EDITOR,

We went to the Garden of Eden swimming hole on the San Lorenzo River on the Sept. 3 holiday. Lots of people there. There is a huge log 10 feet above the swimming hole that drunken young people and daredevil teens dive off. There is a sign back at Highway 9 that says, “No diving.”

It’s a long way to the river, with no posted signs at the swimming hole.

There is a huge rock underwater directly in front of the log. To avoid hitting it, you have to know it is there and dive on the diver’s left side or from the beach or right side. The rock is dead center.

When we got there, a young man had dived off the center and hit the rock with his back. He was pulled out of the water. He was in shock and could not feel his legs. We fear he is paralyzed. The paramedics came and hauled him off in a stretcher to the hospital. One stupid mistake — paralyzed for life.

Tell everyone, don’t dive off the log! We pray the young man may walk again.

When I asked the forest ranger who came with the paramedics why a sign isn’t posted on the log warning of the underwater rock, he said they know about the rock and signs gets stolen every year, so they stopped putting them up. The sign is on the street.

They are in the process of trying to figure out how to cut the huge log down but have run into logistic problems, as it is in a hard-to-access area. How many kids have been permanently hurt diving into that underwater rock that the rangers know about?

There has to be a way to warn people. I am hoping you will spread the word.

— Gale Red Thunder, Capitola