JHaley190918_031s

Okay, so one of my all time favorite things to do is to hike along trails in the mountains with about ten pounds of camera gear and maybe take a few pictures.  I'm drawn to the rough and challenging terrain, potentially spectacular scenery, and just nature. I don’t do much of the hiking these days, but last week I drove up in the foothills, looking for places to come back to at a better time, as in early morning or late afternoon.  I pulled over at a scenic overlook and saw a trail going off into the forest and walked over that way – with the requisite 10 pounds of camera gear and tripod.  Down the trail no more than 20 or 30 yards, I came to a large, deep gully with a fallen tree across it.  At the top were very large rocks that I started to climb on thinking I might find a better view.  All mountain pictures are better if you have to climb out on rocks to find them – everybody knows that, right?  Unfortunately, once I got where I thought I wanted to be, it was disappointing.  I started to turn around to go back, but a small problem arose.  I had got myself onto a spot where I could not easily turn around.  Can’t really explain it but take my word for it.  While trying to twist around to the side, I lost my balance and fell over backwards.  I remember bumping against rocks a couple of times, and hearing the camera crash HARD against a rock before I settled down.  For several minutes I did nothing. Time for a situation assessment: I was on my back, more or less wedged between 2 rocks, and quite comfortable actually.  Trouble is, I was at a 45 degree angle, head down. The camera bag was on top of me and the strap still around my neck and under me. The camera itself was hanging down in the space below me on its strap, and I still had the tripod in one hand.    The weight of the camera bag was enough at this angle to hold me down, and with nothing I could grab onto I could not move upward at all (no, I don’t practice upside down sit-ups with weights!).   Also, being a bit down in a hole, I couldn’t see much around me but rock on both sides with near vertical surfaces.  I could have waited for somebody to come along and hollered for help, but it was already late in the afternoon.  There was nobody else around and hardly any traffic on that road.  Comfortable? Yes, but spending the night was not an option.  Above my head I could see, in the corner of one eye, part of another rock.  I reached back with the tripod hoping to set it on the rock and at least free up that hand.  The slope was a little too steep and it kept sliding away.  I couldn’t see where it would end up, and worried that it could slip down between the rocks.  In the small spaces and crevices underneath these massive rocks, I might never see it again.  I felt no need to start throwing expensive equipment away yet, so I tried to reposition it.  Finally I JHaley190918_029s had it settled in where it would stay.  Ah, those little victories!  Now I had both hands free and only had to get the camera bag off me.  I grabbed the sides in both hands to raise it up but could only move it a couple inches.  I was lying on the strap and there was no more slack.  With rock on either side and no elbow room, getting away from the camera bag seemed impossible.  Then I thought - when all else fails, do something brilliant!  I unclipped one end of the strap from the bag, and with some difficulty, pulled it through and out from under me.  Now I was able to get the bag up and over my head.  I tried putting it on the rock with the tripod, but the large, rip-stop nylon, bag slid easily.  So, I look around again.  The top edge of the vertical rock on my right was just within arms reach but I didn’t know what was up there.  All I needed was a flat horizontal surface at least 10-12 inches wide.  I reached and was able to get my fingertips maybe an inch over the edge.  It wasn’t much but it felt flat and roughly horizontal.  There was nothing to do but try.  Cramped as it was any movement with the big bag was awkward.  Holding it by the bottom edges, I extended both arms straight out.  I now needed to somehow toss it up another 2 or 3 inches and far enough over the edge so it would stay. The first few tries it fell right back down.  As I gained a knack for it, I got it far enough that I could hold it up on the ledge on my fingertips.  From there I worked it a little at a time until it was secure.  I was finally free to go!  However, getting up at this point was not as easy as I had thought it would be.  Getting my feet under me from this position was no small feat, especially when I discovered that little pain in my side, but still managed to wriggle around and get up.  I then recovered several items that fell out of my pockets, and the light meter that fell out of the camera bag while I was trying to put it up.  The front of the lens took the smash against the rock.  There is a big ding in the center of the front element, and the filter ring was smashed in.  As for myself, I came out pretty well.  My head miraculously never hit anything!  I had a couple of scrapes on my arm and back.  The worst thing turned out to be that little pain in my side which appears to be a slightly cracked rib.  You always learn from mistakes like this though, and the moral of this story is clearly, as Mom used to say – Don’t be such a silly fool!