There were also a number of interesting near-misses during the past six moths. The Washington Post reported that a hiker who fell into the Potomac River near Great Falls, Virginia on August 4th was rescued by Peter Weina, an army doctor who was kayaking the river. This hapless hiker swam through the lower Fishladder (gnarly Class V), S-Turn, and Wet Bottom (both big-water Class III) before he was picked up. Weina offered the man his grab loop, pulled him to shore, and checked him for injuries. Then, because the walls of Mather Gorge are too steep to climb, he told the hiker to grab hold of his grab loop and towed him downstream. At Sandy Landing they were met by a Park Service rescue boat.