Camp Geiger, Tuesday, June 30
What does a scout typically do after a nice hot meal in the mess hall at dinner?
How about repelling down a 35 foot wall! Several of our scouts headed over to the rock/repelling wall, some with experience others having none. They donned safety harnesses and helmets, were double and triple checked by the amazing Tony, our repelling expert, then they were given the basics on the ground, each scout showing they knew how to hook themselves properly, and how to handle the rope for the trip down the wall.
Once they were ready to go, they followed the maze of stairs to the top, coming out to a glorious view of the camp all around them, with the sun setting to their backs. They were hooked on to the tower so no one would fall. Then their two instructors proceeded to hook one scout at a time to the rope for the trip down.
After being attached to the rope, they were instructed to stand backwards and keep backing up until half of each of their feet hung in the air, the other half touching what little surface they had left. Then the instruction..."Lean back."
To a scout, the first thought in their head was "Lean back?! Are you crazy? Have you looked at how far down that is??" But then, eventually, they lean back to find out that, "Hey, they've got this rope tight. I think I'm gonna be okay."
Keeping their legs straight they began to take step by step down the wall, until finally reaching the bottom, with looks of exhilaration and relief on their face, and a quick look back to the top, and the satisfaction of saying, "I did it!."
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