Image: www.sedonahikingadventures.com

James Reich, owner of Sedona Hiking Adventures, has been sentenced to two days in jail for running an illegal guide service on national forest lands.

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A Sedona-based hiking guide has been sentenced to two days in jail and is banned from national forests for six months after getting caught running a tour service on federal lands without a permit.

James Reich of Sedona Hiking Adventures is also prohibited from working as a guide in national forests for the duration of his 18-month probation, according to the U.S. Justice Department.

Reich's Web site states that he guides folks to numerous locales in northern Arizona for $35 an hour, per person. He founded the company in 2004 due to a love for the outdoors.

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Three boys whose grandfather forced them on torturous marches across tough Grand Canyon trails told rangers their entire summer had been filled with travel and abuse.

The three boys -- 8, 9 and 12 -- told how their grandpa, Christopher Carlson of Indianapolis, injured them repeatedly during trips to various states, Mexico, Jamaica and several South American countries.

It's unknown where the boys reside or why they were with their grandfather, who's now in jail in connection with possible child abuse charges. A police report mentions that the childrens' mother may have known of some of the abuse. The 9-year-old told a ranger that his mother had told Carlson "that the boys 'better be getting air' if he is choking them."

The report, which you can read below, goes into sickening detail of how the maniacal grandpa pushed the boys to the brink of death up and down the canyon in temperatures that soared over 100 degrees.

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Image: Paula Groundwater

Lenore Groundwater, 93, of Green Valley, won a famous fish Derby in Alaska last weekend by reeling in a 16.58-pound salmon.

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A 93-year-old great-grandma from Green Valley reeled in a 16.58-pound fish last Saturday to become queen for a day in Alaska's famed Valdez Silver Salmon Derby.

Lenore Groundwater beat out 797 other competitors to win the women's one-day Derby, and her catch may yet finish first in the overall Silver Salmon Derby, which ends September 4.

True, the fish wasn't anywhere near the size of the salmon shark caught in Alaska two years ago by Joe Pinto of Scottsdale, but Groundwater's victory also made headlines in the Great North, where fishing is serious business. And it's worth repeating that this awesome fisherchick is 93.

When asked in an interview posted on YouTube, see below, how she liked the attention, the frail-looking oldtimer replied, "It's probably not helping my high blood pressure."

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www.loveforlana.org

Lana Hollingsworth

​A Gilbert woman who was attacked by a black bear near Pinetop last month died yesterday after suffering a brain hemorrhage over the weekend.

Lana Hollingsworth, 61, was mauled by the bear on June 28, as she she took her dog on a late-night walk in the Sports Village area of the Pinetop Country Club.

Yesterday, a spokeswoman for the family said bacteria from the bear's paw had attacked Hollingsworth's brain. However, no official cause of death was given.

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www.corrine-delis.com

​The enormous Wallow Fire continues to rage in eastern Arizona, and it has rekindled the debate over whether environmentalists are to blame for wildfires.

Over the years, environmentalists have filed lawsuits that put restrictions on loggers who clear a lot of the dry brush from the forests. They say "old-growth" logging puts endangered species in the area, like the Mexican spotted owl, at risk.

Many area residents feel that the build up of dry wood on the forest's floor -- caused by restrictions placed on logging companies by environmentalists' lawsuits -- makes fighting blazes like the Wallow Fire more difficult.

In other words, many feel that the dry timber that fuels these giant fires is the result of hippies who want to save a few owls.

Environmentalists say that theory is just a scare tactic.

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eastbranchlodge.com

​Here's a tip: Next time you go moose hunting in Alaska, you have to fill out your "hunting report card" whether you manage to snag a moose or not.

Unfortunately for 57-year-old Phoenix resident Peter Amador, he didn't know that -- and he's now charged with failing to report a permit hunt, according to a press release from the Alaska Department of Public Safety.

According to the Alaska Dispatch, Amador had won the big-game hunting permit in Alaska through a 2010 lottery, and went out in search of moose in the Nelchina Basin -- a hunting area northeast of Anchorage.

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Gila County Sheriff's Office

An unidentified dead body was found in this truck after fire officials extinguished a blaze that burned it to a crisp.

​When authorities from the U.S. Forest Service and Arizona Department of Public Safety responded to a report of a fire off a Forest Service road in the Tonto National Forest last night, they thought a fire was all they were dealing with. Then, they found a dead body inside of a burning pickup truck.

According to the Gila County Sheriff's Office, deputies responded to the blaze about 9:30 p.m. as the truck was fully engulfed in flames and the fire was spreading into the forest.

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www.wikipedia.com

Don't be surprised if you bump into this guy if you go to the Lower Salt River.

​If a bunch of drunk, loud, obnoxious college-aged kids floating down the Lower Salt River on tubes isn't enough to keep you away from what is otherwise a gorgeous part of the Valley, now you have large felines with the capability of tearing you to shreds to worry about -- several mountain lions have been spotted in the area in recent months.

The Arizona Game and Fish Department says there have been several sightings of the beasts near the Phon D Sutton and Granite Reef recreation areas over the past few months, which is exactly where thousands of  people will take to the tubes once the summer heat arrives.

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www.art.com

If a friend sends you this post card, find out if he's being treated for depression.

​A recently released report from the Centers for Disease Control finds that of all the national parks in the United States, the Grand Canyon is the second- most-popular spot to kill yourself.

The CDC began noticing a trend in suicides at national parks in 2003 and started tracking the numbers. The Grand Canyon beat out every national park in the country except for one: Blue Ridge Parkway National Park in North Carolina.


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This warning was posted at a local rock gym last year.

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Saturday's bee attack on Camelback Mountain occurred on Hart Route, the notorious spot where a climber died six years ago in a similar mishap, a fire department official confirmed today.

Several news outlets covered the story over the weekend, but none shared the name of the climbing route.

We found Saturday's incident interesting for two other reasons: One, another climber on a nearby rock braved the bees to help the pair stranded on the three-pitch Hart Route, which the Rock Climbing Arizona guide describes as an "easy old classic."

Two, we happened to be scrambling around near Hart Route on Saturday, about two hours before the besieged climbers started calling for help.

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