On August 1st, I joined in on a group going up to Los Angeles for a rappelling class. Dave, the tall guy in the middle, is the one who suggested it. He is leading the Zion Camping trip I will be attending in October, and he wanted us to be prepared to rappel into Keyhole Canyon at Zion. At first I wouldn't even consider it, as my last experience at rappelling was a complete failure. But then I thought it would be fun, and agreed to join the class that would actually teach me how to rappel. So off we went to Stony Point, at the ungodly hour of 3:30 am.
I was fortunate to drive up with two very nice people, and ended up falling asleep in the back of the car. I woke up just before we stopped for coffee and then shortly after that we arrived in Topanga Canyon. It was still very early in the morning and fog still covered the natural rock outcroppings.
Our group was between 18 and 21 people, depending on who was counting. I was too nervous to count and just stayed at the back of the group after one of the macho men made fun of me. It turned out that he was the only one in the entire group to experience an injury of any kind. Sorry buddy.
It was actually pretty up there, in the middle of Chatsworth, and the rocks were great for climbers and rappelling.
We walked about a quarter of a mile towards the back of the park, and had to stop and listen as our teacher told us how to stay away from poison oak. I have been around poison oak all my life, and I felt quite certain that I knew how to identify it as well as stay away from it. Wouldn't you know it, I was the one who came down with a bad case of poison oak after the trip. Pride cometh before a fall or something like that. Maybe I shouldn't have been so harsh on macho man.
There is a ton of graffiti in the park, and it just sickened me that people would destroy such a beautiful place. If you look down in that natural bowl, the blue actually looks like water, but sadly it is not water, but graffiti.
Here is our class, or part of it, and our teacher explaining how we were going to accomplish this amazing feat.
While our teacher was explaining how to do this stuff, I looked over at the group next to us and watched spellbound as the guy on the rope literally bounded down the rock cliff. Nearly died of fright at the thought of doing that myself.
That would be me, yes, Susan Little, beginning my rappel down the 12 foot face. Almost didn't do it. Scared to the core. I did it and so did everyone else. Everyone except a sweet dark haired girl named Anissa. She tried and tried, but every time she got to stepping off the cliff, she quickly turned around and unhooked.
I must say stepping off that cliff was one of the scariest things I have ever done. That rappel was a 60 foot drop. After you step off the cliff, you cant go back, so I just had to keep going. About half way down, I was so done and ready to quit. But you couldn't quit. My hands were only covered with my workout gloves which allowed my fingers to burn from the rope moving too fast. Now I know that I could have said, "Tension," or something along those lines, to get the person down below to pull the rope tight and slow my progress. I was probably watching the guy bounding down the cliff when our teacher explained that one.
Yes that is me nearing the bottom of the cliff, where my new friend Larraine was ready with her fireman belay to catch me if I fell.
Can you see the size of that guy holding the rope? Huge. Handsome. Sweet. Young. Fit. Whenever you reached the bottom it was your turn to belay the guy waiting at the top. Well after I reached the bottom, it was my turn to belay him! I wrapped my arms into the rope and looked up, but the sun was shining like a brilliant white orb, blinding me from even seeing him if he fell. Finally Collin showed me where to stand out of the sun, and the guy made it safely to the bottom without any help from me. I wanted to grab hold of him and kiss him, but I didn't. Just said, "Nice job."
Merle, Me, Larraine and Dave, after our successful rappels down the ginormous cliff. Great fun with a great bunch of people. Love you guys and thank you for sharing your pictures!
This is Anissa, the sweetest young lady in the group. After failing to try the 12 foot cliff, Anissa bravely hiked up to the top of the 60 foot cliff with the rest of us. Time and again, she got in line, hooked up to the ropes and then panicked. Once she even put one foot over the edge, but heard someone below talking about her and quickly got off the rope. It wasn't until the very end of the class that we all watched her successfully rappel down the cliff. She was one of the happiest people in the world after that. Three cheers to you, Anissa!
Larraine, Merle and me, happy as can be. These are the nice folks I drove up with and who will also be joining the Zion campout in October.
This is Reyna, a beautiful, part Native American woman, who runs like the wind, hikes like a champion, and loves her friends. You look so pretty, Reyna, and so happy. Looking forward to our Zion trip!
At the end of the day, the fog had lifted and blue sky and wispy clouds filled the atmosphere. Nice picture, but unfortunately you can see the marks of vandalism in the middle of the rock. One day there will be no more graffiti, no death, no sadness and no more poison oak! God will make all things new. Revelation 21: 3-5