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by jseutter 2475 days ago
From reading http://theory.stanford.edu/~rvg/arroyo/ (warning: nudity) linked from the ropewiki page, when hiking from the top, this journey is a combination of hiking, wading along the river and floating down it. It sounds like lots of fun. Turning around at the waterfall means that they would have to hike back as well as swim upstream, possibly through rapids, to get back to their starting point. It could be next to impossible.

I could see this being an easy trap to be caught out by if you had limited exposure to conditions in the area, or even if you had checked weather conditions and missed a rainfall upstream while out hiking. While they might be ashamed of needing a rescue, they thankfully made a smart choice and this is a cool story rather than a search for bodies.
2 comments
welder 2475 days ago
Just went to that waterfall in July. Even when water isn't flowing too fast that rope is hidden behind the water... you just have to pull it out. Another option is just ride the water down... 3 small waterfalls that end up in a deep pool so not too dangerous. My friend Scott did it without rope just for fun. He did get a bruised leg but otherwise no injuries.

Photos of the camping spot a few hours swim down from waterfall: https://photos.app.goo.gl/kgMRunAAVZ9ogJnP7

I'll add photos of the waterfall to that link later.

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senorjazz 2475 days ago
> It could be next to impossible.

Do you know this of assumed? Sounds difficult for sure, but is it possible?

I mean, if you had no way forward and had two options:

1) turn around

2) throw a bottle into the waterfall and hope

I would turn around (unless as you said, is actually impossible, but I haven't been able to find anything definitive on this)

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ahi 2475 days ago
This wasn't the most robust crew. They were at a local minimum, both topographically and risk. They were safe where they were for at least a few days. Hiking out might have been beyond their ability. Having read some stories of people who didnt get out of these situations, it's not usually the first mistake that does it. It's the process of trying to get out that results in digging a bigger hole. I think they made the right call to abort rather than increase the risk.
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