My Near Death Experience

~Jennifer~

I don’t think he was trying to kill me… However, all I could think on the way down was “Ah, crap…”

My family was a camping family. We’ve survived in the dirt from anywhere like Yosemite, Big Bear, Yellowstone, and my favorite—Sequoia…Just to name a few.

I was around six years old (which makes Elizabeth around eight or nine), and we were on one of our exciting trips to Sequoia. This trip in particular was a bit more exciting because we had two of our cousins (and Aunt and Uncle of course) along for the ride.

We decided it would be nice to take a hike on a trail that would lead us to a beautiful river. And it was beautiful—the breeze of fresh air, the smell of pine and the relaxing sound of water rushing by. By rushing I mean zooming by at an incredible rate; this was white water rafting for the dare devils. We were told by our parents not to go too close to the edge of the “cliff” (I use quotation marks here because certain people would disagree on the use of that term) in fear of us slipping into the dangerous water.

Being the little geniuses we were, us kids decided it would be fun to sit on a huge rock on the side of the trail. I was sitting on the very edge of the rock when my older cousin told me to move over so Elizabeth could sit on the rock. I obediently did as I was told and scooted over.

The second I moved over I knew it was a bad decision. My foot slipped and I lost my grip on the rock. The next thing I know I’m falling…and falling… and still falling. Now as I remember it, I fell about 20 to 30 feet. I now realize that realistically it probably wasn’t that far, but it sure felt like it.

On the way down, I hit my chin on a rock sticking out from the side of the “cliff.” My teeth snapped shut onto each other with a sharp pain through my jaw. As I hit the bottom, I landed on my knees resulting in a pretty nasty scrape. I think I was a little woozy after my landing because I faintly remember someone yelling “Jennifer fell into the water! Jennifer fell into the water!” I’m not too sure who it was…most likely Mom.

The next thing I know my Dad and Uncle are racing down the side of this “cliff” trying to get to me. You would expect a tiny little girl who almost (and everyone thought) fell into the rushing water of death, would be pretty scared. Yet, all I could think about was my Dad and Uncle’s cheeks shaking like they were sitting a vibrating chair as they ran down to rescue me.

My Daddy in shining armor scooped me up into his arms and carried me back up that “cliff” like he was Superman. Everyone was in a panic when we reached the top. My mom was hysterical, my little cousin was crying and I…was laughing. I couldn’t help but think the whole situation was just a little humorous. I sit on a rock, I fall off the rock, everyone thinks I land in the water, shaky cheeks, sore jaw, a bloody knee... It was hilarious! To everyone’s relief I was fine.

This story has become pretty popular within our family. I even think my older cousin, who I’m pretty sure may have pushed me, got a few good grades writing about it. Elizabeth tends to disagree with me on how this event actually happened. If you ask her, she’ll probably tell you I rolled down a grassy hill or something. What she won’t tell is that there were tears in her eyes when I came back up…