Published on July 15, 2026 05:12 am
This spring, Matthew WappetA professor at Utah State University completed a 16-day rafting trip through the Grand Canyon. After returning to his home in Logan, Utah, the 53-year-old Weppet began experiencing painful flu-like symptoms, which ultimately led to him being hospitalized on June 6. She is one of about a dozen people who believe they contracted a mysterious illness while on the Colorado River this year. Wappet told Outside What is it like to endure illness?
I thought I had post-travel blues. Then, an emergency room doctor told me I was part of the Grand Canyon mystery.
Boating through the ancient flow of the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon was something I had dreamed about for decades. The days spent sailing in the lush green waters of the river were considered the trip of a lifetime. Little did I know that this trip would end up turning my life upside down.
After spending 16 days among the canyon walls, I contracted a mysterious illness that completely ruined my summer. For several weeks now, I have been experiencing bone-breaking pain, fever, chills, and extreme fatigue. A team of experts tested me for almost everything under the sun—COVID, rabies, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Lyme disease, leptospirosis, hantavirus, dengue fever, Valley fever, and even West Nile virus. All tests have come back inconclusive.
I’m not the only one. To my knowledge, at least a dozen other people who went rafting in the Grand Canyon around the same time have also been struck by this mysterious illness, and the National Park Service (NPS) says it is now investigating.
As we wait for answers, my story continues.
We went down to the river on May 18th. The section of the Colorado River we sailed spans 225 miles from Lee’s Ferry Boat Ramp to the Diamond Creek take-out. I’m 53 years old, and this was my first time on the Colorado River. Raised in Fairbanks, Alaska, I am a lifelong whitewater boater. I have flown rivers all over the West, and in the nineties, I was even a guide on the Nenana River in Denali National Park.
I’ve waited 20 years to get the coveted Grand Canyon permit. Once I won the lottery in 2024, I spent the next 18 months planning a trip with my wife, two daughters, and our friends.
May is the best time for this trip – the water is cool but the air is warm. I was amazed to see how powerful and huge some of the Colorado River’s currents are, even at low water levels. House-sized waves crash against the bow of your boat as you slide down the narrow canyon walls. We also had to endure some massacres on the way. We saw some people swimming out of their boats at Granite and Upset Rapids. My 23 year old daughter dislocated her shoulder while whitewater kayaking and ultimately needed surgery to repair a torn labrum.
However, looking back, the hiccups along the river seem minor compared to what we experienced after the descent. I didn’t feel sick at all during the trip. In fact, neither of us got sick – just the usual aches and pains that come with piloting a 3,000-pound raft down the river.
Our trip ended on June 2, and we began the drive back to our home in Logan, Utah. Everything seemed fine until four days later when I woke up with a strangely sensitive knee. By nightfall I developed fever and started having pain all over my body.
The next morning, I woke up with a fever, and my knee was swollen and red. My wife took me to an urgent care facility – they took one look at me and said, “No, we’re not even going to touch you. You need to go to the emergency room.” The rest of the day, I lay in an ER hospital bed while my medical team ran one test after another. At one point, I had two IVs, one in each arm. The doctor couldn’t diagnose anything other than that I had an infection and put me on antibiotics for two weeks. Although the swelling in my knee has gone down, I still have pain and fever.
Then my daughter showed me posts from other Grand Canyon rafters shared in the Facebook group. These posts describe symptoms similar to mine and similar anxiety. I shared my vision with the group and received hundreds of responses in return. So, I went back to my doctor and we continued to do more testing. I don’t even know how many things I’ve done at this point between blood tests, fungal and bacterial cultures, MRIs, and X-rays.
Every other person I knew went down the river behind me, leading me to believe I was the very first case of this mysterious disease.
I still don’t know what’s wrong with me, but I know I’m not alone. Due to necessity, I have had to shorten my life. I’m working less and virtually so I can take naps in the middle of the day because I’m constantly tired. Usually, I go to the river or go hiking on the weekend, and I have to cut all that down.
We were so conscious of our health that this whole illness is even more ironic.
On July 10, my doctor gave me a round of the antibiotic doxycycline. I have heard that it has helped other people with this disease and after only four days, I felt that many of my symptoms had improved dramatically. I still have joint and muscle pain, but I’m feeling optimistic. As summer approaches, I hope to have answers soon.
Anyone who traveled to the Grand Canyon River in 2026 and experienced these symptoms is encouraged to contact the NPS Health and Safety Office at publichealthprogram@nps.gov.
