CLOSE ENCOUNTERS

Photo by Josh Bastyr @steeringsouth via ViralHog

Crews this past month have begun working on clearing away the tons of rock and rubble that have blocked the bike trail alongside Lake Natoma since 2017 when winter storms caused a landslide to cover parts of the trail between the Nimbus Dam and Negro Bar Recreation Area that is within California State Park's Folsom Lake SRA just east of Sacramento.

"We're finally fortunate enough to have a contract executed that will start the first phase of the project," Rich Preston, state parks superintendent told ABC 10, "This first phase will last a couple weeks during the initial cleanup, but the trail is going to remain closed until we can do the rest of the stabilization."

Negro Bar Recreation Area

State parks officials say the trail should be back open later this year, but so far no specific date has been  given.

Since the landslide area, many area bikers have ignored the warning signs and climb over a rocky trail to continue on their way, while local paddlers on the lake likewise came up for a closer look. But after seeing three sensational online videos of up-close encounters with massive collapses of ice and rock along the shoreline one might not be to tempt in getting up close.

In Alaska, kayakers, Josh Bastyr and Andrew Hooper, who operate the YouTube channels Steering South and Home With the Hoopers, respectively, ventured out near Spencer Glacier this month. The 11-mile long glacier rises about 3,500 feet above a glacial lake in the Chugach National Forest, located just 60 miles south of Anchorage, Alaska.

As reported by ACCUWEATHER, the two were paddling around the area, when they heard the sound of calving in the distance.
“We keep hearing calving happening and big splashes happening,” Bastyr explained as he narrated his video while paddling up close to the giant glacier. “It sounds like a gunshot going off. We’re going to try to get over to where we think it’s happening. It looks like that’s where it just happened.”

As they continue to move closer in front of the glacier, chunks of ice continued to break and fall in front of them, But moments later just like out of a Hollywood movie, a massive chunk crumbles away and careens into the water. On impact, an enormous splash sends an explosion of a spray of water and a huge wave in their direction.

“Oh my God, look at it,” Bastyr can be heard saying as he furiously paddles away from the scene. “Oh my God. Oh my God, we’re lucky to be alive right now.”
While some viewers to his Youtube channel will point out that the two were too close to the glacier for their safety, Bastyr does not disagree.

“It was the most intense thing I have ever experienced. We know we were way too close, and that we are lucky we didn't get hurt,” Bastyr wrote in follow up on his Facebook page.

Photo courtesy of Jon Smithers and Craig Blacklock

Meanwhile, also this month at Lake Superior's scenic view at the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore a tour group of 18 kayakers escaped injuring when a section of cliff broke away and fell leading to some frightening moments on the water.

Closest to the rockfall was paddler Maxim Rigaux who said it was the sound of the collapse he'll remember most.

"It was like experiencing an explosion from very nearby," he told WLUC-TV

The colorful sandstone cliffs of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore along with its beaches, sand dunes and waterfalls are a popular destination for kayakers on the big lake. Rising up some 200 feet over the lake,  the cliffs are a unique landscape that is shaped by the power of Lake Superior and are very susceptible to erosion from natural weather conditions along the lake.

In a television interview with WLUC-TV, Rigaux recounted how he started recording when he saw some small rocks falling from the cliff.

"We thought the worst was over, and then actually," he said,  I don't know why, but I just started recording another one,"

Moments later the massive rockfall started raining down into the lake, raising a plume of water and dust covering him and his kayak with a cloud of dirt

"You're beneath the massive rockfall and you have no idea how much more will fall down," he said. "It was quite frightening, especially for a few seconds."

At that same time, Jon Smithers, a nature and wildlife photographer from Saint Peter, Minn. was piloting a drone from a pontoon boat just outside park boundaries with fellow photographer Craig Blacklock when he turned the drone toward the sound just in time to see a huge rock shelf crumbling down and hitting the lake in an explosion of dust and water near the group of kayakers.

“I was really shocked,” Smithers told MLIVE.com, “I had never seen anything like that before. That entire shelf just fell off right in front of our eyes. It was just really incredible. The aroma of old dirt was just ridiculous. Honestly, that was as cool as seeing it fall.”

In all cases, experts urge caution whether hiking or paddling along cliffs or near glaciers. Staying on the trail and fighting the urge to get too close is key to safety.

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