Maybe Darwin was wrong after all?
As for the human remains, how could they have remained undiscovered for so long as heavily travelled and explored as the canyon is?
Like many national parks, Grand Canyon has it places where people congregate and other locations that will not see human presence for years. The Bright Angel and Kaibab Trails see heavy traffic almost year round, but venture only a few miles away and you can find true solitude - absolutely no one else around. Many of the trails that serve sections of the park are unmaintained, and access can be quite tricky. I have spent a week in the section of the canyon about five airline miles from the BA-K trail corridor. Aside from my two companions, there was no one around.
This doesn't surprise me at all. My only experience in the Grand Canyon was two guided float trips down the river from Marble Canyon to Whitmore Wash. They were geology oriented trips, so we did lots of short day hikes up various side canyons. Even based on that very limited experience, I can easily imagine how a body might not be found for many years.
Even some of the standard "easy hikes" cross ledges that while they are easy to traverse, you definately wouldn't want to trip over your shoe laces, 'cause if you fell you could easily die. There are a nearly infinate number of small side canyons, washes, etc. Many of these are very narrow little slots, and very deep. If you were hiking off a main trail and fell down into one of those spots it might be a long time (if ever) before someone found your remains.
Previous Topic
Index
