The weather has been warmer for a couple of days, which should be good news — but my morning hike was overshadowed by sadness this morning. Apparently a 13- or 14-year-old boy, out enjoying the warm weather on Sunday evening, jumped off one of the rocks into Lake Natoma below the Rainbow Bridge (seen above) and never resurfaced.  The water is very deep and very cold right now; it’s NOT a safe place to go swimming, no matter how attractive it may seem.

I spent much of my walk this morning contemplating how quickly and unexpectedly a life can change. My heart breaks for this boy’s family and friends, especially as they suffer through the hours of waiting for him to be recovered from the lake. I did take a couple of pictures of the search, but it didn’t seem right to me to get too close. I’ll leave that to the professional journalists.

The spring and summer season often brings tragic news of drownings on our local waterways, and I’m very sorry this boy ended up being the first victim of 2017. I can only hope others will learn from his mistake, and remember that rivers are beautiful but dangerous places.

You can watch the local news report by clicking on the image below.