153-person Grand Canyon hike organized by Joseph Don Mount broke covid-19 rules, rangers say washingtonpost.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from washingtonpost.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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A health-care exec vowed to follow covid rules. Then he led a 153-person Grand Canyon hike, rangers say.
Katie Shepherd, The Washington Post
May 6, 2021
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Grand CanyonLuis Castaneda Inc./Getty Images
When park rangers caught wind of Joseph Don Mount s plan to lead a 153-person hiking trip through Grand Canyon National Park last fall, they tried to warn him against it.
The large excursion, which Mount had been advertising on Facebook and collecting $95 fees to fund, would violate the park s rules against hiking groups larger than 11 people, ranger Timothy Hopp warned in an Oct. 8 phone call, according to a federal affidavit filed on Tuesday.
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A Washington state man is facing federal charges for allegedly organizing a more-than-150-person hike across the Grand Canyon in violation of COVID-19 restrictions.
Joseph Don Mount, the former chief operating officer at Chehalis, Washington, spent months planning and organizing for the Oct. 24 hike, despite being told it was in violation of park rules, authorities say.
Before the pandemic, group sizes were limited to no more than 30 people. That number was reduced to 11 when the pandemic hit. On the day of the Grand Canyon hike, park rangers reportedly saw groups exceeding 11 people, reaching has high as 70 in a certain area of the park.