Last Heard Of Plunging To Their Death…And…Then…

The memory of overwhelming fear forever etched in our minds

In years gone by my husband and I used to do some interesting walks in the Blue Mountains of NSW, located some two and half hours driving from Canberra.

The walks are graded from easy to difficult.

On one occasion we travelled there to do what was classified as a medium walk, but it had been cordoned off due to upgrading.

Being seasoned distance runners, plus a little arrogant, we couldn’t possibly opt for the easy walk. Instead we chose the most challenging, one that would lead us down to the beautiful Wentworth Falls.

All good so far. Arrogance still in place.

It didn’t take us long to realize why the walk had been labelled most difficult, as we soon found ourselves scrambling over rocks that were almost as tall as I am. There was no way to circumnavigate them, so scrambling was Hobson’s choice, and not for the faint of heart!

On the way we met a mother with her two teenagers. The kids asked us if we’d done the walk before.

“Well good luck,” they said knowingly, and kept going.

We thought nothing more about their comment, and on we tramped, deeper and deeper into the gorge, with the strong mountains enveloping us in their splendour and magnificence.

This was an adventure, and life is all about that. Isn’t it, Rachel A Fefer!

It was a long, laborious, sometimes perilous descent into the gorge, and I can tell you we were truly happy to eventually make it, and lap up its beauty.

As we sat there, I happened to comment that we’d have to climb all the way up again, tough enough on the descent, and the unknown climb up would be no mean feat!

No matter, we assured ourselves. It couldn’t be that bad for people as fit as we were…arrogance still in place!

Eventually we dragged ourselves from the comfort of the gorge and the reassuring splashes of the waterfall, and reluctantly followed the pathway to the climb ahead.

I’m not sure what we were expecting…a similar but reverse-type challenge compared to the descending one, perhaps?

Let’s just say it was NOTHING like it!

What we faced was far more daunting. A ladder climb!

Long metal ladders had been pinned to the rock face, many of them in a series one had to sidestep to gain access, one after the other…after another, after another.

I don’t know when I knew such fear.

Bear in mind neither of us enjoys heights, and my heart was by then in overdrive.

I just couldn’t do it. I couldn’t!

But yet, the only alternative was to go back the way we’d come, and try to find a way over the menacing rocks.

That was not a considered option. Instead but we told ourselves if others could make this climb, so too could we.

As long as we didn’t look down.

And so, before we could change our minds, we hopped on the first rung, and began our ascent, focussing always on putting one foot ahead of the other.

I do remember wondering how often these ladders were checked for safety.

It was terrifying, but we kept going and eventually we were there.

We had done it.

When we steeled ourselves sufficiently to check beneath, we couldn’t believe we had actually made it.

As we moved along the track leading to where we’d left our car, we spoke to many people, young and old, but mostly young, intent on descending to the waterfall. They asked us how it had been. We were honest, brutally so.

Not ONE of them continued.

And so we walked off feeling yet again, a little smug, as you do.

One beer later we were certain we’d do it again.

We never did!

But I am so glad that we both followed through. Gruelling or not, it was both an almighty challenge that we embraced, and a huge achievement that will live on in our memories.

“The road to success and the road to failure are almost exactly the same.”

The pathways to each are very similar, each both difficult, and challenging, and it’s how we approach things that will determine the outcome.

You know the road to success and the road to failure are not so different. Attitude is what it’s all about.