An Eleven-Year-Old’s Rock Climbing Tale

 

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As an eleven-year-old, I was quite adventurous. I was an only child for ten of those years, used to playing alone in the country, and I sure didn’t want to be anywhere near home where someone might ask me to change one of my sisters diapers! So I would get on my bicycle with an old 2 liter Pepsi bottle mixed up with strawberry cool-aid and go exploring (telling my mother that I was going somewhere she thought she could find me of course). I would travel from one side of Tulsa to the other and try to find trails to ride down.

When we moved to a place that was close a canyon I couldn’t wait to go exploring but I knew my mom wouldn’t let me so I tried to not act excited about it. After we moved everything in, I was so excited that I was antsy and couldn’t sleep while waiting for Saturday to come. Finally it arrived! Mom only thought she had her day planned for me! I concocted a well thought out plan to get me out of there. I asked her if I could ride up and down in the housing area  down the road and see if I could meet some kids my age and she said  YES! I gathered up my Cool-aid and took off as fast as I could. My destination THE CANYON! I just knew I would find a cave where outlaws hid their money or and Indian camp site (maybe even still lived in). I pedaled till I reached an edge of the canyon. The lime rock walls of the canyon were steep and deep and I found a dump at the top to explore. I looked around but I didn’t find anything of real interest so I decided to walk along the canyon edge. I found a trail! not wide enough to get my bike down but I could come back for it. So I went to the bottom of the canyon where I found a clear stream. I took a drink from it and it was so cold it was like ice water. As I stood up I looked up at the clouds forming over head and decided that it might rain so I better at least get close to my bike so that I can ride back. I didn’t care if it rained on me but mom might get worried and come looking for me so I want to be where I could travel that way if I needed to.

That narrow trail was about a half mile route to the bottom and I could see my bike was straight up above me on the cliff edge. I thought to myself …I can climb up right here and get there quicker (really it was more of a justification in my mind to climb that cliff). The wall was steep but there was a few good places to put my hands and feet. I made it almost all the way up before things got hairy. It began to rain! the lime rock had a coating of fine moss and it got slick when the rain hit it. Trails of water started pouring down my head. I was scared to move for about thirty minutes. The rain did not let up but it came a little more softly and reality hit me. Man… if I fall no one will know where I am!…If I even survive the fall! Can’t just stay here I’ll tire out and fall…can’t go down too slick for some of the places that way! I’m only fifteen feet from the top but it is slick as well. I elected to go up. I grabbed one good hand hold and one foot hold and seen that I was going to have to find another way…just then I seen a crack in an overhanging cliff that connected to the place that I was at. I could wedge my self into it and use it to help me get to the top.

I took a hop of  faith and grabbed a big root that helped me angle into that crack and realized that there might be snakes in there but decided that getting bit by a snake sounded better than falling, at the present time, so I went through with my plan and reached my bike. I was never more happy for something to be over in all my life. Some how changing diapers seemed trivial to me now. I headed home soaking wet and realized that I couldn’t tell either of my parents about this. Who would believe me any way. I was just thankful to be alive but another part of me said WHAT AN ADVENTURE!

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