Washington Doctor Dies During Grand Canyon Hike

May 22, 2025 ADI Staff Reporter
grand canyon
The Supreme Court declined to consider a challenge to the Interior Department’s 2012 decision to prohibit approval of new uranium mines on 1 million acres around the Grand Canyon, meaning the moratorium will stand. (File photo by Jordan Evans/Cronkite News)

On May 15, at approximately 4:45 p.m., the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report of an unresponsive hiker on the North Kaibab Trail, approximately half a mile below the North Kaibab Trailhead.

Despite efforts by bystanders and National Park Service (NPS) personnel to resuscitate the individual, the hiker, identified as Dr. Dennis Smith, 74, of Olympia, Washington, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Dr. Smith was attempting a Rim-to-Rim hike from the South Rim to the North Rim. Known as an avid and experienced hiker, Smith’s cause of death is under investigation by the Coconino County Medical Examiner’s Office.

The NPS urges all visitors to Grand Canyon National Park, particularly those planning to hike or backpack in the inner canyon, to prepare for extreme heat in the coming days. Temperatures in the inner canyon are expected to reach 100°F (38°C) by the end of this week, making it critical for hikers to take proper precautions.

About ADI Staff Reporter 13721 Articles
Under the leadership of Editor-in -Chief Huey Freeman, our team of staff reporters bring accurate,timely, and complete news coverage.

3 Comments

  1. Why is this a news? Death is inevitable and commonplace. It can happen anywhere at any time without any warning and without any apparent cause. I for one am glad for him that he passed while he was doing something that loved and at a place that so incredible than the Grand Canyon. RIP.

  2. you might want to consider the ‘altitude’ as well – this guy from Washington.. lowlander from sea level – was on the hike he planned to do ; The Grand Canyon’s South Rim has an elevation of about 7,000 feet (2,100 meters), while the North Rim is higher, at approximately 8,000 feet (2,400 meters). The canyon itself reaches depths of over a mile (about 6,093 feet ) all of which are well above this Wa. home area.. meaning he was starving for oxygen trying hike to the point it killed him. Atmospheric pressure much lower at altitude.

  3. Nice try and condolences to his family but at 74, one should not be hiking the Grand Canyon in the summer heat; especially someone from that part of Washington State!! Same goes for the idiots that hike the foothills in and around Phoenix this time of year. Morons!

Comments are closed.