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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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Topic Author's Original Post - Jun 5, 2017 - 05:47pm PT
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hey there say... not sure, but someone thinks, they did find out who the person was... and that he, sadly, had died, :(
We need your help! Today, June 5, at approximately 12:30 pm, an unknown, white, male hiker was reported to have fallen from the Mist Trail and into the Merced River. The hiker may be in his twenties with a blue shirt and red or tan shorts. He was described as 6 feet 2 inches tall, with a shaved or bald head, and carrying a hiking pole but no backpack.
If you witnessed this incident on the Mist Trail or have any information regarding this individual, please contact Yosemite National Park Dispatch at 209/379-1992.
Note: This is a recent photo looking down at the Mist Trail from the top of Vernal Fall.
i saw it and was hoping... perhaps he fell and missed the water?
one comment, on the facebook, said he died, but:
that may just be a comment... :(
prayers for his family and loved ones, :(
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Bargainhunter
climber
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I saw the LA Times article. I wonder what the circumstances were. Not easy to just slip into the water from the trail. You kind of have to get deliberately into the water. Sadly, an annual occurrence in Yosemite.
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WBraun
climber
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Not easy to just slip into the water from the trail.
WRONG !!!
There are spots where you can fall in easily and die.
The 100 some feet where the steps start, the trail goes right to the edge dropoff straight into the river.
You fall in there and you're gone .....
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Bargainhunter
climber
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Haha...Werner's being dramatic. C'mon. Have you ever been remotely scared of falling in while on that footpath even in the wettest conditions? You've probably been up and down that section more than 1000 times. I've always looked forward to that misty section just before the falls to help cool off a bit...The poor guy likely tripped somewhere next to the raging rapids and hit his head and drown.
EDIT: Not saying it wouldn't happen there where Werner pictured, but it's kind of like tripping on a sidewalk while casually sipping a latte and talking to a friend...and then falling tragically into traffic...
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Lot's of water in the Valley, huge snowpack in the Tetons....the fatalities are likely to be high.
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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 5, 2017 - 09:04pm PT
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hey there say, werner... THANK you... i was wondering...
i have not been on the mist trail for years, but, i had remembered it as
very steep and i had hoped though, that he missed the water, from
his fall, :(
very sad...
i had recently, heard a report from a family member, up in yosemite,
that the trails are even extra wet, this year, :O
thank you to everyone, that share shared, for all this...
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WBraun
climber
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Bargainhunter
You're the expert, plus you didn't even read my post correctly.
The worst spot is where I said 100 feet BEFORE the steps start.
But you are the expert ......
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micronut
Trad climber
Fresno/Clovis, ca
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I agree with Werner. That flatish spot just before the steps has always made me think "yeah....it could happen....right there" and I always tell my kids to stay sharp when we pass that spot. Been there too many times to count and could see how a moments inattention could go terribly wrong. Really sad. My condolences.
Scott
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i'm gumby dammit
Sport climber
da ow
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You're the expert, plus you didn't even read my post correctly.
The worst spot is where I said 100 feet BEFORE the steps start.
But you are the expert ...... while you are right, you didn't say it
you said
The 100 some feet where the steps start notice the word BEFORE is missing from your sentence
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JerryA
Mountain climber
Sacramento,CA
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How is the descent route to Mirror Lake .I slipped and slid down a rope length with a full haul bag once !
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BooDawg
Social climber
Butterfly Town
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I support Werner on this. Especially when coming down the trail, one is on the outside (river side) and when the trail is crowded, just a small bump from some unsteady hiker coming up on the inside could make one lose their balance and there's NO STOPPING if that were to happen through no fault of one's own.
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crankster
Trad climber
No. Tahoe
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Bargainhunter, the average tourist doesn't have the feel for granite underfoot that climbers have. I've taken many newbies past the spot at the base of the steps and warn them every time. Add water...
Yikes.
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rbord
Boulder climber
atlanta
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Yea I went once in March with my son, and that spot was snowed over, with no-one having broken a trail through (yet). I kicked in steps out a little ways and looked straight down that slippery slope to the river raging below, and in my bold way decided hell no! So we retreated and hiked back and up and down the long way to the top of Vernal, through the snow in our gators, amongst the other ankle-socked and hello-kitty-sneakered travelers.
Another time when it wasn't quite as bad I was solo but still pretty sketchy navigating higher up among the icy snowy slippery rocks and shrubs in that section.
Seems like it would need to be a pretty serious accident to die there in warmer weather, but with all the people on that trail, it's easy for someone to have an accident.
My condolences.
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Crazy Bat
Sport climber
Birmingham, AL & Seweanee, TN
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I have seen some crazy bad footwear on that trail. Add to that the inexperience and I recognized the potential for disaster. After my trip up the cables I just shook my head that they allow children up there. Talk about child endangerment. Not saying all kids are endangered, some are quite capable
I just wished I was surprised.
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Lennox
climber
just southwest of the center of the universe
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Perhaps Edwin's purple, grandiose telegram and Andy's self-indulgent email should have been addressed to this unfortunate gentleman.
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Winemaker
Sport climber
Yakima, WA
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Yep, rbord. Local hike here in Chinook Pass, Goat Peak, for conditioning last Sunday, obvious snow at the top, young guy in sneakers as I'm coming down, advise him that there is snow for the last 600 (vertical, not sure he understood; linear?) feet or so. Blank look. Oh well, hope your sneakers dry out. Plus ticks.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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I wet down on a slippy moor yesterday. Put me hand down to catch meself, straight onto some sheep sh#t. Thought about calling 999.
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john hansen
climber
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Every once in a while some one might stray off the trail,,
For whatever reason.
Not sure if this was what happened though....
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aspendougy
Trad climber
Los Angeles, CA
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I believe it was early Spring '72 or 73' that a lady disappeared in that area. I knew her daughter, so went to look for her, and happened to get there right when the body was discovered. I have never seen a body floating in a river before or since. Having been up the trail many times, I know the section Werner is talking about. At that time, it wasn't railed in, and you stray just a little, it gets steep and slippery in a hurry.
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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 7, 2017 - 06:42pm PT
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hey there say, ... oh my, they have now shared who the man was...
i am sharing this, in case any of you knew him...
he may have been a friend of folks, near the yosemite area...
everyone that we SEE in these news articles is a
human, deeply loved by others...
i am very sad for their loss...
:(
http://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article154963944.html
The man who fell into the Merced River in Yosemite National Park and is still missing has been identified by friends as Kevin Nelson, who lived and worked in Yosemite Valley but has strong ties to Fresno.
In Fresno, he was a bartender at the Daily Planet, Zapp’s Park and other nightclubs, said Mark Michel of Fresno, a friend from high school.
Parks officials informed Nelson’s family on Tuesday he was missing in the river, Michel said.
https://www.gofundme.com/xdpbb-kevin-nelsons-final-expenses
"Kevin lost his life doing what he loved, in a place that he loved - hiking in Yosemite. He leaves behind a family that will miss him terribly, especially his sweet daughter, Brigid. His family needs help to pay for his final expenses, as he had no life in"]Kevin lost his life doing what he loved, in a place that he loved - hiking in Yosemite. He leaves behind a family that will miss him terribly, especially his sweet daughter, Brigid. His family needs help to pay for his final expenses, as he had no life insurance or savings. Please help these dear people."
Michel said Nelson, 50, hiked the Mist Trail nearly every day. The water is running so swiftly that searchers can only search from the river bank and can’t go in the water, he said.
Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article154963944.html#storylink=cpy[/quote]
Nelson is a 1985 graduate of Kingsburg High who had “a love for life” that gained him legion of friends, Michel said.
“He was a friendly guy, always quick with a smile,” Michel said. “He’d buy you a drink, buy you a meal at the drop of a hat.”
As a bartender, if a customer had too much to drink he’d give him a ride home, Michel said.
Several years ago, he was a co-owner of Zapp’s Park nightclub.
“He got along with everyone,” said Pete Mejia, his former business partner at Zapp’s Park. “He grew up on a farm, he had respect for the workers. He was kind of a Renaissance person. He got along with everyone.”
He described Nelson as “very approachable, very talkative. And a good listener.”
Nelson also worked for a time for a mosquito abatement district.
About four or five years ago, he moved to Yosemite Valley and worked for the park concessionaire.
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mastadon
Trad climber
crack addict
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Here's what it looked like from The Cookie parking lot a few weeks ago. It's been a long time since I've seen it like this. I know the river was bigger during significant rain events but I wasn't there to see it.
[Click to View YouTube Video]
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dfrost7
climber
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Jun 23, 2017 - 06:02pm PT
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Hi Neebee Lizzy!! I did the Mist Trail Wednesday - I didn't know about this poor guy until getting home. You saw the pics I posted on FB. I've never seen the water this high, end of June. It's very easy to see how someone could fall. I was a bit nervous and clung to the inside. A lot of water running down the steps, and a lot of people. Anything could distract you and you can fall in your own living room. I doubt if this was someone wandering to have a better view. But, you can get overly confident in a place which seems so tourist-y. He fell around 12:30, I imagine there were a lot of people on the trail. I've seen a lot of fit young guys move to be polite to make room for someone passing. So sorry for his family. Very sad. Even with the giant water, when I got to the top of Vernal, there was still some knucklehead who climbed over the rail to stand on the overhanging rock.
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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 23, 2017 - 11:20pm PT
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hey there say, dfrost7... *forgot to say, happy to see you! ...
wow, YES i did see your post... and was really thinking on the seriousness of the whole trail, :O and, see--
one should never judge-- we are all human, and frail as to 'moments in time' that we may not always be able to control...
thank you for sharing on the trail conditions...
and WOW, nice to hear from mastadon!
hope your summer is going well!
thank you for the video share, thank you for just being you, too...
:)
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rbord
Boulder climber
atlanta
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Jun 24, 2017 - 09:46am PT
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Love, Ch. Darwin
This guy was just a guy living his life doing his human thing the way he liked to do it.
We admire folks like Bachar and Potter and Steck. But they died too, as a result of the way that their brains worked, the decisions that they made, the beliefs that they formed.
If the way our brains work is that we need to condemn this guy (or other drowning victims) for the way he died, while admiring those climbers for the way they lived .. well, I expect there's some Ch. Darwin involved in why we would need to do that, too.
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
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Jun 24, 2017 - 11:27am PT
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Slice it any way you like, it's still evolution at work, okay?
Anyone who can read and ignores signs...take it from there.
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Studly
Trad climber
WA
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Jun 24, 2017 - 11:36am PT
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Mouse,you sure about that?
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c wilmot
climber
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Jun 24, 2017 - 11:46am PT
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Pretty sure he was trying to stay on the trail rather than slip to his death...
Signs never have and never will prevent accidents
Things happen
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
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Jun 24, 2017 - 12:10pm PT
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Postive.
Beckey and Bjornstad chose to ignore the sign; in fact, they are ridiculing it.
So mature.
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