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Grand Canyon Rangers Rescue Overheated Hikers, River Runner

Sunset at Grand Canyon (Arizona, USA) seen from Yavapai Point
Tobias Alt
Sunset at Grand Canyon (Arizona, USA) seen from Yavapai Point

Officials at Grand Canyon National Park say rangers had to rescue a river runner and several hikers who were overcome by the heat last weekend.

On Saturday, Phantom Ranch rangers responded to a river runner experiencing heat illness and fatigue on a Colorado River trip. They say the river runner drank too much water, leading to hyponatremia. The park’s helicopter and ambulance transported the patient to a Flagstaff hospital. On Sunday, Indian Garden rangers responded to a hiker having heat stroke on the Bright Angel Trail.  They used cooling measures before the hiker was airlifted to a Flagstaff hospital. Other incidents involved some hikers experiencing heat exhaustion on the Bright Angel and South Kaibab trails.