Rappelling

Last night I sat on the edge of my seat, held the camera above me with my arm extended and snapped a photo. I didn't get the result I wanted so I snapped a second photo from a different angle. The second photo was a little better but still not what I wanted. I'll practice a couple times more later this week.

Next week on Tuesday afternoon or early Wednesday morning I'll come to a rappel as part of my solo backpacking trip. The solo part is the problem. I won't have a partner to photograph to give perspective. I'm going to try taking a photo of myself as I do the rappel.

I've rappelled only once and that was about twenty years ago. I was hiking in the Red River Gorge in Kentucky and climbed to the top of Courthouse Rock via a crevice on one side. The other sides were sheer drops. On top of the rock were two small struggling stunted trees anchored in cracks. Two guys were rappelling down a 160 feet face, climbing back up, drinking another beer and rappelling again. As I talking with them one asked "do you want to give it a try?". Before I answered I compared their weight to mine, glanced at the way the rope was tied to both trees and counted the number of empty beer cans. "Sure!" I replied. I put on the harness, fastened the carabiner, listened to their instructions, stepped to the edge, turned around and leaned back. No problem. Actually enjoyable.

Next week I plan on getting a bad photo or two of myself.