Grand Canyon Introduction | Benjamin Dowse
Having enjoyed climbing and boulder-hopping and those types of things my entire life, it may be safe to say that I didn't really respect heights. I didn't respect gravity either. I could, of course, feel its pull in my everyday movements, but I never figured it was strong enough to overpower me. Notice all of this is in the past tense. This was how I felt before my experience in the Grand Canyon.
Along with my friend Mike, his dad and a group of about 14 young boy scouts, I was headed off to the wilds of the Grand Canyon, to hike in and out again and live to tell the tale. That was the goal, and I had not doubt I would accomplish it. As I mentioned, I had no respect for, let alone fear of heights.
We came to our first major drop, about a 40 foot cliff, and I quickly descended, finding a suitable path, and then climbing back up again to guide the boy scouts along their way. I took a post about half-way down the cliff face, Mike was about 10 feet below me. As I showed one scout where to put his feet and get down to where Mike was waiting, I looked up and that saw Larry, an obese young man who was already sweating profusely, was coming down towards me. I immediately realized that I was going to have to find new footing for myself to make room for him.
Reaching over and grabbing onto a new handhold, I quickly, and without thinking, put my weight onto that handhold to adjust my feet. As I did so something happened that I had never really experienced before. Gravity took over. As the rock broke away in my hand, I fell backwards the 20 feet to the floor of the cliff below. In falling, I didn't have a "life flashing before my eyes" experience at all. I probably would have been disappointed if it weren't for the fact that taking the place of my life-flashing experience were my survival instincts. I could only think, Don't let your head hit! I gradually manipulated my body and struck the ground with my upper back, rolling as it hit so the impact spread throughout my back and into my hips.
I laid there for a minute, trying to make sense of what had happened. I wasn't unconcious. I wasn't dead. In fact, I felt pretty good. I got up and brushed myself off. Besides a few cuts and bruises, I was just fine! Mike, who had watched me fall straight past him and I'm sure had given me up for dead, dropped down next to me and looked at me as if he were seeing a ghost. I returned his stare.
"Thanks for catching me!" I said, then I grinned and headed back up the cliff.
Along with my friend Mike, his dad and a group of about 14 young boy scouts, I was headed off to the wilds of the Grand Canyon, to hike in and out again and live to tell the tale. That was the goal, and I had not doubt I would accomplish it. As I mentioned, I had no respect for, let alone fear of heights.
We came to our first major drop, about a 40 foot cliff, and I quickly descended, finding a suitable path, and then climbing back up again to guide the boy scouts along their way. I took a post about half-way down the cliff face, Mike was about 10 feet below me. As I showed one scout where to put his feet and get down to where Mike was waiting, I looked up and that saw Larry, an obese young man who was already sweating profusely, was coming down towards me. I immediately realized that I was going to have to find new footing for myself to make room for him.
Reaching over and grabbing onto a new handhold, I quickly, and without thinking, put my weight onto that handhold to adjust my feet. As I did so something happened that I had never really experienced before. Gravity took over. As the rock broke away in my hand, I fell backwards the 20 feet to the floor of the cliff below. In falling, I didn't have a "life flashing before my eyes" experience at all. I probably would have been disappointed if it weren't for the fact that taking the place of my life-flashing experience were my survival instincts. I could only think, Don't let your head hit! I gradually manipulated my body and struck the ground with my upper back, rolling as it hit so the impact spread throughout my back and into my hips.
I laid there for a minute, trying to make sense of what had happened. I wasn't unconcious. I wasn't dead. In fact, I felt pretty good. I got up and brushed myself off. Besides a few cuts and bruises, I was just fine! Mike, who had watched me fall straight past him and I'm sure had given me up for dead, dropped down next to me and looked at me as if he were seeing a ghost. I returned his stare.
"Thanks for catching me!" I said, then I grinned and headed back up the cliff.
Labels: Benjamin Dowse, interesting thing, introduction
posted by Benjamin | 12:38 PM
1 Comments:
Wow, you are quite the little hiker! I'm glad you're still with us Ben.
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