Reddit mentions of Off the Wall: Death in Yosemite

Two of my more interesting books are:

1. Off the Wall: Death in Yosemite: Lots of stories about deaths in Yosemite, accidental or otherwise
   
   
2. Over the Edge: Death in the Grand Canyon: The better of the two books (the first one being good, this one is just better) and provides stories behind lots and lots of deaths at the Grand Canyon
   
   For some reason, this story reminded me of a guy who fell while taking a picture of one of the hotel / lodges at the Grand Canyon. The guy had his back to the canyon and was taking a picture of the back side of the lodge. He backed up a little, then a little more, then a little more, and then plummeted hundreds of feet to his death.

The books Death in Yellowstone and Death in Yosemite contain a bunch of interesting stories.

There are a lot of them on the topic I think. But here are the two I’ve read so far.

Yosemite book

Yellowstone

Sorry about formatting, I’m on mobile!

I've read both Death in Yellowstone (A+) and Death in Yosemite (C+) and found them to be interesting.

Most of the deaths are rather unexciting. Automobile accidents are the leading cause of death in every NP I have ever heard of.

Here is a list from the Smokey Mountain NP website.
>Average number of serious injuries in the park each year:
Motor vehicle accidents - 50,
Walking or hiking accidents - 38,
Bicycle accidents - 16,
Falls from waterfalls - 9,
Horse related - 7,
Tubing related - 5,
Bee Sting reaction - 4

My recommendation is to drive the whole length of Hwy 441 through the park. The road might as well be a graveyard. Tons of people have died on it. But don't come crying to me when you come back and say it doesn't feel any more dangerous than any other road.

Ahh, ok. I looked it up and saw that he also wrote Death in Yosemite. I knew he had written another one. Interesting stuff, though!

Other than the Missing 411 books, David has also mentioned Off the Wall: Death in Yosemite by Michael P. Ghiglieri and Charles R. Farabee, a former protection ranger and superintendent

Sadly not the first NPR will it be the last time this happens. I'd suggest reading Off the Wall:Death in Yosemite for an interesting (and a bit macabre) historical perspective of that aspect of Yosemite.

Edit: changed my link to the soft cover version

https://www.amazon.com/Off-Wall-Yosemite-Michael-Ghiglieri/dp/0970097360

There's one for Yosemite as well.

https://www.amazon.com/Off-Wall-Yosemite-Michael-Ghiglieri/dp/0970097360

I'm Eastern Sierra so I'm partial to things that are relevant to my area. Off the Wall, Death in Yosemite is really good as it catalogs all of the deaths in Yosemite. Drownings, falls, exposure, murder, etc. This is in the same format as the Grand Canyon book.

The Death Valley Germans is a terrific Internet rabbit hole to spend a few hours in.

As /u/rabidstoat has already recommended, Over the Edge: Death in Grand Canyon is a fascinating read. One of the authors (Michael P. Ghiglieri) also co-wrote its sister book, Off the Wall: Death in Yosemite. Both books manage to not be overly morbid (tales of near-misses are included, so it isn't just one death after another) and actually seemed uplifting to me. I came away with a real sense of respect for the wilderness; if we are aware of the dangers and risks every time we venture out, however seemingly remote, our chances of survival in a "worst case scenario" improves.

There are other books in a similar vein that chronicle all (or most) deaths in specific wilderness areas, such as Not Without Peril: 150 Years Of Misadventure On The Presidential Range Of New Hampshire. These are good too, but often seem to be a collection of first-hand accounts and historical vignettes. Ghiglieri manages to weave all of his information into a larger overarching narrative with a satisfying conclusion. I'm really hoping he does another one of these books!