There has been a noticeable spike in deaths this year at Yosemite National Park in California.? NBC's Miguel Almaguer reports.
By Joy Jernigan, senior travel editor
Yosemite National Park is known for its natural beauty, but sometimes that beauty can be deadly.?
A record 14 people have died at the park so far this year.
The latest was 26-year-old Hayley LaFlamme of San Ramon, Calif., who?fell 600 feet to her death Sunday while descending Yosemite's Half Dome.
LaFlamme's death comes just two weeks after ?three hikers?plunged over a Yosemite waterfall. They are presumed dead, although their bodies are believed to be trapped under rocks and have not yet been recovered.
?Thanks?to a?record winter snowfall, Yosemite's iconic waterfalls, streams and rivers are flowing at levels more typical of June than early August ? which?makes for spectacular?sights such as moonbows?but also creates?treacherous conditions. ?
Park Ranger Scott Geidman tells TODAY that?there's no particular reason for the spike in deaths but warns that Yosemite?can be dangerous when park visitors push boundaries.
"We make it as clear as we can that this is a dangerous area," Geidman said, but?park officials can't be everywhere. "Ultimately it's up to the park visitor to make good decisions."
That includes heeding warning signs, monitoring weather conditions and being aware that granite rocks can be very slick when wet.
Yosemite attracted nearly 4 milllion visitors last year.
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Joy Jernigan is a senior travel editor for msnbc.com. Follow her on Twitter.
Source: http://overheadbin.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/08/05/7264010-whats-behind-all-the-deaths-at-yosemite
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