In a different article I read about this incident, a ranger was saying that everyone seems to the get to the spot OK. It's on the return trip that people typically get lost. So, finding a destination easily is no guarantee that the return route will be as easy.

Permits are required to hike to there and they are limited in supply and given out by lottery. Apparently you have little control over when your application might be approved, so even if it's the hottest part of the summer, people still make the trek because they don't know when they might get another chance.