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60-Year-Old Seriously Injured While Hiking Off-Trail In Yosemite

YOSEMITE (CBS13) — A 60-year-old man was seriously injured Monday after falling and hitting his head near Bridalveil Fall in Yosemite Valley, officials said.

(credit: National Park Service)

The Yosemite Search and Rescue team was called out to the area Monday afternoon after a bystander called 911, reporting a man had fallen in the rocks and hit his head.

Family members who were hiking with the man say they left the Valley Loop trail and scrambled up the Bridalveil Creek bed, but the man had lost his footing and slipped about three feet, hitting his head and shoulder. Officials say he lost consciousness and was facedown with his head submerged in the creek. The family was able to pull him out of the water and say he regained consciousness within a few minutes.

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They then helped take him down the hill where the search and rescue team found them. Navigating the risky extraction on smooth granite, the team was able to get the injured man to the ground safely where he was transported to a trauma center.

Yosemite officials warn against going off-trail and said, "hiking and scrambling off-trail is the third leading cause of accidental fatalities in Yosemite (after water-related deaths and climbing fatalities)."

(credit: National Park Service)
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