Popular Point Reyes Trail Section Where Hiker Died Likely Never To Reopen
POINT REYES NATIONAL SEASHORE (CBS SF) -- A popular hiking trail in Point Reyes National Seashore will likely never be repaired after the ground gave way Saturday, sending two hikers tumbling 70-feet, leaving one dead.
Park crews posted warning signs for hikers that the Bear Valley Trail was still open, but the Arch Rock lookout popular with tourists was off-limits.
"It's very unstable. It falls apart all the time," park spokesperson John Dell'Osso said.
One San Francisco woman was killed, and a second left in serious condition when a portion of Arch Rock, a well-known bridge carved by Mother Nature caved in, sending the two hikers falling 70-feet.
"You can see a crack going through the dirt. We didn't step over that at all. We stepped back after seeing the signs there had been a collapse," hiker Sarah Merkel said.
Dell'Osso said it's likely Arch Rock itself will never be repaired.
"We have had serious waves that have taken people off the beaches and pulled them out, but I have never seen something where the ground has just collapsed beneath someone's feet," Dell'Osso said.