Franklin D. Roosevelt once said during his inaugural address on March 4th, 1933 that, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” He originally said this as a declaration of war against the Great Depression. To me, it’s declaring war against myself. I oftentimes let the things that scare me affect what I do. If a task scares me, I won’t start it, or if I do start it, I don’t complete it. I can’t let things scare me anymore.
Saturday, July 24th, I went back to Tettegouche State Park. I did the hike to High Falls, this time from the main parking lot. I was lucky enough to find a spot and I knew when driving past the trailhead on Highway 61, that there would be no space to park by it. So the main parking lot was it.
In all honesty, it wasn’t that far to hike from the main lot, maybe two hundred feet. I’m not that great with distance unless I have a map telling me how far it is. Either way, it wasn’t much farther to hike than I would have if I parked next to the trailhead.
I made it to High Falls with less breaks than on July 3rd. The temperature was the same, but I felt a little more conditioned. This time, however, I wore a swimsuit. Better yet, I brought water shoes! Do you think the water shoes helped on the slippery rocks? Not a chance. Did I go swimming anyway? Absolutely! My goal on this trip was to swim up to the waterfall. Did I accomplish it? Or did I chicken out? I guess you’ll have to read on and see.
I gingerly started walking in the water, being especially careful after last time. I may have been attempting to be careful of the crayfish also. I was invading their natural habitat you know. At one point in time, I felt like crayfish bait. I had about ten of them surrounding me! It was so awesome! But crayfish aren’t the main star this time.
I was trying to figure out a way around the crayfish without stepping on them. I was also trying to convince myself that I could swim to the waterfall. I ended up leaving the river to get water because I wasn’t ready. I didn’t know if I would be ready. I picked up my water bottle and saw something moving in my peripheral vision. As I went to get a closer look, I noticed it was a snake! He was slithering straight towards my backpack! Alas, he slithered away, he wouldn’t have liked my home anyway. I got my drink of water, but then I noticed something.
There was a couple trying to take pictures of themselves with their cellphone with the waterfall in the background. I was only planning to use my GoPro for the day, but I always have my camera with me just in case. So, I approached the couple and asked if they would like me to take some images and they let me! They are pictured below, I’m happy with how they turned out.
Once I completed the portraits, I headed back in the water. I was trying to game plan on how I was going to swim to the waterfall. I had my GoPro in hand, well it was strapped around my wrist as well. Either way, it was secure and wouldn’t go anywhere. Don’t worry, it’s waterproof and I had my floaty case on it and the floaty handle connected to it. Anyway, I just decided to go for it and I swam.
Now, I am not the best swimmer and as I got closer and closer, the current got stronger and stronger. I was wearing my contacts and the water was splashing against my face. Between the water splashing my face and the current, I got nervous, so I backed off. I didn’t know how to proceed after that. I got to where I could stand and started game-planning once again. I saw other people swimming at the waterfall, why couldn’t I?
That’s where fear plays a factor. I was scared. I am a planner. When I plan, I think of every possible way it could go wrong. The current was strong and I’m not the greatest swimmer, so what if I drowned? But you know what? I tried again anyway. This time I went around.
I ended up clinging to the rock face with my hand just to the side of the waterfall. The current was strong there too. There was no way I was going to make it through the current from the side. There was just no way. So I got some really cool up-close footage from that vantage but then swam away once more.
I got back to the middle where I could touch the ground and stared at the waterfall. And then I went for it, I swam. I just kept swimming. When the current got stronger, I just pushed that much harder. Water was splashing into my eyes, I had to keep them closed. I only opened them briefly to see where I was. But then I felt it. I felt the rock face under my hand and I felt the water just pelting down on me from the waterfall. I made it! I actually made it! I clung to the rock for dear life, but I made it!
It’s hard to describe what it felt like. The only way to know is to experience it yourself. All I can say is, it was amazing. The water beating down on you, from sixty-three feet above you, was an experience like no other. Yes, sixty-three feet! It was a life-changing experience that I will cherish forever. It was freeing. At that moment, nothing in my life was bothering me. I was enjoying the moment for the moment.
So live for the moment. Live for any moment. Big or small. You never know what is going to come your way. So don’t let fear stand in the way. You will never regret it. I will never regret this.
