| The Grand Canyon averages more rescues than | | | | per day per person is what's needed to stay full |
| any other national park in the world, and were it | | | | hydrated in the heat of the summer. Also, having |
| not for the swift response of the rescuers the | | | | plenty of water will prepare you for the possibility |
| death toll in the Canyon would be exorbitantly | | | | of becoming temporarily disoriented, so you can |
| high. As it is, the Canyon's steep drops, soaring | | | | stay hydrated and reorient yourself. Dehydration |
| summer temperatures, plummeting winter | | | | is a slippery slope, and once you're down that |
| temperatures, lack of water, and sudden weather | | | | path it's difficult to reverse it because your |
| shifts account for more than 500 deaths since it | | | | thinking becomes clouded, your emotions go |
| was first explored by European descendants in | | | | haywire, and your body begins to shut down. It's |
| the 19th century. Today the threats are every bit | | | | a far better scenario to stay well hydrated at all |
| as real, and in some ways are sneakier because | | | | times. |
| people descend into the Canyon feeling like they'll | | | | Number three, don't hike alone. Of the hundreds |
| be taken care of. It's a national park after all, isn't | | | | of hikers who've died in the Canyon the majority |
| it? The bottom line is that to survive in the | | | | of them have been alone. A friend of mine |
| Canyon you must first decide you're taking your | | | | always says "the mind is a scary place to go into |
| life into your own hands, and from there follow | | | | alone." Our thoughts can get carried away (or |
| these simple rules and you should be ok. | | | | more appropriately, we can get carried away by |
| Number one is know your route. Whether you're | | | | our thoughts) quickly even in normal |
| hiking, rafting, or doing some combination of both | | | | circumstances. When we're lost, alone, and scared |
| you must know your route. Water is scarce as | | | | our thoughts and emotions can become |
| are feasible hiking routes in or out of the Colorado | | | | dangerous. Without someone to bounce ideas off |
| River. You don't want to be "somewhere" in the | | | | of, to keep us in check, and to provide feedback |
| Canyon without a route down to the river and | | | | we can get totally panicked and make deadly |
| without any idea where another water source is. | | | | choices. |
| This exact scenario has claimed more than 50 | | | | And number four, tell someone where you're |
| lives in the Grand Canyon, and in fact claimed yet | | | | going, when you're returning, and what to do if |
| another one on July 9, 2010. | | | | you aren't back by that time. |
| Along with knowing your route is choosing the | | | | Follow these rules, and your Grand Canyon hiking |
| right one for you. There are few "moderate" | | | | trip will be tens of times safer. Does it guarantee |
| routes in the Canyon, and it's best to stick with | | | | a safe return? No. But there are no guarantees in |
| them until you have some experience under your | | | | life, only odds, and it's best to play the games |
| belt. | | | | with the highest odds, especially when your life is |
| Number two, carry plenty of water. Two gallons | | | | on the line. |