A 61-year-old Washington state high school teacher died after falling 100 feet during a solo hiking expedition on California’s John Muir Trail, according to search and rescue officials. Harris Levinson, who taught American studies and theater at Vashon High School near Seattle, was found dead in the North Fork of Lone Pine Creek after disappearing on what was planned to be a 220-mile journey from Whitney Portal to Yosemite National Park.
Levinson began his hike on June 23, 2025, after placing a food resupply cache at Onion Valley that he planned to retrieve on June 29. When the food cache remained uncollected by July 8, a concerned friend contacted Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park, prompting authorities to launch a search operation.
The Inyo County Sheriff’s Office was contacted on July 9 regarding the missing hiker. Search teams located Levinson’s vehicle at Whitney Portal and initiated a coordinated rescue effort involving helicopters from the California Highway Patrol Office of Air Operations, Inyo National Forest personnel, and ground searchers from Inyo County Search and Rescue.
Using data from Levinson’s satellite messaging device, ground searchers located his body at approximately 9,400 feet elevation in the North Fork of Lone Pine Creek. The experienced hiker had fallen nearly 100 feet into a gully just two miles into what was intended to be a 140-mile trek. His body was recovered on July 12.
According to reports, Levinson was attempting to hike the Mountaineer’s Route up Mount Whitney rather than the main John Muir Trail. This alternative path is described as more direct but significantly steeper and more treacherous, requiring rock scrambling. A friend indicated that Levinson chose this riskier route because he had been unable to obtain a permit for the standard Whitney Trail, which operates under a quota system.
Friend Carrie McCarthy wrote on the online platform Caring Bridge that Levinson had been planning the expedition for months and was excited about the adventure. She noted that people who connected with him in his final days reported he was joyful and full of appreciation for his life. McCarthy stated, “It is clear that he died upon impact.”
The Mountaineer’s Route has been the site of multiple recent accidents, including three deaths in one week during May 2024. One of those fatalities involved a Santa Rosa man who was struck by falling rocks at Ebersbacher Ledges, near where Levinson died. In June 2025, a 14-year-old boy from Santa Clarita suffered severe injuries when he began hallucinating and walked off a ledge while descending Mount Whitney.
Levinson taught at Vashon High School from 1997 to 2017, where he instructed American studies, Spanish, and theater classes. He also served as an advisor to the school’s Amnesty International club. After leaving Vashon High, he was hired in 2017 as a Spanish teacher and youth mentor at Tacoma School for the Arts.
Beyond his teaching career, Levinson was active in local theater and community organizations. He co-founded the nonprofit Sharing the Stage, which provided opportunities for young musicians to open for headliners at Seattle venues. The Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber described him as a talented writer, theater artist, puppeteer, and stand-up comedian who regularly performed with local theater groups. His most recent stage appearance was in 2024 in Drama Dock’s production of “The Hatmaker’s Wife.”
Former students and community members expressed their appreciation for Levinson’s impact as an educator. Former student Alden Hinden-Stevenson wrote in a tribute published in Vashon High School’s newspaper that Levinson viewed each class as a family unit fueled by friendship and trust, emphasizing that interactions counted most in his classroom environment.
Friend Bill Jarcho told the Beachcomber that he and his wife had seen Levinson the night before his departure for the hiking trip. Jarcho recounted that Levinson had expressed both excitement and nervousness about the journey, telling them in a joking yet serious manner that if he did not return, they should know he had lived a fantastic life without regrets.
The Inyo County Sheriff’s Office and Inyo County Search and Rescue extended their condolences to Levinson’s family and friends. They acknowledged the cooperation and assistance provided by Sequoia-Kings National Park, Inyo National Forest, and the California Highway Patrol Office of Air Operations during the search mission.
