I went to college in western New York, where there are tons of creeks, rivers, and waterfalls. We had a series of waterfalls on a creek not far from our school, and it was a great place to go just for the sake of appreciating the outdoors. It was fun to go swimming there at the start of the school year in August or September, but it was such a nice place that we came up with other stuff to do there that didn’t involve swimming.
I had some rock-climbing ropes and gear, and we decided to try to make a zipline across the creek. It would be so cool to stand at the top of one of the falls and jump off, then go sliding along the rope across the creek in front of the waterfall.
As it turns out, I only had enough gear to tease us into thinking it was possible. I was able to make anchors on both sides of the creek, but we couldn’t get the rope tight enough. If I had jumped off the ledge, I would’ve started zipping across the creek, only to have my weight make the rope sag, and I would’ve slid right into the water.
It wasn’t a bad idea to try out, but it wasn’t feasible with the equipment I had on hand. If the rope was longer, I could’ve anchored it higher on the uphill side and increased the descent slope. Alternatively, if I had some ascenders, we could’ve pulled the rope tighter and had less of a problem with sag. Either way, I likely would’ve ended up in the water anyway.
I don’t share this story with you because the outing was a resounding success. In fact, at the end of the day, I didn’t have a whole lot to show for it, other than these pictures. This near-adventure, however, added to an expanding pool of experience from which I could draw during future adventures. As the saying goes, “good decisions come from experience, and experience comes from bad decisions.”
Some of you might be hesitant to give something a try, even if it’s something you’d ultimately like to do. Don’t let your fear of failure hold you back. Even if you’re not completely successful, it could add to your knowledge base for the next trial.
“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” –Thomas Edison, on making the first electric light bulb
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