Hikers’ deaths raise tourism question marks
A string of recent deaths near well-traveled waterfalls in California and Hawaii have raised a new debate over visitor safety in potentially fatal environments. They also raise questions of personal responsibility, officials say.
The latest example of lost hikers include three who apparently fell from a popular Yosemite waterfall who are presumed dead, officials say.
The three apparently climbed over a metal guardrail at the top of Vernal Falls near Curry Village, said park officials.
Witnesses told rangers that several people urged the group to get out of the cold, fast-moving water, but the three were swept over the 317-foot falls.
Record snowfall has created unusually spectacular waterfalls in Yosemite this year, but the turbulent waters have taken a toll: At least eight people have died in the park this year, spokeswoman Kari Cobb told the AP.
Visitors were traumatized in May when a hiker slipped and fell into the Merced River; his body snagged on a rock and rescuers were not able to reach it for hours. Two men died after being swept off a bridge near the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in June, and one man who disappeared while hiking near Yosemite Falls with his church group is still missing.
The path to the top of Vernal Fall is a three-mile trek with a 1,000-foot rise in elevation, and is frequently slippery and covered with spray. At the top a guardrail separates visitors from the precipice. Signs in multiple languages warn of the danger created by slippery boulders.
Published accounts say that 13 people have died by falling over since records began being kept in the 1920s, the AP says.
On the Hawaiian island of Kauai, meanwhile, a 35-year-old visitor from Irvine, Calif. died last month while swimming in a natural pool below Kipu Falls. He was the fifth person to die at the falls in the past five years, including two since December, and the incident has prompted local authorities to push for greater restrictions to the site, according to the AP.
The local tourism bureau has asked guidebook writers, hotels and sightseeing outfits to urge tourists to stay away. They have also backed proposed legislation that would have made writers and publishers of travel guides liable if a reader is injured or killed while trespassing on private property they have depicted. The bill died amid protests from publishers who said it violated their First Amendment rights.
Kipu Falls, though located on private property, has been a popular draw for locals and visitors for years. It is rated number 64 out of 155 attractions on TripAdvisor, where tourists have voiced various opinions ranging from "DO NOT GO HERE!" to "Fun swimming hole with rope swing."
"We try to educate people about the area so that they are aware that it is private property and causes you to trespass if you go there and can be dangerous," said Sue Kanoho, director of the Kauai Visitors Bureau. "There are so many other places on the island to be enjoyed, and we would like to focus on those areas."
By David Wilkening
David
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