- Joined
- Dec 3, 2000
- Messages
- 3,002
Not entirely sure why I'm bothering to post this one...Maybe I'm seeking out some profound meaning that just isn't there or figured some of y'all would get a kick out of it...
When I had just gotten out of High School I went out for a little day hiking adventure with a group of half a dozen or so of my friends. Among them was my buddy Mike. He and I were pretty close and our antics were usually referred to as the "Mike and Mike show."
We both went out of our way to do stupid, crazy stuff, swimming through rivers with huge chunks of ice still floating in them, playing Dukes of Hazard with our trucks, and generally wreaking havoc upon the community. (We did a lot of unlawful things that I'm not real proud of) Not deliberately hurting anybody, but just being rambunctious kids.
Little Mike (my friend) was the exact opposite of me He was about 120 LBS of speed, agility, and mind blowingly fast reflexes.
I myself was around 190 LBS, benching double my body weight,and pretty quick for a big guy, but nothing like my friend. I was occasionally clumsy, and not always agile.
So anyways...we went out on our little hike at an area between Wasilla here and Anchorage called "Thunder bird Falls" It was hardly a wilderness venture. The trail to the falls is nearly paved, and only a couple miles long. But..being kids, we had no interest in viewing the falls from their designated observation point. We were gonna view them from the top down.
So proceeding up the other trail and the side of the mountain, my buddies (four of them wanna-be mountain climbers) all hitched themselves up in ropes and harnesses, Even though we were nowhere near the tree line. At the front of the pack were Mike and Mike, both of us swinging from tree to tree like a couple of Spider Monkeys, calling them paranoid, and a bunch of uhmm...chicken fecal matter...
We all eventually got to the top of the Waterfalls, and had some of the girls with us get pictures of us mooning other hikers and such from the majestic view of the waterfalls, all well and good...
But then...we saw MORE waterfalls! and just had to get over to them too...
Despite the misgivings of our buddies, Mike and Mike started shooting up the ridge further, and somewhat down into a bit of a depression. It started looking a little more treacherous. Mike stopped me and we had a conversation. He was insisting that he get to go up front, since he was smaller and lighter, and I could help him out if he got into any trouble. I wanted to be up front myself, my ego demanded it. I was strong and quick enough, and there wasn't nuthin' gonna happen. Finally after a minute or two I gave in to him, since he had at least some form of logic, and all I had was pride.
So we continued along another ten minutes or so, and were right at a ledge, looking down maybe one hundred feet or so to the top of the other waterfalls, and at an area where we saw the only crossing to get to where we were going. A few feet down was a ledge sticking out, and if we could jump onto that ledge, we could make it the rest of the way.
Little Mike jumped onto the ledge, only to have it immediately give way. I still don't remember whether is was a rotted tree, or shale that broke way. Before I could even register what had happened my friend was hanging by his fingertips dangling from some extremely unstable terrain above at least a hundred foot drop, where he had about an eight foot diameter rock to land on, before going into the falls and dropping another couple hundred feet. There was no question, he was going to die.
Our "overly cautious?" friends were still roped up together on a piece of level ground a hundred yards back when I started screaming for the rope. No way in hell they were gonna make it in time. I didn't really "think" before I bent way low and held my hand out to him screaming for him to take it. He was too scared to move at first, and didn't want to give up one of his precious hand holds for even a second. He finally let go of one and wildly swung his wrist into my hand. Somehow in spite of the steep slope, soft terrain, and the worn out soles of my boots, I swung him back up beside me, without getting pulled down myself. Positive proof that God watches over children, drunks, and fools I suppose...
Our friends made it there a minute or so later. Strangely, neither of us felt shaken at that time. We simply told them what had happened, said we'd had enough fun for the day and turned back around to go home. I've never really discussed it with anyone but my wife, and a couple years ago, him. He on the other hand mentioned it frequently and even introduced me to everyone of his girlfriends as "the guy who had saved his life" and told a much more dramatic tale than I recall.
Truth be known, I found that to be irritating as hell on some level, yeah, I saved his skinny butt, hooray. It never occurred to anyone else that he saved my butt that day too. If he had let me stay in front, there is no way possible I would have been quick enough to grab onto the side of the cliff, no way it could have supported my weight, and no way anyone else would have been strong enough to pull me up. His words saved me from dying, every bit as much as my actions saved him. Weird...
All things told, I've never thought that much about it. But recently I've found myself thinking of it more frequently. I can think back on it, and imagine things with a different outcome and VERY profoundly "feel" the impact of my body hitting the ground if I had been in front or slipped, or the shock and guilt, if I had watched him fall, sometimes all together. Strange as hell, I tell ya'. Also makes me feel pretty pussified.
Anyhoo...thought y'all might be able to see something worthwhile in the whole deal, or might at least get a few shucks and giggles out of it. Maybe some of y'all would like to share some of the narrow escapes and stupid stunts of your own childhood...
When I had just gotten out of High School I went out for a little day hiking adventure with a group of half a dozen or so of my friends. Among them was my buddy Mike. He and I were pretty close and our antics were usually referred to as the "Mike and Mike show."
We both went out of our way to do stupid, crazy stuff, swimming through rivers with huge chunks of ice still floating in them, playing Dukes of Hazard with our trucks, and generally wreaking havoc upon the community. (We did a lot of unlawful things that I'm not real proud of) Not deliberately hurting anybody, but just being rambunctious kids.
Little Mike (my friend) was the exact opposite of me He was about 120 LBS of speed, agility, and mind blowingly fast reflexes.
I myself was around 190 LBS, benching double my body weight,and pretty quick for a big guy, but nothing like my friend. I was occasionally clumsy, and not always agile.
So anyways...we went out on our little hike at an area between Wasilla here and Anchorage called "Thunder bird Falls" It was hardly a wilderness venture. The trail to the falls is nearly paved, and only a couple miles long. But..being kids, we had no interest in viewing the falls from their designated observation point. We were gonna view them from the top down.
So proceeding up the other trail and the side of the mountain, my buddies (four of them wanna-be mountain climbers) all hitched themselves up in ropes and harnesses, Even though we were nowhere near the tree line. At the front of the pack were Mike and Mike, both of us swinging from tree to tree like a couple of Spider Monkeys, calling them paranoid, and a bunch of uhmm...chicken fecal matter...
We all eventually got to the top of the Waterfalls, and had some of the girls with us get pictures of us mooning other hikers and such from the majestic view of the waterfalls, all well and good...
But then...we saw MORE waterfalls! and just had to get over to them too...
Despite the misgivings of our buddies, Mike and Mike started shooting up the ridge further, and somewhat down into a bit of a depression. It started looking a little more treacherous. Mike stopped me and we had a conversation. He was insisting that he get to go up front, since he was smaller and lighter, and I could help him out if he got into any trouble. I wanted to be up front myself, my ego demanded it. I was strong and quick enough, and there wasn't nuthin' gonna happen. Finally after a minute or two I gave in to him, since he had at least some form of logic, and all I had was pride.
So we continued along another ten minutes or so, and were right at a ledge, looking down maybe one hundred feet or so to the top of the other waterfalls, and at an area where we saw the only crossing to get to where we were going. A few feet down was a ledge sticking out, and if we could jump onto that ledge, we could make it the rest of the way.
Little Mike jumped onto the ledge, only to have it immediately give way. I still don't remember whether is was a rotted tree, or shale that broke way. Before I could even register what had happened my friend was hanging by his fingertips dangling from some extremely unstable terrain above at least a hundred foot drop, where he had about an eight foot diameter rock to land on, before going into the falls and dropping another couple hundred feet. There was no question, he was going to die.
Our "overly cautious?" friends were still roped up together on a piece of level ground a hundred yards back when I started screaming for the rope. No way in hell they were gonna make it in time. I didn't really "think" before I bent way low and held my hand out to him screaming for him to take it. He was too scared to move at first, and didn't want to give up one of his precious hand holds for even a second. He finally let go of one and wildly swung his wrist into my hand. Somehow in spite of the steep slope, soft terrain, and the worn out soles of my boots, I swung him back up beside me, without getting pulled down myself. Positive proof that God watches over children, drunks, and fools I suppose...
Our friends made it there a minute or so later. Strangely, neither of us felt shaken at that time. We simply told them what had happened, said we'd had enough fun for the day and turned back around to go home. I've never really discussed it with anyone but my wife, and a couple years ago, him. He on the other hand mentioned it frequently and even introduced me to everyone of his girlfriends as "the guy who had saved his life" and told a much more dramatic tale than I recall.
Truth be known, I found that to be irritating as hell on some level, yeah, I saved his skinny butt, hooray. It never occurred to anyone else that he saved my butt that day too. If he had let me stay in front, there is no way possible I would have been quick enough to grab onto the side of the cliff, no way it could have supported my weight, and no way anyone else would have been strong enough to pull me up. His words saved me from dying, every bit as much as my actions saved him. Weird...
All things told, I've never thought that much about it. But recently I've found myself thinking of it more frequently. I can think back on it, and imagine things with a different outcome and VERY profoundly "feel" the impact of my body hitting the ground if I had been in front or slipped, or the shock and guilt, if I had watched him fall, sometimes all together. Strange as hell, I tell ya'. Also makes me feel pretty pussified.
Anyhoo...thought y'all might be able to see something worthwhile in the whole deal, or might at least get a few shucks and giggles out of it. Maybe some of y'all would like to share some of the narrow escapes and stupid stunts of your own childhood...
