A hiker died over the weekend while attempting to reach the south rim of the Grand Canyon in Arizona, using a popular trail.
Grand Canyon National Park’s office of communications said in a press release that a 50-year-old man from San Angelo, Texas, died after hiking back to the rim after an overnight stay at Havasupai Gardens.
At about 2 p.m. on Sunday, the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report of an unresponsive hiker on the Bright Angel Trail, nearly 100 feet below the trailhead.
Bystanders performed CPR on the man as Xanterra Fire and Security and National Park Service (NPS) medical personnel responded from the top of the rim.
Attempts by bystanders and first responders to resuscitate the man were unsuccessful.
The matter is being investigated by the NPS in coordination with the Coconino County Medical Examiner.
This is the second time in the last two weeks that a hiker from Texas has died in the national park.
On June 29, 69-year-old Scott Simms of Austin, Texas, was trying to reach Phantom Ranch via the South Kaibab Trail for an overnight stay when he was found semiconscious around 7 p.m.
He later became unresponsive, and bystanders performed CPR until NPS paramedics arrived. All attempts to resuscitate Simms were unsuccessful.
Sims collapsed on the River Trail, about halfway between the Silver Bridge and Black Bridge near Phantom Ranch, according to the NPS. Temperatures on exposed parts of the trail can reach 120 degrees in the shade, the agency said.
A dangerous heat wave is currently hitting large portions of the western U.S., but it is unclear of the heat contributed to the hiker’s deaths.
An NPS review of deaths in national parks between 2014 and 2019 found that hiking was the second-deadliest recreational activity behind driving, while drowning caused the second-highest number of unintentional deaths after motor vehicle crashes.
It’s estimated that nearly 900 people have died at the Grand Canyon since the 1800’s. The Grand Canyon was officially established as a National Park on February 26, 1919.