Now that I have managed to get past all the not-so-safe parts of my trip, I figured now it would be safe to reflect on how I’ve escaped serious bodily harm so far.
How I made it through the running of the bulls with only a stained shirt and a little bruise on my shin is a mystery to me. I would like to think that it was my speed, agility, and quick thinking ability that got me through, but I would be lying to myself. It was pure luck. Plain and simple. If one of those bulls decided he was coming after me, I was a goner, and that’s all there is to it. For this reason, I think I will have a hard time recommending it to anyone who asks, for no other reason then I’d hate to be responsible for whatever may happen to them! Would I do it again? No. Do I regret doing it? Absolutely not. Should you do it? Ya, but don’t tell anyone I said so…
Moving on to Switzerland, I don’t think I necessarily flirted with death, per-se, but there were a few situations that could have ended a lot worse than they did. After we had found a campsite in front of the Matterhorn, we talked about building a fire like it was some kind of luxury. Turns out it was a necessity. Sub 20°F weather isn’t the most comfortable or safest thing to be in without a tent or an adequate sleeping bag, just ask Jason Carian. Luckily, we had enough heat to last part of the night, with the sun coming up just in time. During our other hikes, it was a crapshoot as to whether or not we were going to get rained on. Luckily, the dice didn’t come up snake eyes while we were asleep up there! The last adventurous stunt in Switzerland was Canyonning. It basically consists of jumping off cliffs, sliding down rock faces, rapelling down waterfalls, and shimmying between rocks above the river, you know, the usual. I managed to escape this with little more than a gash in my finger. That may have been because of the invincibility suit they had everyone wear. I was set with my double wetsuit, butt tarp, helmet, water shoes, and life jacket; I think I could have rolled down the canyon and been fine!
I thought I was done worrying my mother…until I got to Norway. Apparently, there’s a lot of adventurous things to do here! The picture you saw in the last post was on top of Preikestolen (Pulpit Rock). The rock formation is a shear cliff that jets out over the Lysefjord 2000 feet below. It’s a pretty amazing sight, especially with your feet hanging over the edge. The wind blowing up from over the edge was so strong that it felt like if I leaned over it would just push me back onto the rock. I did not, however, test this theory. The lougie I hawked, though, did immediately fly back over my head and into the air behind me. Today’s photo is of me on Kjeragbolten, a boulder wedged between two shear cliffs. What you can’t see in the photo is the fact that this rock is almost 3500 feet above the fjord below. Straight. Down. The heavy fog made the hop to the rock a little bit less terrifying as I couldn’t see down to the bottom, but I still knew what was below me, namely, nothing! I usually don’t get too nervous with heights, but I’m not going to lie, I was a little freaked out by the whole idea of stepping onto a little rock wedged between a couple cliffs. As if the boulder wasn’t enough, the hike to and from was just as treacherous. Cables were set up all along the rock faces that you had to scale, ALA Half Dome in Yosemite. Going up was fine, it was the going down part that provided a few close calls. Apparently in Norway they don’t really make trails, more like suggested routes that can get you places. Definitely not trails, though.
So there you have it, my thoughts on making it through a few close calls and risky situations. Now let’s hope I don’t get hurt falling off a bunk bed or tripping down some steps!
Headed to Belgium next…