Jumping Off Rocks

This last weekend I went up to Yosemite.  I went with Abbey to visit my sister who is working at a summer camp where I used to work.  I took the three of us to this spot called Early Intake, which is a few miles south-west of the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir.  It's about a three mile hike in.  You get to this spot on a river where there are 20-foot cliffs and a couple perfect places to jump off the cliffs into the water.

When I got to the spot on the river with the rocks and the small cliffs, memories came rushing back of leading groups of girls and boys to this spot, and carefully setting out the guidelines before watching the kids jump in the cold water, swim about ten feet to the opposite side of the river, climb the rocks and jump off.  It was so much fun.  And somehow no one ever got hurt.

Going back this past weekend was blissful.  I jumped into the cold river water, dipped my head in, and swam to the opposite side.  I got out of the water, scaled the rocks to the highest spot and jumped.  I was definitely nervous at the top of the ledge, but it wasn't going to stop me.  It felt so good to fall 20 feet; I used my arms to make sure my body stayed perpendicular to the water.  You definitely don't want to over-rotate and belly flop from that height.  I felt the wind against my arms keeping me in line and I hit the water hard with my feet, probably went down five feet or more.  I shot back up with adrenaline coursing through my body and splashed out.  I threw my fist in the air and yelled, "yes!".  I wanted Abbey and Nin to know I was alive, mostly.  But I was also really happy that no rock had moved under the spot where we all used to jump in.  I was happy to be alive, too.

But it wasn't just jumping off the rocks that was blissful.  This spot on the river is perfectly etched out.  The small cliffs that allow for jumping are majestic and silver-grey like so many stones in Yosemite. The color of Half Dome.  And for those who don't like jumping off rocks, this place is also a perfect little swimming hole.  Just down a bit from where we were, the river gets really wide and the view is made up of pine trees and bushes and other trees.

No man or woman did anything to create this place.  It was created by the exacting movement of the earth.  I felt so aware of this while swimming.  I could feel that I was not in a swimming pool.  The water was too cold.  I felt too alive.  The sun was hot.  I felt many things. I was scared from jumping off the rocks, I was scared to be swimming in cold, wild water.  I had no idea what other creatures were swimming along with me.  But I also felt exhilarated.  The green of the trees, the cut of the stone and the rocks, the movement of the river, the temperature of the water, the heat of the sun. I felt it all.  It all felt so good.

I forget how different it feels to be in a place outside the city, surrounded by trees, away from the urban mayhem, in the peace of afternoon sunlight.  I felt peaceful and on-edge.  But also peaceful.  In a way I haven't felt in a long time.  I forget how important it is for me to go these places, leaving paved roads behind.

with love of the wild, exhilarating, serene outdoors,
Anthony