“Go back to the roots!” I told her. But, she didn’t move her feet. Her eyes were fixed at the base of the hill. Tears began to seep from her eyes. As her body went limp in despair, she began to slide. There was nothing for me to tell her to put her feet on. […]
“Go back to the roots!” I told her. But, she didn’t move her feet. Her eyes were fixed at the base of the hill. Tears began to seep from her eyes. As her body went limp in despair, she began to slide. There was nothing for me to tell her to put her feet on. I reached my hand out to her.
“Grab my hand, Emily,” I said. She didn’t make a move. She slipped a little farther. “Emily! Grab my hand NOW!” I yelled. I knew that if I didn’t yell at her, she would not have come out of her state. She looked at me meekly and stretched out her hand. It couldn’t quite reach me.
“Emily, you have to stretch. I need you to give me your hand NOW!” I said. She stretched her arm a little bit farther. I grasped her hand and with all my might and pulled her onto my lap. I was still on very insecure footing myself though. Now I had her weight added to mine. But, poor Emily had just collapsed in my lap and wept. I joked with her and told her that if she wasn’t over her fear of heights after this experience, then it was hopeless. All the while, I was trying to figure out the best way to protect ourselves in case we did loose our footing. She decided that she wanted to wait for Lee to come back UP the slope and help us down. Lee was obviously very easily navigating up and down the hill. I knew that she would feel a bit more secure with him helping along with myself.
Finally, he came back up to meet us and her pulled her to her feet so that she could walk on the flatter part of the slope. I held one hand, he held the other and we escorted her across. Then, to get down, we would have to slide. Some of the kids had stood as though they were snowboarding. Some just ran and others had scooted down on their bottoms. I told her that we were going to pretend that we had sleds and we would just slide down on them. She wouldn’t do it. So, I convinced her that I would sit down with my legs slightly bent ahead of me and she would sit between my legs and wrap her arms around my legs to hold on. Lee walked backwards ahead of us to ensure her that if anyone was going down the mountain, we would end up knocking him down first.
Sharp rocks sliced at the backs of my thighs and smaller rocks went up my shorts as we slowly scooted and slid down the mountain. Lee was continually being pummeled by rocks as they rolled down the mountain. Finally, we got to the end of the slope and had to climb over and then through a tunnel to meet my group on the other side. They had been watching us and taking photos the entire time. As soon as we came out of the tunnel, they began screaming Emily’s name and cheering for her. We all ran and had a big group hug. I was very near to crying. When these kids had first been assigned to their group, most of them had complained. They all said that they didn’t like someone else in the group. Now, we were all standing there hugging each other.
They all shared something with each other on that hike that was very special. At some point, they all had exposed their weaknesses but they had all worked together and had a wonderful time. I told them that they couldn’t go and brag to the other campers and say that our group was better because of our adventure. I tried to tell them that perhaps if the other group had been given the opportunity, they would have done just as well. They all nodded their heads, but we all knew that it was a lie. There was no doubt in my mind that these kids had created the most amazing group dynamic that I had ever encountered. I will never ever forget that hike. I am sure that they won’t either. But, never again will I assume that I won’t need my camera just because I have been on that trail before. You just never know when a new trail might arise and lead you on the adventure of a lifetime.