National Parks
Pat
and it left me with many questions. One of them is this: Would YOU stand
that close to the edge? Would you sit with your feet dangling over the
boulder with the river far far below? Would you do a jig on the edge of a
cliff?
Not me.
Pat
ShadowTek
I'm always paranoid about walking out on to rocks that stick out like
fingers. Sure, thousands of people have walked out on it before, but I
just know that I'm going to be the poor bastard that causes it to break.
8O
Sammy Sands
"ShadowTek" <Shad...@invalid.invalid> wrote in message
news:slrnhc0iea.d...@desktop.localdomain...
For years, I could only go to edges by crawling to get a peek. I can now
walk and get a look, but I keep a respectful distance.
Sammy
y_p_w
Not me either.
I've been on the top of Half Dome. I wouldn't get anywhere near
Eagle's Beak.
I was at the Grand Canyon at Desert View. I thought I had a photo of
a bird taken with extreme telephoto. When I got home I had a better
look. It was someone who had climbed over the fence and was resting
right against the edge of the canyon.
Bluesea
"Pat" <newi...@home.com> wrote in message
news:7iajkuF...@mid.individual.net...
Maybe, maybe not. It'll depend on the conditions and how safe I feel at the
time.
I've stood outside of an 8th floor apartment in Hawai`i on a window ledge
that was 2-1/2 to 3 feet wide wearing rubber flip-flops, but don't usually
like to get that close to an edge when it's a natural surface even while
wearing hiking boots because I have this fear that I'll slip on the growth
or dirt and go over, or the rock will crumble under my feet and I'd fall. I
used to think it was an irrational fear.
In the Wichita Wildlife Refuge in OK, there's a place called the Forty Foot
Hole that has tall cliffs rising from the banks of a creek (West Cache
Creek?), one of which is popular with people learning how to rappel. The
cliffs are approximately 40' high depending on the creek's water level.
One Saturday afternoon several years ago, when I was there with a group of
friends from work, two boys came running across the plateau of the other
side. They stopped running as they neared the cliff's edge and the older
boy, about 14, stepped closer to look over the edge.
I was down on the opposite bank, traversing the sometimes loose rocks and
boulders next to the water which was low, watching them because they were
the only people on that side. The next thing I saw was that he fell straight
down, bouncing a couple of times like a rag doll near the bottom, once off a
small bush. He didn't move.
His brother ran back the way they had come, presumably to get their parents.
Some of the experienced rappellers, including instructors, shot down the
cliff on my side and ran across the creek to give aid. An Army medic who
happened to be upstream enjoying time with his wife in the Devil's Bathtub
(?), ran straight down the middle of the creek to give aid, also. The boy
was knocked out, but came to after a while.
Someone ran to the parking lot downstream to get help which came so fast, I
think somebody must have called.
Since I was without skills or any first aid supplies, I thought it best for
me to get out of the way and moved upstream to the tub. It turned out to be
a good decision because the rangers came from that direction, followed a few
minutes later by a helicopter from the nearby Army post which lifted the boy
and transported him to a hospital.
The guy in our group who had organized our outing and had been one of the
first to reach the boy called the hospital from work on Monday to check on
his condition.
The word? The boy had been held for observation, then released with no
injuries whatsoever other than minor scratches and bruises.
--
~~Bluesea~~
Spam is great in musubi, but not in email.
Please take out the trash before sending a direct reply.
ShadowTek
>
> I was down on the opposite bank, traversing the sometimes loose rocks and
> boulders next to the water which was low, watching them because they were
> the only people on that side. The next thing I saw was that he fell straight
> down, bouncing a couple of times like a rag doll near the bottom, once off a
> small bush. He didn't move.
I also worry about those ledges that are rounded and start of with only a
slight drop. I see kids monkeying around in places like that and I know
that it would only take one little stumble to get them rolling out of
control and over the side.
Looking Glass Rock is one such place that comes to mind.
Marshall Lake
>> boulders next to the water which was low, watching them because they were
>> the only people on that side. The next thing I saw was that he fell straight
>> down, bouncing a couple of times like a rag doll near the bottom, once off a
>> small bush. He didn't move.
> I also worry about those ledges that are rounded and start of with only a
> slight drop. I see kids monkeying around in places like that and I know
> that it would only take one little stumble to get them rolling out of
> control and over the side.
Reading this brings to mind one of the times I was at the South Rim.
I was standing on a large flat rock at the rim admiring the Canyon.
No rail, and I was standing around 10 feet from the edge. There was a
child around 5 or 6 years old running in circles on this rock getting
close to the edge. The father was incoherent. Hard to believe.