The November 2008 Arizona Highways ran an article about the environmentalist, Martin Linton. One of the quotes from the story caught my attention. Linton said, "Nature, where man has not interfered, is always sublime; mankind's interference is always crass and ugly." He also said, "We're the aberration on Earth--humans are what's wrong with the world." Not just anti-development, not just pro-wilderness, but anti-human altogether. Ironically, Linton spent the latter part of his long life, ferrying people down the Colorado River at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. His company, Grand Canyon Dories, advertises: "10,000 Trips, 3,000 Destinations, 126 Countries." The Grand Canyon Trip is from 4 to 19 days and costs from $1,735 to $5,267 per person. See http://whitewater-rafting.gordonsguide.com/grandcanyondories/trips.cfm
So apparently as long as the aberration is willing to pay big bucks, they are welcome in his wilderness. If you don't want to pay that high price for a trip down the river, the current waiting list for private trips has over 8,000 names on it, and the projected wait period is about 15 years. See http://southwestpaddler.com/docs/coloradoaz2.html
The Grand Canyon National Park has about five million visitors each year according to the National Park Service. See http://www.grand.canyon.national-park.com/info.htm The description of the regulations about river trips is pages long and as detailed as a legal contract. See http://www.grand.canyon.national-park.com/river.htm Even though you might hate humans, wilderness is a big business in the United States.
More to come.
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