Latest news with #HarrisLevinson
Daily Mirror
6 days ago
- Daily Mirror
Backpacking teacher dies just two miles into long solo hike after plunging 100ft
Harris Levinson, 61, vanished while undertaking a 140-mile hike earlier this month and after friends sounded the alarm, search and rescue units discovered his body days later A popular teacher died after plunging 100ft to his death while on 141-mile solo backpack trek. Harris Levinson was just two miles into his hiking adventure when he fell at Whitney Portal in California as he made his way to Yosemite National Park. The 61-year-old, who taught American studies and theatre at Vashon High School, near Seattle, didn't survive the huge fall. The experienced hiker's body was recovered by Inyo County Search and Rescue on Sunday. He was hoping to complete the mega mission, but died under an hour in after officials said it appeared the beloved teacher attempted to hike the 'climber's route' up Mount Whitney. A huge search was launched involving the National Park, Inyo National Forest, and the California Highway Patrol Office of Air Operations, with helicopters deployed after the alarm was raised by friends who were concerned he had not collected a food package. His car was located at the park. His friend Carrie McCarthy paid tribute to him on Facebook. She wrote that he had been 'planning this trip for months and was thrilled and excited to begin.' She added: 'Folks who connected with him in his final days report that he was joyful, eager, friendly and full of appreciation for his life and the opportunity to go on this adventure. In other words, he was Harris.' Inyo County Sheriff's Office released a statement detailing the events. It read: "On Wednesday, July 9, the Inyo County Sheriff's Office was contacted by Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park concerning a missing hiker, Harris Levinson, who planned to hike the John Muir Trail from Whitney Portal to Yosemite National Park. "Mr Levinson planned to begin his hike on June 23 after putting in a food resupply cache at Onion Valley that he planned to pick up on June 29. On July 8, his food cache had not been picked up, prompting a friend of Mr. Levinson to contact Sequoia-Kings NP. "Mr Levinson's car was located at Whitney Portal and Inyo County, in coordination with Sequoia-Kings NP, initiated a search using helicopters from the California Highway Patrol Office of Air Operations and Inyo National Forest, and ground searchers from Inyo County Search and Rescue. "Aided by data from Mr. Levinson's satellite messaging device, ground searchers located the body of Mr. Levinson at approximately 9,400 feet in the North Fork of Lone Pine Creek, apparently the victim of a fatal fall. "The Inyo County Sheriff's Office and Inyo County Search and Rescue extend our sincere condolences to Mr. Levinson's family and friends, and we thank Sequoia-Kings National Park, Inyo National Forest, and the California Highway Patrol Office of Air Operations for their cooperation and assistance in this mission." The Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber newspaper, which reported his death, said Mr Levinson was 'widely known and beloved on Vashon for his remarkable work as a teacher, youth mentor and theater-maker.' His students have been paying their own tributes across social media.
New York Post
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Beloved teacher dies in 100-foot fall just 2 miles into long-planned national park hike: report
A well-known and beloved Washington state teacher plummeted to his death just two miles into a planned solo backpack trek along the John Muir hiking trail last month, according to reports. Harris Levinson, 61, who taught American studies and theater at Vashon High School in the island town located just outside of Seattle, set out from Whitney Portal in California on June 23 on his way to Yosemite National Park, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Harris Levinson, 61, fatally plunged to his death just two miles into his long-planned trek along the John Muir hiking trail in California. The 61-year-old experienced hiker fell nearly 100-feet into a gully just two miles into the nearly 140-mile trek. His body was recovered by Inyo County Search and Rescue on July 12, according to SFGate. Officials said it appeared the teacher attempted to hike the 'climber's route' up Mount Whitney, which is more treacherous and difficult than the main John Muir Trail, according to reports. Friends of the longtime educator said he had been planning this trip for months and was thrilled to begin his journey. The summit of Mount Whitney where Levinson set off on his trip to Yosemite National Park. Wikipedia 'Folks who connected with him in his final days report that he was joyful, eager, friendly, and full of appreciation for his life and the opportunity to go on this adventure,' friend Carolyn McCarthy wrote on a Caring Bridge page for Levinson's benefit. 'In other words, he was Harris.' 'It is clear that he died upon impact,' she wrote, adding, 'We are grateful to know he didn't suffer.' Levinson was known on the island of Vashon as a talented writer, a theater artist, puppeteer, and sometimes stand-up comic who performed in multiple venues in the tight-knit community, Vashon Beachcomber reported. 'Everyone who encountered Harris experienced his warmth and joy and desire to connect, and these qualities made him a wonderful actor and scene partner,' Steven Sterne, who acted alongside Levinson in a September production of 'The Hatmaker's Wife,' told the outlet. Yosemite National Park is the third deadliest state park in America, with an average of 11 deaths recorded within its limits each year, according to the National Park Service.
