Kalani Tuiono and his girlfriend just wanted to go for a swim at a place called Emerald Pools on the South Yuba last weekend. The Reno man had traveled the relatively short distance across the border into Northern California. But the river wasn’t having it.
Tuiono was apparently swept downstream due to high flows from a massive Sierra Nevada snowpack. Luckily he was able to find a rock sanctuary in the middle of the river, right above the lip of a 40-50-foot waterfall where he was then plucked from his perch by a California Highway Patrol helicopter. His girlfriend had to be rescued, too. For the trained, like say, experienced whitewater kayakers, the Yuba is one of the state’s ultimate playgrounds. Otherwise, it can land you in a lot of trouble. Or on a rock island in the middle of a raging river.
