In an age of one-hour delivery and overnight shipping, a corner of the country still gets its mail by mule. That’s right. Since at least the 1930s, hooved carriers trek down a 9-mile trail into the Grand Canyon to deliver parcels—six days a week.
The mules carry mail and goods to the Havasupai people, a Native American tribe in the Supai village at the bottom of the canyon. It’s three hours down, but five hours back up. At least two mules trains are on the route each day, so mules and riders don’t have to make the trip down and back without a stop overnight in the village.
Unlike your mailbox, the majority of the deliveries aren’t magazines. Without nearby grocery stores, or stores of any kind, the post supplies the Havasupai people with a multitude of modern amenities, from packaged food to medicine to small appliances. The village could not sustain itself without the mail.
Inaccessible by road, it’s the last official mail-by-mule route in the country, and probably one of the last in the world. The Supai village is an extreme case but many people live in the parks, especially out West, where the nearest town might be a 45-minute drive away. Those rangers and workers need supplies, and the Postal Service honors its commitment to deliver wherever there are people.
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