This accident happened before the California Department of Fish and Game altered Bloomer Falls to improve fish passage, and the hole was very bad. While the group was portaging the victim ran the drop. He got stuck in the hole, then was typewritered over into the undercut rock on the far right. He recirculated for a while before washing free. His friends got into their boats and gave chase, but were unable to reach him in time. His body was found in an eddy miles downstream.There were two big mistakes here: the first was running the drop in the first place, and the second was to do so without prepositioning downstream safety. What little chance of survival he had was lost because no one was in the water to help him.
