Heartbroken friends of a young Australian adventurer have paid tribute to him after he died in a freak accident in Yosemite National Park.
Harry Partington, 22, was crushed by a falling tree while hiking the popular Four Mile Trail to Glacier Point on October 8.
A German woman walking nearby was also injured before being airlifted to hospital from the steep valley path.
“Your love of travel may have taken you further than anyone can go,” wrote his friend Victor Markey in Perth, the Australian’s hometown.
‘But your memories will live forever in the minds and hearts of the people you have connected with. RIP Harry, the boys will miss you so much.’
Harry Partington, 22, documented his love of the outdoors on his Facebook page.
The young adventurer was killed by a falling tree while climbing the spectacular Four Mile Trail to Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park on October 8.
Weather conditions were reported to be “gusty” as Partington set out on the switchback trail that climbs more than 3,000 feet from the valley floor to Glacier Point at the summit.
The steep climb offers spectacular views of iconic landmarks including El Capitan, Sentinel Rock, Yosemite Falls and Half Dome.
Partington had arrived from Perth in Australia.
It was at Half Dome that Grace Rohloff, 20, a University of Arizona student, fell 200 feet to her death in July while trying to descend the sheer rock face with her father.
She and her father Jonathan Rohloff were experienced hikers, but they slowed their descent to accommodate less experienced climbers and ended up caught in a storm.
He immediately went down after her, but could not reach the place where the student had rested.
It was an agonizing three-hour wait before rescuers could reach Grace, who suffered a catastrophic head injury.
“It was one of the most heartbreaking things I’ve ever seen in my life,” said hiker Erin McGlynn.
Partington had climbed about 6,300 feet near Union Point around 2:30 p.m. when park authorities were alerted to the fallen tree.
Hiker Kelly Kennedy Bentley was at the trailhead waiting for her husband to return from Glacier Point when she saw emergency vehicles arriving at the Southside Drive assembly point.
She feared they had been called about her husband before he texted her to let her know he was safe.
“My children remember that there were about 30 emergency personnel on the road, including paramedics, firefighters and rescue personnel,” he told the newspaper. democratic union.
‘The road was closed. I saw the helicopter up there at least twice.
‘Never take life for granted. It can be taken from you in a fraction of a second.
“Your memories will live forever in the minds and hearts of the people you have connected with,” his friend Victor Markey wrote on Facebook. RIP Harry, the boys will miss you so much.’
Grace Rohloff, a University of Arizona student, slipped and fell to her death in front of her horrified father while hiking in Yosemite in July.
Grace plunged 200 feet down the treacherous Half Dome after losing her balance while descending cables down the cliff.
Kirk Thomas Olsen, 61, pictured with his niece Holly Leeson, was found dead in Yosemite on Saturday, nearly three weeks after setting out on the Ostrander Lake Trail.
The trail has been hiked by millions of hikers since it opened in 1872, but is closed for at least six months a year due to “treacherous” conditions.
“It was mid-afternoon and there were gusty winds that day,” said Yosemite National Park spokesman Scott Gediman. ‘There were a few drops of rain in the Valley.
‘We always ask that people be situationally aware and aware of their surroundings. This is certainly an unfortunate development.”
The young hiker was a keen sportsman and had many relatives in the UK.
He had received awards for his work as an amateur Australian rules football referee for the Demons district referees in his native Western Australia.
More than 160 people have died in the park’s 1,187 square kilometers since 2007, many of them while traveling alone.
Former park ranger Kirk Thomas Olsen, 61, was missing for three weeks before his body was found near the Ostrander Lake trailhead on September 14.
“Unfortunately, Mother Nature in all her glory does not take into account past experiences and hiking alone is never a risk-free endeavor,” said her niece Holly Leeson.
‘Please, whenever possible, travel with a companion and be safe.
“The Earth is beautiful and I will always support our National Park system and the opportunities they provide to see nature at its finest, but please take the necessary precautions and be safe in all your endeavors.”