Well, at least they’ll have a story to tell. Six people in a private rafting group in Pennsylvania unintentionally sent Ohiopyle Falls on Pennsylvania’s Youghiogheny River this week and had to be rescued by authorities. News outlets reported the falls at 40 feet, which doesn’t seem accurate as whitewater guides have long measured the falls at 15-20 feet. Still, during this particular run, the Youghiogheny looked to be running at high flows and the group reportedly missed several warning signs to portage.
Ohiopyle is a semi-famous waterfall in the region and is often run by experienced kayakers (and rafters), especially during the Ohiopyle Over the Falls Festival, an annual event that ran for 17 seasons sponsored by American Whitewater to help whitewater kayakers gain access to the falls (typically, the state park does not allow the falls to be run). Apparently, the last time the event was held was in 2016. You can see some of the runs from the 2015 event, below:
