Jay Honeck wrote:
I'd bet there are 1000 people whose only exposure to the grandeur of
the canyon is from the awesome view of an aerial tour, for every 1
person who is able to hike to the bottom of the canyon.

I think this is a bit of an exaggeration. The canyon has been made
extremely accessible - anyone can make it down (and back up), I've even
heard of people doing it in wheelchairs. Plus there's always the option
of getting to the bottom of the canyon on horseback or accessing it by boat.

While I think those who want to ban flights over the Grand Canyon (and
other parks) are being stupid, we do have to acknowledge that the
national parks are more noise sensitive than other areas - not only
because of the visitors seeking to escape the modern world but also
because of the animals in the parks. Sensible compromises should be
worked out to satisfy everyone. When I was recently hiking in the
canyon I found the level of air tours to be pretty acceptable. The
noise was sometimes a little annoying but generally not a problem. In
particular, the fixed wing twin otter's were pretty quiet, but some of
the helicopters were a little loud.

- Ray


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Raymond Woo
e-mail: raywoo|at|gmail.com
http://gromit.stanford.edu/ray