Shaun McKinnon

The Republic | azcentral.com

A group of hikers headed into the Grand Canyon this week came face-to-stony face with a more experienced user of the South Kaibab Trail — a desert bighorn sheep, which demonstrated sure-footed mastery of the narrow path the hikers could only admire.

Ray Hendricks was leading a hiking tour down the trail and was about 4½ miles from the South Rim when a hiker reported the sheep sighting. Hendricks, a co-owner and guide of Just Roughin' It, a Scottsdale adventure tour company, recorded the encounter on video.

The sheep appeared to be headed up the trail, or at least using it to reach its destination. It ignored the hikers and picked its way along the outside edge of the trail, nimbly balancing on the rocks used to define the pathway. The hikers watched it in silent awe.

Debbie Hendricks, a co-owner of the tour company, said the hikers did just what they should have by stepping to the inside of the trail and allowing the sheep to pass on the outside.

"Obviously you only have so much space you can go, but you should move to the inside of the canyon against the wall," she said. "If the animal is on the inside, it might feel pinned and if it wants more room, it's going to win the battle for space. So just stand aside and let him go, don't make make any gestures. They're sure-footed."

Desert bighorn sheep are the largest native animal in the Grand Canyon and can weigh up to 250 pounds, according to the National Park Service. The canyon's landscape offers an ideal habitat for the animals, which climb rocks easily and find refuge when needed in the steep terrain and cliffs.

The sheep live mostly below the rim, so Canyon visitors who don't venture down the trails may never see one. Below the rim, the sheep are sometimes spotted in small herds.

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