Down To Unkar Rapid 10/19/58

John Harvey Butchart was born to missionary parents in Hofei, China in 1907. He received his early education at an American school in Hofei. After the death of his father in 1916, the family returned to the United States. Butchart attended and graduated from Eureka College in 1929. He earned his master and doctorate of mathematics from the University of Illinois in 1929 and 1932. In 1945 he accepted a job in the Mathematics Department of Arizona State College (ASC, now Northern Arizona University, or NAU) from which he retired in 1976. While there, he became involved with the ASC Hiking Club and served as its sponsor for twelve years. During this time he hiked all of the main trails and many routes in the Grand Canyon. His explorations eventually branched out to abandoned, prehistoric, and animal trails. He died May 29, 2002.