Exciting Stories: Tale # 3 Near Fatal Waterfall (Real Life Experience)
Roundabout almost two years after my spider incident, being 17 and a half years old, Mordiki invited me to his family's yearly camping trip to Yosemite National Park for the weekend.
I believe I had missed a couple of those camping trips here and there, but I had been to at least two of the camping trips prior. The first one was when I was around 12 and a half and the other was when I was between 14 and 15. Both memorable trips in their own right.
Yosemite was a beautiful place, especially when it was not so crowded. The less people, the better the experience was as it kept its majestic and mysterious ambience intact. The sounds of the wind rustling through the sunlit leaves of the tall, looming trees, the smell of our campfires, the birds chasing one another around chirping, and the scurrying furry wildlife kicking up dry leaves on the forest floor gave the entire camping grounds so much life to appreciate. We usually camped nearby the fresh water river and could hear the ebb and flow of the currents sloshing over the smoothing rocks.
We would go exploring around the forest, running through the tall trees, sometimes going off the trails and attempting to catch small lizards or see if we could catch sight of some big animals from afar, which was a very dangerous thing to do.
Regardless of the known and unforeseen dangers, it was just a really beautiful area.
That afternoon we had driven to a river location. There were a few families down below on the first level of the water, and you had to climb a hill maybe 28 feet in elevation to get to the top level. The hill, which wrapped around the upside, led to a 24 feet waterfall between two, large rock formations. The waterfall poured down into the first level of water we had came from.
At the top level, we needed to crossover to set up our barbeque pit and equipment. Everybody in Mordiki’s family, and friends that we were with crossed over the moving stream of water before me. From my memory, it was just above my waistline. It was just enough water to where you begin to feel buoyancy (weightlessness) and I felt the flowing of the passing water going into the mouth of the waterfall. The mouth of the waterfall was about 12 feet away from us as we crossed the water. Mordiki was ahead of me and made it safely over on to the other side.
I didn't realize the kind of danger I was in, because everything was just so quiet and calm and I was already visualizing myself reaching the other side to join and help out with starting the barbeque. The current of the water was pushing me a bit too close to the mouth of the waterfall and the buoyancy, combined with the force of the water, lifted me up off of my toes for a split second. Before I knew it, I was being swept away straight towards the opening of the waterfall and the first thing I could do was just stick my arms outward as quickly as I could. Luckily, I was able to plant both of my palms on each boulder on both sides. I remember holding my breath, because the pressure of the water behind my back, flowing over my shoulders, was now pushing me so strong that every second my arms became weaker and weaker as I tried my best to tighten my muscles to keep still. Mordiki had ran over to the right side of me onto the right boulder where I had my right hand planted and he quickly leaned forward and stretched out his hand, telling me to give him my hand quickly but I replied I couldn't.
There was literally nothing he could do. I was looking down a 24 feet drop and I just kept thinking about the fall and impact. I could see the families on the first level of water below looking up at me from the sidelines and others were swimming and gazing upward at me. Mordiki had his hand outreached, but there was no way I could even lift my hand and grab it, let alone pull him into the current with me. The water was way too strong. My arms gave into exhaustion and I just let go.
The fall was less than a couple seconds, but the worst part was, since I fell in headfirst downward towards the water, my body rushed and rocketed at a near straight angle. However, I wasn't expecting my legs, specifically the top of my thighs and a bit of the top of my knees, to smack the wall of rocks beneath the mouth of the waterfall. Luckily, those rocks were smooth; due to the constant water falling on top of them over the many years that waterfall existed. If the rocks would've been jagged and sharp, my legs could have gotten badly cut up, possibly ripping a vital artery, meaning large amounts of blood loss.
When I sunk into the water below, instantly, my legs screamed with pain, soreness and throbbed. I felt paralyzed from the waist below. I couldn't use them to swim at all, so I just acted off of adrenaline rush and my survival mode kicked in. I swam back to the shoreline using only my arms, dragging my near-dead legs behind me. I counted in my head each stroke as I used all of my strength to avoid the thought of drowning. By the time I reached the shoreline, Mordiki was swimming up from behind, as he had jumped from the boulder he was on a few moments after I had fallen.
Besides the murmuring and stares from the lounging families, and my feeling of embarrassment and relief of surviving my first accidental waterfall, Mordiki helped me to my feet and I leaned on his shoulder and slowly limped all the way to the top again. I crossed the top river stream once more, giving myself plenty of distance from the mouth of the waterfall and lounged with the family and had a nice barbeque. My legs were all purple, green and yellow from the impact, but after about 4 hours of resting, me and Mordiki headed upstream up to our chests in water looking for another adventure.
We really can’t take for granted our youthfulness and our ability to heal so quickly from some very painful experiences. But as far as waterfalls go, no matter how beautiful, how captivating, how high or low they may seem, if you’re not careful, you could be swept into the current and find yourself diving headfirst as well. Please stay safe.
Thanks for reading another one of my real life experiences.
I’ll be posting shortly again soon.
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Wow very interesting, thanks for sharing! Crazy that this was a real experience. Must've been a shocking incident for you
upvoted!
Thanks for checking it out bro, indeed it was. I'm just glad I survived the fall. Appreciate the feedback.
Wow I believe you were a crazy young boy at this time. This is the second story of you which shocked me. You had AGAIN a guardian angel with you
But you wrote it pretty well. I thought I was there too and saw all the facilities of the beautiful nature. It must be an incredible memory. Stay save I hope your life is a little less in danger now hehe Well done !!! Keep going
Appreciate your kind words. I try and paint the picture vividly for everyone. I definitely have had my fair share of adventures. I think I can continue to write more of my personal life experiences as they have their own element of how unexpected reality can be through my own perspective and all readers looking inward through my focused lens. I'm glad to shock you in a good way, I have had so many moments where I compare my near death experiences to how my life is now and I can appreciate a lot from what I've survived through. Small and big experiences. Danger is everywhere but for the sake of family I stay vigilant and cautious as I can! Thank you, hope to bring out another great story soon.
I am SO exited for your next real life experiences especially because I never had such dangerous moments like yours. But I am so glad that you survived all of them and stay vigilant for your family!
I hope your poems are coming soon too. :)
@soldier I can't wait to write more of my real life experiences. I have some funny reflective thoughts and scary moments but overall it makes for good conversation. Thank you, being vigilant is a must! I am more than happy to have survived many close calls. And you are in luck, I just posted my first poem today on my page for a Steem Poetry Slam Challenge created by @prufarchy
Just even hearing the story and seeing the signs at Yosemite about 3 people being pulled over the falls haunted me.
Yeah it really isn't a joke. The water can throw you around like a ragdoll. It really is a sad tragedy for those who have lost their lives in the rapids or fast flowing rivers leading to steep waterfalls. Thank you for reading my experience.
Crazy story, verbal, thanks for sharing!
I have some more to share, thank you for taking time out your day to give it a read. I'll be looking forward to more of your short stories as well. Motivation for both of us to keep inspiring one another.