141: Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim History – Part 11: More for 1950-1964

Ultrarunning History

By Davy Crockett. Read, listen, or watch This part will cover additional stories found through deeper research, adding to the history shared in found in the new book, Grand Canyon Rim to Rim History. Rim To Rim in the 1950s In 1950, two 15-year-old boys from Los Angeles discovered that hiking rim-to-rim was a lot harder than they thought. While resting down at Phantom Ranch, they ran up an $8 unpaid bill and then decided that there was no way that they were going to hike back up. “So, the two youths ‘borrowed’ a pair of mules at the ranch and rode to the top, tethering the mules at the head of Bright Angel Trail. The boys next headed south, stopping en-route to Williams, Arizona, at a service station where they pilfered $20 from the station’s cash drawer.” Their trip ended there after some officers arrested them. Get Davy Crockett's new book, Grand Canyon Rim to Rim History. Read more than a century of the history of crossing the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim. 290 pages, 400+ photos. Paperback, hardcover, Kindle, and Audible. Phantom Ranch Guests Arrive by Helicopter On October 29, 1950, Mae (Keeler) Malone (1911-1986), of Bisbee, Arizona, Phantom Ranch caretaker with her husband Willis David Malone Jr. (1895-1972), received a telephone call from Mrs. Jerry Evans of Cody, Wyoming in the afternoon requesting dinner and overnight accommodations for three people calling from the gauging station on the Colorado River, near Black Bridge. “There was nothing unusual in this, as late hikers often showed up at Phantom Ranch about dinner time. But when Mrs. Evans walked up to the ranch attractively attired in a fresh green silk dress complete with matching handbag, and of all things, high-heeled pumps, Mrs. Malone did a double take. ‘We’re the folks that landed on the sandbar in the helicopter a little while ago.’” The pilot, Edwin Jones Montgomery (1912-1990), who established the first commercial helicopter operation in the country, in Tucson, Arizona, walked in and explained that his helicopter’s motor had conked out over the canyon, but he had glided to a sandbar, and they walked a half mile to Black Bridge. “They established a record as the first Phantom Ranch guests to arrive by helicopter.” The next day, the three rode out of the canyon on mules. A few days later, Montgomery and two of his employees made repairs. “When they attempted to fly out, they flew only about a mile and one half downstream before the motor stopped and the plane dropped into the water. A team of mules pulled the craft out of the water.” There it sat near the bottom of the Bright Angel Trail. The machine had to be dismantled and packed out of the canyon by mule. Maintenance Needed Neglect was noticed in 1950 because the federal government had cut back on Grand Canyon funding for eight years, starting with World War II. Appropriations to the Park were only 50 cents per park visitor. Rotting benches were seen and trails were in poor shape. Rangers were only paid $1.50 per hour and could not work overtime. The old CCC barracks on the South Rim was being used as housing for employees. Some new projects were started, a water storage system was built at Cottonwood Campground to help deal with occasional water outages. A crew of eight worked there for three months. The water tank can still be seen. In 1951, about 8,000 people rode the mule train to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, and about 1,000 stayed overnight at Phantom Ranch. Hundreds of additional people descended on foot. The 1952 winter snowfall was so severe that in January, the Kaibab Trail was closed for the winter. Two employees of Utah Parks Co. rode a snow cat to the North Rim to repair the telephone line. “But they found the wires broken by so many fallen trees and in such a tangled condition that the repair work was abandoned.” Black Bridge finally received a new coat of paint. The last time it was painted was in 1934 by the CCC.