Frightening footage shows insanity at Yosemite National Park: ‘Dangerous AF’

Frightening footage shows insanity at Yosemite National Park: ‘Dangerous AF’

Scary footage shows Yosemite National Park hikers cautiously stepping around each other on the mega-popular but steep and slick Mist Trail this month.

One video taken this past weekend shows one man walking precariously close to a cliff edge as adventure-seekers push past her on the way up to Vernal Falls.

Claudia Magana, 30, is seen carefully placing her feet on rocks in front of her with just a railing separating her and a massive fall.

Hikers can be seen in the video carefully lumbering their way down a rocky staircase in close proximity to each other.

One video taken this past weekend shows a hiker walking precariously close to a cliff edge as adventure-seekers push past her on the way up to Vernal Falls. TikTok/cloud333a
Hikers can be seen in the video carefully lumbering their way down a rocky staircase in close proximity to each other. TikTok/cloud333a

Magana said she felt the crowds made the trail “dangerous” and attendance to the park should be limited. The 30-year-old saw hikers go around slower climbers and push past people as crowds grew.

“One wrong move and it’s easy to just slip,” she told The California Post.

The Mist Trail is a very popular, but short hike where hikers can climb several miles to go up to Vernal Falls or the further Nevada Falls. The trail earns its name from the waterfalls’ soaking mist.

The avid hiker said the staircase was right as she left the top of Vernal Falls and headed back to the entrance of the trail. Despite climbing the stairs on the way up, she said her video was the “scariest point” of the trail.

“Because there’s so many people. There’s a lot of people going up and down,” she said. The woman said she’s a Hayward native and left for the park at four in the morning this past Saturday.

She knew the park was crowded from the moment she arrived as parking lots filled, leaving her searching for several minutes to find a spot even at 7 a.m.

The large crowds could be because of a new rule change that’s spurring more attendance at national parks.

She knew the park was crowded from the moment she arrived as parking lots filled, leaving her searching for several minutes to find a spot even at 7 a.m. Getty Images
The Trump administration expanded access to Yosemite and other national parks in February of this year. TikTok/layla.watson.perez

The Trump administration expanded access to Yosemite and other national parks in February of this year.

Yosemite visitors no longer need to make advance reservations as in the past. The change has boosted attendance, which the NPS said then that they would be managed with “real-time traffic management measures, including temporary traffic diversions when parking areas reach capacity and deployment of additional seasonal staff to manage high-use areas.”

“Parks not using timed entry will closely monitor visitation, traffic flow and congestion throughout the season and are prepared to implement additional measures if conditions warrant. These tools may include increased seasonal staffing, enhanced parking management and piloting innovative technologies to improve visitor access while maintaining safe conditions,” they added.

Yosemite National Park recorded 634,508 total visits in June, a near record-breaking high for the month.

Another video taken late last month by 19-year-old student and photographer Mobeen Zarekari displayed an even more frightening scene. His video shows a rainbow over the heads of dozens of tourists smushed on another tight cliffside as they climb or descend the trail.

Another video taken late last month by 19-year-old student and photographer Mobeen Zarekari displayed an even more frightening scene. His video shows a rainbow over the heads of dozens of tourists smushed on another tight cliffside as they climb or descend the trail. TikTok/mobeanoz

Zarekari called the crowd at Yosemite “very shocking” and believed the shoulder-to-shoulder hiking made the trail more “dangerous.” He said the noise created from the masses also lessened the experience.

He hopes the Trump administration brings back the reservation system to make trails, especially the Mist Trail, safer.

“It was more peaceful. There was less of a crowd, and it was less dangerous,” he said of the park when it had the reservation system.

The federal government recently touted a busy holiday at the park.

The NPS said the Fourth of July weekend was “one of its smoothest holiday periods in recent memory.”

Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum called the announcement “GREAT” news.

“Earlier this year, we eliminated the timed reservation system to improve visitor experience, and the results speak for themselves,” he wrote, touting more visitation, less traffic and faster entry times.

“Faster entry times than EVER Another win for @POTUS!” he said.

Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum called the announcement “GREAT” news. San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images

The popular park is hoping to avoid any more tragedy on the Mist Trail.

22-year-old Josue Baires Alfaro died after he fell from Nevada Falls on the trail last month. A brave onlooker tried and failed to save him, risking her own life in the process.

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.”

The California Post reached out to the National Park Service for comment.


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