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Grand Canyon National Park Officials Release Stock Use Plan, Including Mule Ride Quotas

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A stock use plan approved for Grand Canyon National Park greatly reduces the number of mule rides below the South Rim. NPS photo.

While mule rides will continue at Grand Canyon National Park under a new stock use plan, only 10 visitors a day will be allowed to ride below the South Rim, a decision lamented by some who say it will deprive many of venturing into the canyon's Inner Gorge.

"I feel like the Grand Canyon is a gift to people, and when you start restricting usage you make it almost impossible for elderly people to get down into the canyon, or the handicapped," Ron Clayton, a long-time mule skinner who began guiding mules below the South Rim in the 1980s, said Tuesday after the plan was released.

Under the decision approved by Intermountain Regional Director John Wessels on January 5, mule use will continue at "historically high levels," although the number going down into the Inner Gorge from the South Rim will be cut in half and will be solely for guests staying overnight at Phantom Ranch. No Inner Gorge day rides will be offered.

“Mule rides have always been an important part of the visitor experience at Grand Canyon,” said acting-Superintendent Palma Wilson in a park release announcing the plan's approval. “Our challenge with this plan was to balance that use with the protection of historic trails and to reduce the high cost of maintaining those trails. We believe this plan strikes such a balance.”

Mule use has been hard on the Bright Angel and South Kaibab trails, according to park officials. Nearly a year ago when the park released its draft preferred alternative for the stock use plan officials noted that roughly $3 million a year is needed to adequately maintain the park’s corridor trails. But, they said at the time, the park only receives $1.5 million to $2 million a year towards that cost. "Additionally, deferred maintenance costs on inner canyon corridor trails currently exceeds $24 million," they said at the time.

And mule use can be messy, with the animals' wastes at times forcing hikers to hopscotch around the splatters, piles, and puddles. Still, there are those who maintain priorities, not budgets, dictated the reduction in Inner Gorge mule trips.

“I don’t agree with their rationale, that they don’t have the budget to maintain those trails. It saddens me to see that," Mr. Clayton said during a phone conversation from his Arizona home.

While he agreed that mules have impacts on the trails, he noted that erosion does as well.

"Erosion is what they have to address. That’s going to happen if they have mules in there or no mules are in there. That’s where I’d like to see them address their attention," said Mr. Clayton.

Park officials said the "stock use plan allows a potential 20 percent increase in commercial mule rides over the present yearly average on South Rim trails, and a potential 13 percent increase over the present annual average on North Rim trails."

For a park with more than 4 million visitors, most who head to the South Rim, just 10 slots a day for a mule ride below the rim seems a bit odd to Mr. Clayton.

“It kind of makes it sound like we might have some elitists at the helm," he said.

Such limits reduce the number of park visitors who see the Inner Gorge to, essentially, "the very fit" and the "very young," Mr. Clayton said.

The mule skinner, who in the 1980s "was honored by being able to take the first paraplegic and first quadriplegic down into the canyon," said mule trips are strenuous and are not for everyone. Still, he said, for the elderly or those with handicaps that prevent them from hiking down into the Inner Gorge, mule trips serve a great purpose with a great reward.

"We find it’s tougher and tougher on the elderly, but it’s still a trip they’ll never forget once they accomplish that," said Mr. Clayton.

Under the new plan, instead of 40 riders a day on the Bright Angel Trail (20 that traveled as far as Plateau Point, and 20 to the canyon bottom and Phantom Ranch) there will be just 10 mules hauling guests down to the ranch. With the South Kaibab Trail currently under repair, there also will be 10 rim-bound mules a day up the Bright Angel Trail; once the repairs are finished in another year or two, rim-bound mule trains will head up the South Kaibab Trail, park officials explained.

The previous Plateau Point ride will be replaced by an above-the-rim ride that park officials said "offers greater flexibility and more opportunities for visitors."

The plan also limits trips to Supai Tunnel on the North Kaibab Trail to 280 rides per week with a daily maximum not to exceed 48 riders a day, a number that has been exceeded less than a dozen times in recent years, according to Grand Canyon officials. The plan also eliminates the Roaring Springs ride due to the steep, narrow nature of the Roaring Springs section of the North Kaibab Trail.

The adopted plan allows the following:

South Rim operations

* Commercial stock use: Up to 10,000 commercial mule rides a year (current average use is 8,315 rides).

* Bright Angel Trail: Up to 10 mule riders a day, plus up to two guides, from the rim to Phantom Ranch on the Colorado River. Day rides to Plateau Point will no longer operate.

* South Kaibab Trail: Up to 10 mule riders a day, plus guides, from Phantom Ranch to the rim. In addition, up to 12 supply mules, including guides, will be allowed daily to Phantom Ranch.

* Above-rim ride: Up to 40 mule riders a day, with at least one guide for every 10 riders, on a loop route from the South Kaibab trailhead to the rim near Yaki Point, continuing east another mile before returning.

* South Rim stock facilities: The historic mule barn in Grand Canyon Village will continue to house a small number of commercial mules. Most of the concessioner’s stock will move to the South Kaibab trailhead mule barn and corrals, which will be improved to accommodate more animals.

* Private stock use: Up to six riders and six mules/horses on overnight trips below the rim. Day-use group size will be up to 12 riders and 12 stock.

North Rim operations

* Commercial stock use: Up to 8,000 commercial mule rides a year (current average use is 7,072 rides).

* North Kaibab Trail: Up to 48 riders a day, with no more than 280 in a seven-day period (average of 40 a day) to Supai Tunnel, with no more than 30 riders on the trail at one time. These numbers reflect changes from the original EA, based on public demand and meetings with the mule ride concessioner.

* Ken Patrick Trail (above rim): Up to 40 one-hour mule riders a day to the Uncle Jim Trail junction, with no more than 20 mule riders on this section of trail at one time.

* Uncle Jim Trail: Up to 20 half-day riders a day to Uncle Jim Point North Rim stock facilities: The hitching rail at Uncle Jim Point will remain in place, and a one-stall composting toilet will replace the existing facility, with weekly (or as needed) cleaning and routine maintenance.

* Private stock use: Up to six riders and six mules/horses on overnight trips below the rim. Day-use group size will be up to 12 riders and 12 stock.

* Commercial use at Tuweep and Whitmore Trail: Up to six stock-use groups a year at Tuweep under a commercial use authorization. These groups are limited to 12 riders and 12 stock, including guides, and are for day-use only. Stock use will be discontinued on Whitmore Trail, which is remote and not maintained.

Additionally, the park release said "the stock use plan will help Grand Canyon address the impact of heavy, continuous use and limited trail maintenance funds on the park’s 42 miles of corridor trails – the three main routes into the inner canyon."

Park officials note that Grand Canyon visitors have taken guided mule trips since the early 1900s, before the park was officially established in 1919. Today, an average of 15,400 visitors a year ride mules on commercially guided trips down into the canyon and above the rim. The number of private mule and stock use is unknown because day-use permits are not required, but on average, about 60 private riders a year make overnight trips.

Comments

"Ignorant sheep" is an insult where I come from.


Hey Kurt

Have you considered making a movie ? Better yet, a TV series.
You got the stories. You got the sets. You probably got the players just for the asking.
Anybody that can stir up this much stuff, Man, you might be missing your real calling.
I can think of a couple dozen episodes without even trying and just think, a new and never ending supply.
Think of how much influence you would wield on the populous of this nation and no doubt we could use some of the right stuff.
You could do it.
On second thought, people change when they become a star or get in front of a camara. might not work. you just can't beat the ole ordinary people when it comes to stuff like this.

Best to ya,
Ron

PS: Just thought it was time to lighten up a little.


Access should not be provided to everyone just because. I am unable to do certain things at this stage of my life that I could when I was younger, and I except that. I would rather know that others can enjoy it for the foreseeable future than build more trails, or roads or make it easier to access. I will probably never get to float the Colorado river, I WILL never get to the top of Denali, I may never get to climb halfdome, so does that mean I should be given some sort of entitlement to do so? Should there be a road paved to the top of Denali just so I can reach the summit because I am not a mountaineer? Should we put up handrails along the entire rim of the grand canyon just in case someone gets to close and might fall?

I am not elitist because I chose to walk. I am not elitist because I feel that not all 300,000,000 people in this country should have equal access to everything. Some folks are built some things and not for others, thats the way of nature.

When I was a kid, I wanted to play in the majors, but you know what, as it turned out, I was not a good hitter, or very fast, so now I work at a desk, so is life.

Access to public land is important, but there is more than one way to experience the natural wonders, we don't need unbridled access to every single thing on this planet.


Ryan:
Access should not be provided to everyone just because. I am unable to do certain things at this stage of my life that I could when I was younger, and I except that. I would rather know that others can enjoy it for the foreseeable future than build more trails, or roads or make it easier to access. I will probably never get to float the Colorado river, I WILL never get to the top of Denali, I may never get to climb halfdome, so does that mean I should be given some sort of entitlement to do so? Should there be a road paved to the top of Denali just so I can reach the summit because I am not a mountaineer? Should we put up handrails along the entire rim of the grand canyon just in case someone gets to close and might fall?

You'd be surprised at what goes on in other parts of the world. Mountains in Europe are dotted with via ferrata for easier access. Mount Fuji in Japan has a ridiculously easy path - so easy that septuagenarians regularly summit the peak. One can drive up to the top of Pikes Peak.

Heck - in China there's a national park that's a sister park to Yosemite. Within the last couple of decades (and spurred by China's economic prosperity) they've installed a cable car system and built a hotel at the top of one of the peaks. This is the equivalent of building a hotel at the top of Half Dome:

I guess there was a different era with such natural areas in the US. They built the cables up Half Dome, and there used to be a hotel at the top of Glacier Point in Yosemite.


To much theory gang! You've gone off the charts. Nothing real I've seen in the last few comments. I'll take you all for an adventure and then we'll talk. :) Kind of like the focus group Albright or maybe Mather had in the Sierras with the big shot Congressmen. Boy, does this country need some direction. I'll give you parachutes and we'll have an adventure :), then we'll talk, LOL!


Ryan
I guess we are not that far apart, my friend. One of my (maybe original) sayings in life has been "all men are created equal until they are born, then that all ends". Just think about it and it becomes immediately clear.
Anyone that believes life is going to be, in every way equal for him, just because he was born, is fantasizing. That said we should ask ourselves, are we better off than our friend or neighbor. Are we able to do things in a manner or capacity that others are not able to. Are we more knowledgable about some things than they are. And then ask ourselves if that person should simply accept that fact and live with it. I think we all know the answer to that. Now this is a supposition carried to an extreme. But, there are cases where this must be considered. Most important, those that God has seen fit to endear with desirable physical abilities, should be the first to understand the plight of those that were not. And, we will all hopefully reach a point in our life that our bodies are unable to carry us where our mind wants us to go, under our own power. I am 66 and fortunately still able to do most anything I want, thank you God. I have been blessed to experience the wild in so many ways. I, for one, would never suggest any restrictions that would prevent one single person from experiencing what I have. I may not be able to provide the means for all to do it, but I would never do anything to stand in their way and this often involves means of access. To some, it may simply be for convenience or even just the fun of it. Whats wrong with having fun, People surely need it. For others it can be much more significant. We have to be very careful to examine every aspect of an issue to make sure this does not happen. I know I have said a mouthful here and it just scratches the surface when it comes to the issues. But, it seams to address a common issue and I hope everyone will take these thoughts into consideration when addressing the contraversies between groups concerning use of our parks and recreation areas.

Bless all of you,
Ron


I hear ya Ron, I just worry about the day when everything is motorized and human have lost the ability to use their legs because they have no need to walk anymore...just kidding. I never want to deny access, I simply think that not all access needs to be invasive, walking is still a very viable means of transportation.


Only ten mules a day to Phantom? Try getting a backcountry permit for the Corridor during rim-to-rim season, or anywhere in the park during Spring Break or Thanksgiving. Waiting list to be drawn for a private river trip is about ten years. Fact is, the Canyon is a limited resource, and the Park Service is charged to protect and preserve.

If there were unlimited mule rides, hikes, and river trips, as well as mountain biking, BASE jumping and hang gliding (as visitors have asked me about), the Canyon would become a place that none of us would want to visit.


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