GRAND CANYON, Ariz. —Following an investigation by rangers of the National Park Service, a Washington State man pled guilty to the charge of violation of the group size limitation on a rim-to-rim hike within Grand Canyon National Park.
According to a news release from the National Park Service, Joseph Don Mount, who has been identified as the former chief operations officer for Steck Medical Group in Chehalis, Washington, was ordered to serve two years of supervised probation and is banned from all national parks, national monuments and federal lands within the state of Arizona.
Court documents show that on Oct. 24, 2020, the NPS investigated an allegation that Mount organized a 139-person rim-to-rim hiking group through the inner canyon without a permit. The inner canyon is defined as the area below the Tonto Platform from the South Rim and below Manzanita Resthouse from the North Rim.
Prior to his trip, Mount was made aware that his group required a permit. The case was prosecuted by the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona, the news release said.
Since 2014, any organized group of 12-30 participants, or any non-profit group conducting rim-to-rim, rim-to-rim-to-rim, rim-to-river-to-rim and/or extended day hikes in the inner canyon must obtain a special use permit from the park’s Commercial Services division. Grand Canyon National Park implemented this regulation due to increased day use on inner canyon trails that has resulted in increased user conflicts.
According to the park service, Mount charged $95 per person for the trip, and investigators learned of the plan after a tipster submitted screenshots from the organizing Facebook group, including a post from Mount, writing “112 COMMITTED HIKERS COMING FROM 12 DIFFERENT STATES!!!!”
After a discussion with a park official, Mount allegedly posted “(A) park official telling me I can’t hike the R2R with more than 11 people isn’t going to prevent me from doing one of the greatest hikes on the planet.”
Other issues related to inner-canyon use by large groups include: abandoning or caching gear on the trails; increased litter, including human waste; crowding at restrooms and attraction sites; an overburdened wastewater treatment plant; vehicle congestion and crowding at trailheads; and general concerns over trail courtesy with other visitors.
Park rangers are also seeing an increase in unprepared and injured rim-to-rim participants resulting in additional search and rescue responses, which then results in an overall delay of all search and rescue operations. In 2021, Grand Canyon National Park responded to a total of 411 search and rescue incidents which broke a 20-year record for the park, the news release said.
Park rangers encourage all visitors who are planning a hike in Grand Canyon National Park to learn more about trail courtesy practices that leave no trace and how to hike smart.
St. George News Weekend Editor Ric Wayman contributed to this story.
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