Earlier this year during the summer, someone asked question about floating the Creek at summertime flows. Since then, there have been two instances of fast water rescue on the Creek. The first occurred in September when three women tried to use paddleboard's to float the Creek and had to be rescued. The second occurred this Sunday and resulted in a fatality, a drowning of a young college student at access 4, presumably at the Sackett bridge pilings at the top of the access 4 glide. She and her friend were in a rubber raft that overturned and dump them out, presumably in that bridge piling induced cascade of fast water. Neither were wearing life jackets, apparently. One would have to guess that the young lady that drowned hit her head either on the pilings or on the surrounding rocks. The flows that day were in the high 300 range.
This tragedy once again points out the dangers of PC, especially at high flows. PCT will be joining with other NGOs and GOs to develop signage and other educational tools to increase awareness of the high danger that can be present in those fast stretches of the Creek.
There was another rescue this summer , I did not bother walking down to watch as there was to many SAR personal and I did not want to be in the way . but i saw them drop from a rope and twenty min later hoist the boy out via the hellacopter
Every year I see rafters on the creek and I always try to explian to them the dangers as they are happily floating by. This just happeded about a month ago with a group of 6 college age kids 2 of them fell in and were chasing there belongings downstream!