A mysterious illness has left the health of dozens of Grand Canyon hikers seriously impacted.
The sickness seems to be contracted by many of the adventurers who make their way to Havasupai Falls, a difficult-to-access area of Arizona’s Grand Canyon National Park.
Some who fall ill in the area have even had to be helicoptered out to receive medical attention.
Maylin Griffiths was celebrating her 40th birthday with a hike to Havasupai Falls when she found herself taken down by the mysterious illness.
“We had a lovely hike in, it was wonderful. We did early morning on the 6th, then set up camp - we had a wonderful campsite,” she told AZ Family. Soon though, “I was throwing up, and then it just got progressively worse and worse.”
She and a friend who also took sick had to hike several miles to a village for aid where they were treated by a local doctor.
“He discovered our temperature were really high,” she said, relating that she registered a 104 while her friend’s was recorded at 105. “We were violently ill. They were able to admit us to the clinic there because they considered it life-threatening.”
Griffiths is far from the only hiker who trekked to the area and reported contracting a serious illness.
“Just got back from Havasupai today,” Wendy Rose Gould posted on social media. “It was beautiful, of course, but curious how many people got violently ill like myself. I was projectile vomiting for ~24 hours and had extreme nausea, diarrhea, and fatigue, as well. Many others were sick — at least 5-6 other people I ran into.
“The night I was sick I even had a vomit buddy by the bathrooms. Curious if this was possibly heat exhaustion or something viral. Be careful down there!!” her post concluded.
The Havasupai Tribe Tourism office offered a statement in response to some who suggested that it could have been something in the water.
“The public water sources on the Havasupai reservation are tested regularly by the Havasupai Water Department,” the statement read. “The last test of the Fern Spring was on June 6, 2024. The results confirmed the water from Fern Spring is safe for human consumption. The next water test of the Fern Spring will be conducted in 2 weeks. There is an excessive heat warning at this time. The Havasupai Tribe reminds all tourists to properly hydrate before, during and after your visit to Havasupai.”