GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK - A Washington state man is accused of organizing an illegal 153-person hike in the Grand Canyon despite park officials repeatedly telling him it violated their COVID-19 restrictions.Authorities said healthcare executive Joseph Don Mount spent months planning the hike back in October 2020.Groups with more than 30 participants are not permitted rim-to-rim along the inner canyon, officials said.Mount had reportedly denied that he was planning a large-scale hike, and told the Grand Canyon Commercial Permits Office that he was only planning to take 12 people.
However, court documents allege that he had already registered 118 people by that date."Mount continued to defy park regulations despite receiving official.