Recently I had the good fortune to take a marvelous hike in nearby Rocky Mountain National Park: the Loch Vale trail. It's a bit steep, but only 2.7 miles each way, so even if you are a bit out of shape, if you start out in the cool of the morning, you'll be rewarded with an enjoyable climb past gorgeous waterfalls and a chilly summit that features a glacial alpine lake--the perfect place to eat the picnic lunch you've carried up in your backpack. On my latest trip to the Loch, it was already 90-plus degrees at the trailhead parking lot (take the park shuttle to Glacier Gorge) and by the time I reached the top, I was so grateful to find the snowfield I had to cross. I scooped handfuls of snow and shoved them down the back of my shirt to cool off. Once sitting beside the pristine lake, it was cold enough that I had to take my windbreaker from my pack. No better way to escape summer heat! (BTW--on the drive home, my car thermostat registered 100 degrees. And to think just 3 hours prior, I needed a jacket to eat lunch.)
Because I had just had such an invigorating and yet serene experience in a National Park, it was with great dismay that I'd heard of the deaths of three hikers in Yosemite. While my heart goes out to their families and friends, the story of what led to their demise is all too familiar: ignoring warnings posted by the Park Service. One of the three decided to step beyond park barriers to stand in river water for an interesting photo. Unfortunately, the river he stood in ended up spilling over a 317-foot cliff. This is called a waterfall! And it's a famous one, too: Vernal Falls. Evidently, when he lost his footing and began to be carried downstream, his two pals jumped in to save him. At the time I write this, no bodies have been found, and all are assumed to have died from injuries from going over the falls.
This story is not new. People have been dying from fool-hardy behavior in National Parks since their inception. Two great books on the subject deal with accidents in two of the most famous Parks: "Death in Yellowstone" and "Death in Grand Canyon." (Don't have the URLs for these books right now, but an Amazon search should lead you to them.) It is amazing to me that visitors to our National Parks ignore warning signs and pamphlets they receive when they enter. The NPS annals are rife with accounts of people going over guard rails, standing in rushing water, descending into a 130-degree canyon with no water, etc. The National Parks are not Theme Parks. They are not Disneyland or Six Flags. The animals are wild. The terrain is often dangerous if you are not wearing the right footwear, carrying enough water, or obeying posted signs, you may get yourself into trouble.
I have had the privelege of working in public areas that are owned by taxpayers: National Wildlife Refuges. And while I can say there were never that many life-threatening situations where I was stationed, people continued to ignore posted signs. The signs are there for a reason. Either for your safety, or for the safety of an endangered species. Or, your ambling through a certain place may upset a balance that researchers are trying to preserve. Whether it's your own personal safety, or that of endangered species, obey the signs. Go into a park prepared. And don't put your life on the line for a You-Tube video where you stand in a river that ends at a 300-foot drop. Horrible way to spend the last hours of your vacation. (But I assume, in this rubber-necking, gruesome society of ours, if your death is recorded somewhere, it'll make it to the internet, and you'll end up getting a bunch of hits).
Inscribe that on your tombstone. "Was famous for 15 minutes because we went over Vernal Falls."
It's a sick joke, but why did he stand there in the first place? The signs are just there for "other people"? If someone associated with the river and the terrain is warning you, why do you not heed the warnings? It makes no sense. Why do people ignore good advice?
Just a question I'm putting out there.
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