“This free cold water therapy session isn’t too bad,” I jested to myself as I leaned back on my tether, which was clipped to the tubular webbing that wrapped around a large healthy tree.
Shivering, I looked down at my feet, then my hands. They’re still there, but my feet and hands felt like cold phantoms, numbed by the icy creek. My stomach angrily growled at me for having only fed it a single snack-sized Slim Jim breakfast. Hardly considered an adequate fuel for the intense activity. The wind blew on by, coldly stroking the nape of my neck. I shuddered and threw my rain jacket hood on, then squeezed my hands real hard. Frigid water poured out from my gloves.
Earlier, Andy, one of our teammates in our group, reported the air temperature was in the high 30s with the water temperature reported to be in the 50s. A storm had swept through the region with ferocity the day before, bringing hails and downpours with it. Given the weather conditions, this canyon run marked our first coldest descent for us all in the group. It won’t be the last.
My fingertips, resting on the tensioned line in front of me, felt for movements. The rhythms of the rope stiffening and bouncing told me that my friend, Jia, was still on rope. She’ll be off rope soon, I thought. Below, Chris was providing Jia a fireman belay. Andy, I imagined, was waiting on the side for Jia and I to regroup at the bottom with them.
Suddenly the canyon grew loud with air being chopped. A familiar sound: the helicopter rotor. I looked up and saw a white helicopter, black stripes painted across its chassis, flew quickly past us overhead. The San Gorgonio SAR team or the San Gorgonio Sheriff’s Department were out on a search and rescue mission again, unsurprisingly.
The rope finally went slacked. Quickly, I grabbed a bight, fed it through my descender, locked the carabiner, and weighted the device. I looked around one last time, untethered myself from the anchor, grabbed the ropebag and clipped it to the non-brake side of my harness, and rappelled down to rejoin others below.
The things we do for our hobbies.
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