John Harvey Butchart was a mathematics

Mathematics

Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...

 professor who was well-known for his hiking

Hiking

Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...

 exploits in and around the Grand Canyon

Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in the United States in the state of Arizona. It is largely contained within the Grand Canyon National Park, the 15th national park in the United States...

. Over a period of 17 years Butchart hiked the entire length of the canyon, making him the first person known to have done so.

Butchart was born in Hefei

Hefei

Hefei is the capital and largest city of Anhui Province in Eastern China. A prefecture-level city, it is the political, economic, and cultural centre of Anhui...

, China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, to missionary parents. His father died in 1920 and the family moved to Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

. Butchart graduated from Eureka College

Eureka College

Eureka College is a liberal arts college in Eureka, Illinois related by covenant to the Christian Church and founded in 1855. It has a strong focus on the mutual development of intellect and character. Stated core values are learning, service and leadership...

 in 1928 and received a masters

Master's degree

A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...

 and PhD

PHD

PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...

 from the University of Illinois

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...

 in 1929 and 1932, respectively. Butchart began teaching mathematics at Arizona State College (now known as Northern Arizona University

Northern Arizona University

Northern Arizona University is a public university located in Flagstaff, Arizona, United States. It is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, and has 39 satellite campuses in the state of Arizona. The university offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees.As of...

) in 1945.

Upon moving to Flagstaff

Flagstaff, Arizona

Flagstaff is a city located in northern Arizona, in the southwestern United States. In 2010, the city's population was 65,870. The population of the Metropolitan Statistical Area was at 134,421 in 2010. It is the county seat of Coconino County...

 in 1945, he began exploring the Grand Canyon. After hiking most of the main routes, he began to explore unofficial routes and animal trails. He was eventually credited with discovering over 100 rim-to-river routes within the canyon. In 1963 he completed the route along the entire length of the canyon. Later that year, Colin Fletcher

Colin Fletcher

Colin Fletcher was a pioneering backpacker and writer.In 1963, Fletcher became the first to walk the length of Grand Canyon entirely within the rim of the canyon "in one go" — only second to complete the entire journey — as chronicled in his bestselling 1968 memoir The Man Who Walked Through Time...

would heavily rely on Butchart's observations in planning his historic walk through about 1/3-length of the canyon in a single journey.

Butchart kept a detailed log of his explorations, which would eventually reach over 1000 pages. He recorded 1024 days spent in the canyon, and over 12000 miles (19,312.1 km) walked. He climbed 83 summits within the canyon, and scaled the walls at 164 places, claiming 25 first-ascents. NAU has over 7000 of his photographs on file.

Butchart retired in 1976, and continued hiking until 1987. He wrote three guidebooks to the canyon, under the title Grand Canyon Treks. In 1997, the books were published in one volume entitled Grand Canyon Treks: 12,000 Miles Through the Grand Canyon. At that time the Butchart, geologist Andy Zdon (NAU), the publisher and the National Park Service backcountry rangers edited and reclassified the routes according to the Yosemite Decimal system. For many of the listed routes, Grand Canyon Treks: 12,000 Miles Through the Grand Canyon and the earlier La Siesta Press editions are the only route references.

In 1997, Harvey Butchart wrote the foreword to his book, Grand Canyon Treks: 12,000 miles Through the Grand Canyon (Spotted Dog Press, first edition 1997, reprinted in 2006). The introduction to that edition was based on outdoor writer Wynne Benti's personal interview of Harvey Butchart and served as reference to later publications. Grand Canyon Treks: 12,000 miles Through the Grand Canyon includes the first three editions of Grand Canyon Treks I, II, III originally commissioned and published by publisher Walt Wheelock, La Siesta Press (Glendale CA). In 2007, a biography of Butchart was published, called Grand Obsession: Harvey Butchart and the Exploration of Grand Canyon by Elias Butler and Tom Myers. This book tells the story of Butchart and the story of foot exploration in Grand Canyon.

Works

• Harvey Butchart, Grand Canyon Treks: 12,000 Miles Through the Grand Canyon ISBN 978-0-9647530-2-0 Spotted Dog Press, Inc 1997, 2006
• Grand Canyon Treks (1970) (revised 1986, ISBN 0-910856-38-9) La Siesta Press, Glendale CA
• Grand Canyon Treks II (1975) La Siesta Press, Glendale CA
• Grand Canyon Treks III (1985) La Siesta Press, Glendale CA