As I was inwardly beaming, we arrived at the Attic Window."You're going to rappel down," Burton said.
"Say what?"
"You're going to rappel down."
"I don't think so."
"Sure you will. It'll be fun."
"You mean I have to go over that cliff?"
"Sure." Burton was readying the ropes.
"But how are you going to get down?"
"I'll come down the trail."
"Why don't you let me come down the trail? I understand hiking."
"You'll have more fun rappelling."
The only way to travel
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I stared dowwwwwwwn the cliff. I didn't know about this. I didn't know about this at all. I couldn't see the ground. It was 150 feet down there somewhere, but I couldn't see it. I was going to walk backward down that cliff? Besides, there were people down there. What if I made a fool out of myself? I sure didn't want an audience.
The time came for me to go, and now I was wrestling with fear of public embarrassment and just plain ol' fear. I wasn't walking backward over that cliff. Uh-uh. Not gonna do it. Not for all the tea in China. No way, Josi.
"You can micromanage every step," Burton pointed out calmly."You'll only go as fast as you want to go. You'll be in complete control."
No way, Jack. I ain't going.
"I'd hate for you to miss this. It's really fun."
"I don't want to do this. I really don't want to do this."
"Just take five or six steps, and if you don't like it, you can come back."
Well, that sounded fair enough. I turned around and prepared to take my first step. That's when I saw the snake.
A young black snake was just lying there on a tiny ledge, enjoying this beautiful summer day. (Have I mentioned that this was a postcard day?) I thought about Indiana Jones. "Snakes. I hate snakes."
Evidently, it was just the motivation I needed. I didn't want to sit up top with the snake, even though I knew it wasn't poisonous. And I couldn't wait forever. I started stepping down and within five or six steps got the hang of it. This was fun! Just put your butt in the breeze, bend your legs at a 90-degree angle with the rock, and walk down. It seemed to take forever, but I was having a grand time. Once again, Burton was right.
At the ground, I waited for Burton. Some other guys were learning to climb rocks. One was having a tough time finding a foothold. Over and over and over he tried. You'll find it, I thought to myself. Just don't give up.
Walking back down the trail, I was glad I hadn't given up. It was too grand an experience seeing the world from that vantage point.
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