Grand Canyon dangerous for unprepared

"That was a rookie mistake, and I'm not a rookie," he said. "I learned that no matter how good of shape you're in, the canyon is something you need to respect, and dehydration will take you down."

What can be deceiving at the Grand Canyon is that the temperature at the South Rim, where 90 percent of all visitors go, is about 20 degrees cooler than at the bottom. And while most trails lead hikers up a mountain before the downward descent, it's the opposite at the Grand Canyon.

"It's a unique set of circumstances," Ayers said. "People from all over the world need to at least hear it from somebody on what to expect. People who have never hiked the Grand Canyon before expect it to be a walk in the park."

Some hikers do undertake extraordinary preparations. But other times, rangers say they aren't sure what people were thinking. They've seen a man in a business suit carrying a briefcase full of water bottles, a man playing a tuba and people hiking without shoes or in flip-flops.

"It all stems from a lack of preplanning and knowledge of these trails," said Ian Buchanan, a seasonal park worker who advises people on smart hiking. "A lot of people get the sense that it's Disneyland when it's an environmental park."

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his time of year, 30 percent of the heart patients at Flagstaff Medical Center are brought in from the canyon with conditions such as valve and rhythm problems, and heart disease and blockages.

Since the hospital started its open heart surgery program in 2004, there has been at least one month where all heart attack patients came from the Grand Canyon, said Gigi Sorenson, the hospital's cardiopulmonary services director.

"You just get used to it," she said. "And now when tourist season kicks in, you just start to expect when they call and say they're coming from the canyon."

Poole, who had three clogged arteries, was the hospital's first open heart surgery patient after his heart attack at the canyon in 2004. He said his general good health, the exercise he did in preparing for his trip and willingness to seek help spared him from a more serious problem.

He hasn't had any complications with his heart since the surgery. "My heart's in good shape now," he said.

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