
The organizer of a Grand Canyon adventure described it as a chance to trek along the South Rim, “one of the greatest hikes in the planet.”
By September, at least 100 people from 12 different states had signed up on Facebook for the one-day hike. The organizer, Joseph Don Mount, said on Facebook he hoped more people would sign up for the hike.
“If you want to keep inviting friends, I am determined to make this work for as many who want to go,” Mr. Mount said, according to federal court documents.
A tipster sent the Facebook post to officials at the Grand Canyon National Park, where hikes had been limited to no more than 11 people per group in response to the pandemic.
In an interview with The Daily Beast, Mr. Mount said he had arranged the trip because “with Covid and everything, people were just itching to get out.”