An 18-year-old male died Wednesday after showing heat-related symptoms while hiking the Bright Angel Trail in Grand Canyon National Park. Rangers received reports around 1:40 p.m. local time, launched a helicopter rescue operation and later found him about 30 feet below the trail in a remote area, officials said.
Life-saving measures were attempted but did not work. The teen had intended to make a round-trip day hike from the South Rim to the Colorado River, a route the park service says is far beyond what it recommends for a single day.
The Bright Angel Trail is the park service's most popular hiking trail into the canyon, but officials warn against hiking to the bottom and back in one day. Destinations below Havasupai Gardens are not recommended day hikes because of the long distance, extreme temperature changes and an approximately 5,000-foot elevation change each way. The park service says hikers should check with a park ranger before attempting to hike to Havasupai Gardens and back in a day, a trip it describes as 9 miles and six to nine hours.
The teen's name had not been released as of Saturday because notifications to next of kin were still pending. An investigation into his death is underway at the Coconino County Medical Examiner's Office. What remains unanswered is the precise medical cause of the heat-related illness and the conditions he faced on the trail when rangers were called.
