Hiker Injured by Rockslide in Yosemite

A hiker in Yosemite National Park was injured Sunday afternoon when a tree tumbled down a slope, showering the popular Mist Trail with rocks.

Little information was available Sunday evening about the hiker, who was being transported by helicopter to medical facilities. Park rangers said the person’s injuries were not life threatening.

The small slide occurred on the Upper Mist Trail between Vernal Falls and Nevada Falls on the east side of Yosemite Valley.

Rockslides are common in the park’s rugged terrain.

“It’s something that regularly occurs based on the geology of the area,” park ranger Lynda Doucette said. “It’s nothing out of the ordinary. There isn’t a lot you can do. There’s no way for us to tell when and where a rockslide may come down.”

Last year a 20-year-old Montebello man was killed and about a dozen people were hurt when a huge granite arch near Glacier Point broke loose, unleashing a cascade of debris on the Happy Isles area 2,400 feet below.

In 1980, three hikers were killed by falling rock near Yosemite Falls.

Doucette said a portion of the Upper Mist Trail, from the Vernal Falls iron bridge to the top of Nevada Falls, was closed after Sunday’s slide.