Outdoor enthusiasts are sounding fresh alarms about a scenic but “extremely dangerous” waterfall in Yosemite National Park after a 22-year-old man fell to his death there this week.
Many visitors and hikers caution that although Yosemite’s waterfalls can look inviting, stepping into the water can quickly turn into a life-threatening decision.
“Nevada Fall is extremely dangerous,” one Reddit user wrote. “There are no guardrails upstream right before the drop. A lot of ppl sit on the rocks and spread their legs in water, without knowing the currents can sweep them away in a fraction of a second.”
Josue Baires Alfaro, 22, died last Saturday after plunging from the waterfall, despite the attempted rescue of a 20-year-old woman who went into the water after him. She was nearly swept away herself before another bystander managed to pull her to safety using a stick.
Nevada Fall is located along Yosemite National Park’s well-known Mist Trail. Visitors who take on the challenging route can complete the 5.4-mile round-trip hike to the waterfall and back in roughly five to six hours.
The 594-foot cascade has been the site of multiple fatal incidents over the last 20 years. In 2018, an 18-year-old tourist from Israel died after hanging from a cliff near the falls while attempting to take a selfie. In 2013, a 19-year-old Sacramento man was killed after swimming above the falls and being pulled over the edge by the current.
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A red warning sign posted at the falls makes the danger explicit: “Stay out of water! Powerful, hidden currents will carry you over the fall. Stay back from the slippery rock at the water’s edge. If you go over the fall, you will die.”
Still, some visitors say the warnings are often ignored, with hikers continuing to step into the water despite posted rules and visible risks.
“Signs could be huge, with blinking lights and a loudspeaker yelling at them to not to go beyond the sign and someone will still do it, because there will always be stupid people,” another person wrote.
Gaul, who tried to save the latest man from his pending doom, also warned about the dangers of the tempting water.
“It looked really nice and swimmable, which is kind of the scary part about it all,” she said. “People see calm water, but they don’t realize that under that there’s a huge undercurrent.”
It’s still unclear what Alfaro was doing in the water.
The National Park Service has yet to release the results of its investigation into the man’s death.
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