CULLMAN, Ala. (AP) – Zac Roden had been to Welcome Falls many times, and all of those times that he travelled the few miles from his home to visit the landmark left him confident in his abilities to traverse the slick terrain. But in June, a quick trip to show the falls to a friend left Roden with injuries that he is lucky to have survived.
It was only a few days until Roden’s 21st birthday on what and was meant to be a quiet day. His longtime friend Candace Siler was in town visiting and it was hot out – causing them to reminisce about their past trips to Welti Falls and how Siler had never seen Welcome Falls.
They drove to the site and hiked down the short distance from the road until reaching the creek bed that spills over 50 or so feet to the bottom of the falls. It was peaceful, Siler said, as the sound of distant thunder and rain just beginning to hit the canopy of leaves above them created a calming effect. The only concern on her mind was snakes. As they reached the falls, Siler remembers pausing to look at a white sign with red lettering nailed to a tree that read “Warning: Slippery Rocks.”
The falls were mostly dry, with very little water going over the edge, Siler recalls. But there was a small pool of water at the bottom that seemed like a perfect place to go for a quick swim. As they began searching for a path down, Siler said that moments after she warned Roden about walking so close to the edge he lost his footing and tripped.
Siler got to the spot where she had seen Roden go over within seconds. But being prepared to see her friend at the bottom of the gorge, she said it felt like it took a lifetime.