To the Editor:

I read about the rescue at Yellowstone Falls in the July 26 edition of The Smoky Mountain News. The more I read about the heroic rescue, the angrier I got. I felt like, “Look, sir, you got yourself into this situation because you did something thoughtless, reckless, dangerous, and stupid. Now deal with it yourself.”

His rescue endangered the lives of at least 45 rescuers who could have been seriously injured or killed, and they probably have families who would have been forever impacted and devastated. Undoubtedly there were major expenses involved in this rescue: vehicles, rope riggers, backup equipment, paramedics, ambulance, airlift, etc. I feel the victim and his friends who accompanied him on this adventure should pay the costs involved in this rescue. That’s the least they can do.

The article said: “Yellowstone Falls, located between Skinny Dip Falls and the Lower Falls at Graveyard Fields, isn’t accessible by any official trail, and that’s on purpose …. it is dang near impossible to get down in there and even more difficult to get someone out.”

That tells me that many lives were risked because these people were somewhere they should not have been, and the entire situation could have been avoided had they used a little common sense. People need to realize there are consequences when you endanger the lives of others, and sometimes having to spend their money is the only thing that gets their attention.

Janice Workman

Bryson City