage.”

On June 18, 1986, a helicopter collided with a twin-engine plane, crashing in the inner canyon near Crystal Rapids, nine miles downriver from Bright Angel Trail. The tale of the plane was sheared off by the helicopter rotor. Both aircraft crashed and completely disintegrated. All 25 people onboard both of the aircraft died. Smoke billowed from down in the Canyon. A boatman on the river said, “I saw a flash in the sky, two bright lights and a puff of smoke that floated through the air.” Environmentalists said, “This underscores the dangers that we’ve learned about uncontrolled line-of-sight flying below the rim.” An executive of the helicopter company argued, “Somebody made a mistake, that’s all, a terrible mistake.” He argued that flying in the canyon was “remarkably safe.” He added, “I’m sure the Sierra Club will capitalize on this and try to stuff it down our throats.”

Arguments continued, and proposals were discussed. The Interior Department proposed a partial ban of sightseeing flights over the Canyon. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was the authority that could impose a ban and considered new safety proposals. Congress got into the fray and passed legislation banning flights below the rim. At the end of 1987, the National Park Service proposed flight-free zones above 44% of the Canyon. In March 1987, the FAA finally established a special flight rules area over the Canyon, moving aircraft away from noise sensitive areas. In the years to follow, the rules continued to be modified.

Shuttle Service Starts

In 1988, the landing strip first established by Emery Kolb in 1926 at the North Rim was shut down and tilled under by the FAA. Hikers who wanted to do a single crossing could no longer fly quickly to the other rim. Two rental car companies allowed cars to be dropped off at the North Rim for $150. In August 1989, Trans Canyon started to offer a daily shuttle service in each direction using a 15-passenger van. The price was $50 one-way, $85 round-trip. Running clubs around the country started to take advantage of the shuttle and organized rim-to-rim runs.

Also in 1989, plans were put in place to construct a new $5 million hotel with 100 rooms and a restaurant at the North Rim, which would have been nice for rim-to-rim hikers because of the very limited lodging on that rim. The Sierra Club filed suit in Federal Court and successfully blocked the plans.

Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim Series

143: Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim History – Part 12: More for 1971-1989