It was obvious when we arrived at the bottom of the waterfalls that I had gotten it all wrong. We were climing up the front of the waterfall, not the back and jumping off. In other words we would be climbing against the falling water. Now, thankfully we are not talking about the vertical drop of a waterfall you might imagine from the Disney Pocahantos scene as she sings "Just Around the Riverbend", but it was certainly still a challenge at some points.

As we reached the beginning, everyone was ready to go and no one wanted to wait for the group photo to be taken. As soon as we started though, the trailblazers were off climing so fast, like it was a paved track rather than a slippery slope. Then there were the climbers in the middle carfully picking our steps but making decent headway.

Most of the trek up was quite fun and often entertaining when we slipped and splashed as the water defeated us. However, there was one space that most of us agreed was particulary difficult on both our psyche and our bodies. It was a vertical space only six feet high or so, but the space was so small that water fell right down the hole with pounding force. I watched a person before me backdown after a few minutes of attempting to climb it. As soon as I steppped into it, all vision was gone and hearing anything was impossible. My sense of touch was all I had to find the footholes and the divots in the rock to hold onto. With the deafening sound of crashing water and my inablility to see, I felt around as I took my firsts steps. Once I was off the bottom rock, there was no going back. Back would mean defeat and it could have also led to injury. The climb was short, but with the forcing water, finding the next foothold and indents became a challenge, not only for my body but also for my mind. With two of my senses blocked, I had to mentally encourage myself to not get scared, that it was just water, and if I was strong enough to pull myself up, I could take my time and find my place. I could feel my arms and legs weakening under the pressure as the water did not let up but only strengthened as I became weaker. At one point, I had to use my hand to lift my thigh to find the next holding. When my head broke the surface of the crashing water, I knew the rest was easy. Standing at the top of that rock felt really amazing because I knew if I had done that, the falls from there foward was conquerable. It was laughter, cheers, refreshment, and a team builder all in one for those of us who hung near one another, and took turns paving the way warning the other of tricky places. It was exhilerating and, even if small, an adventure I will soon not forget.

This is the particular place where we all had the most trouble. I am in this picture, but you cannot see me because I am the one climbing at the moment.

All of our ecstatic smiles at the top of the falls having successfully deafeated the tumbling water.

-Graceanne