Two hikers die on Vernal Falls in Yosemite

[WingedMonkey]

Two hikers die on Vernal Falls in Yosemite

A search and rescue operation at Yosemite National Park is set to resume at first light Wednesday in an area below a popular waterfall after witnesses reported seeing at least one hiker swept over the falls

.

At least eight people have died in the park this year, Cobb said. Two men died after being swept off a bridge near the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in June. One man who disappeared while hiking near Yosemite Falls with his church group is still missing.

http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world...s-1027636.html

Central Valley rivers are flowing stronger, faster, more fatally

There have been more deaths and injuries than emergency workers can recall in at least 10 years. Rivers known for raging are faster and colder. So are usually peaceful stretches of water.

http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jul...nings-20110710

[Sly]

I suppose you can conclude they're dead. Any other points? Be careful out there?

[WingedMonkey]

I suppose you can conclude they're dead. Any other points? Be careful out there?

Seems to be up to three hikers now.
Yes my point was all that snow everyone has been bitching about is now melting. Time to put on the common sense hat and go out of the way to be careful.
Reports now are that the were foolish.

Hormiz David, 22, of Modesto, Ninos Yacoub, 27, of Turlock and Ramina Badal, 21, of Modesto were on a day trip to Yosemite National Park with friends and family Tuesday afternoon when they climbed over a metal guardrail at the top of Vernal Falls near Curry Village in Yosemite Valley, park officials said.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lano...nal-falls.html

[Cookerhiker]

I'm sorry for the hikers' families. I hiked up to Vernal and Nevada Falls 2 weeks ago. That's not a place to fool around.

[Rocket Jones]

From the news I'm reading, calling them "hikers" seems a bit of a stretch. Apparently they were with a group of people (family?) visiting for the day and climbed over a sign warning them to stay out of the water. They were posing for pictures while standing on rocks - and trying to convince a couple of kids to join them - when one slipped off the rock and the other two fell in trying to catch her.

[Cookerhiker]

From the news I'm reading, calling them "hikers" seems a bit of a stretch. Apparently they were with a group of people (family?) visiting for the day and climbed over a sign warning them to stay out of the water. ....

The trail is accessible from a parking lot in the Yosemite Valley and isn't many miles to the Falls so lots of day tourists make their way up, many of whom don't "hike" much. Still, anyone with common sense can see how dangerous it is to be careless around the Falls.

[Trailweaver]

People often underestimate how powerful water curents are. Add slippery rocks (always a given) and a waterfall just a few feet away, and it was a recipe for disaster. I do feel badly for the surviving family members, especially since they witnessed the incident. I do wonder, however, why people persist in ignoring the warning signs. . . don't they believe that maybe, just maybe, this kind of thing has happened before?

[Erin]

Terrible and awful to read. Unfortunately, people ignore warnings. When I was at the Grand Canyon rim the night before our hike down, we saw a young couple that had ignored every warning sign and climbed over the rails just behind Bright Angel Lodge area to go, very far out a long thin ledge to an unstable rock at sunset and neck. I took a beautiful pic of young people in love that do stupid stuff. We were pretty shocked but we could not find a ranger to tell them get them off since it was evening. We left so we did not have to watch them try to get back. Apparently they did fine since they did not make the Death in the Grand Canyon list of people that fall off at the rim that crawl over the fence.
I don't know how to attach a pic here anymore, but I have it and it is beautiful and frightening at the same time.