High Sierra Topix

Bill Morell wrote:
Somehow I don't see you taking a kayak over a 600' drop.

No, you won't see me in a kayak at all... That was strictly for MK's benefit!

rlown wrote:no dam above there, SSS. what is your point? And please be first person, and specific.

To paraphrase my post, few mountain visitors in this era have much experience either swimming or fording powerful streams in part because California streams tend to be too cold all year long both at high and low elevations. A reason is most rivers are dammed releasing cold water from the bottom of dams. And of course streams at higher mountain elevations tend to always be cold because average temperatures are low even late summer. So even in late summer it is hard to find river water that is not too cold to swim in such that people might become familiar with river currents. Thus some visitors looking at rapids like above the Yosemite falls lacking experience, may poorly evaluate how dangerous such river currents might be.

Your assumption is that most people who visit Vernal are from California?

Yosemite gets tons of international visitors... People come from all over the world to die there.

It's a generality, but I don't think people have much concept of the dangers of fast current without at least a basic awareness training, and families go outside to play in water thoughtlessly all the time. People die in the Kings, San Joaquin and Kern as well as the Merced. I don't think it has a thing to do with opportunities to play in water, just with the increased risk that water represents. People can hike a thousand times and come within a gnat's hair of being dehydrated or lost, yet never figure that out... water is less forgiving and more likely to dish out consequences when you underestimate its dangers.