Yosemite visitors warn of ‘extremely dangerous’ waterfall that claimed life of 22-year-old

Wilderness adventurers are warning about an “extremely dangerous” but picturesque waterfall in Yosemite National Park after a 22-year-old fell to his death from it this week.

Most people warn that while the waterfalls are beautiful and tempting, any decision to wade in their waters can put you in grave danger.

“Nevada Fall is extremely dangerous,” a Reddit commenter said. “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, plummeted to his death last Saturday despite the efforts of a heroic 20-year-old woman who waded in after him. She nearly lost her own life, but a bystander saved her with a stick.

The waterfall sits along the famous “Mist Trail” in Yosemite National Park.

Daring parkgoers can make the 5.4-mile round-trip hike up to the falls and back in about 5-6 hours.

The 594-foot waterfall has claimed several lives over the past two decades. An 18-year-old Israeli tourist died in 2018 after he hung off a cliff at the falls while trying to take a selfie. A 19-year-old from Sacramento died in 2013 after he swam in the waters above the falls before the current took him and swept him over.

A red caution sign at the falls describes the inherent danger of swimming in the fall’s waters: “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.”

But some say people don’t listen. Hikers can be seen ignoring the rules and wading into the water anyway.

“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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