Posted on 07/20/2011 12:40:29 PM PDT by Responsibility2nd
Edited on 07/20/2011 12:53:31 PM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
Several people in a hiking group at Yosemite that included three who were swept away and presumed dead had climbed over a barricade and were in the water about 25 feet from the edge of a waterfall, standing, playing and taking photographs, witnesses told Yosemite rangers.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimesblogs.latimes.com ...
Says it all.
they dies tried to save someone else. That doesn’t make them stupid, it makes them heroes. Their deaths were more honorable than most. in my judgment.
When you hike to the falls, you climb up the right side of the cliff in the pic you posted and enter the water right there. You can fall literally fall off that cliff next to the falls if you wanted to do so.
ADIOS ESTUPIDOS!!
Back when I was a good deal younger and even more stupid, I climbed over a barricade in Zion NP and managed to get injured.
Lucky enough to only dislocate my shoulder, but walking out six miles and then being driven 40 miles to hospital with dislocated shoulder was not a pleasant experience.
Darwin Award contender, I guess.
Famous Last Words:
“Should have brought the Gatlings..”
“Oh chit..”
and
“Hold my beer and watch this..”
I already have all the prevention I need between my ears to prevent me from standing 25 feet upstream of a large water fall.
Larger guardrails and more signs would only delay, not prevent the eventual early demise of people willing to do this.
I disagree. There are no heroes in this story.
Vernal Falls, and it’s upstream companion, Nevada Falls, are utterly fearsome, especially at times of heavy runoff as I presume they are experiencing now from the unusually large Sierra snow pack of this past winter.
I’m sorry a similar fear wasn’t inspired in at least that one member of the group who’s recklessness led to his death and that of his companions.
The story doesn’t say that. It just says they climbed a guardrail to reach the water.(25 ft from the edge of the falls no less)
Here is a picture of the guardrail they are referring to:
http://geoimages.berkeley.edu/Waterfalls/ClarksPointVernalFallsL.JPG
The story is accurate.
When my family went to places with water falls my mother was especially forceful about where we could and could not go. We had enough fear of her wrath to listen let me tell you.
These guys were in their twenties...not kids... Daring and foolish for having believed they were invinceable. Three lifes snuffed out in seconds. A tragedy no doubt...but oh it could have been different.
Just to the right of the guardrail in that pic, there is no guardrail. I say it’s still not accurate. There’s no guardrail on the climb up the cliff either.
From the article....
“Vernal Falls is marked with warning signs and barricaded off with a metal-bar guardrail that “takes some effort” to climb over, Gediman said.”
The guardrail in that picture would take no effort at all to climb over. But regardless.... That water scares me just looking at it.
Anyone who would climb into that is just asking for it.
I’ve hiked many 14ers in tennis shoes. So what?
Three Darwins.
Now, if only the search teams don’t get injured or worse.
Geronimoooooooooooooooooo..............
Even the most ‘experienced’ hikers, climbers, explorers still die on easy hikes, common sense or not. I guess common sense should tell you to stay home, but then you’ll die of a heart attack, stroke, cancer, whatever.
Maybe you two are right. Calling it a “barricade” is a reach.
At least going by the picture.
One of these days I’ll get out west and hike it myself.
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