Throwback Thursday: Backpacking 2012

"Well, there's this fire tower... and I have this camping backpack... how much do you weigh?" I could see the wheels turning in Joe's mind, and I was torn between dreading the development of a very bad idea and tingling with the excitement of possibly the craziest adventure ever. I accepted the suggestion more as a dare than an invitation, and less than 24 hours later, I was stuffed in a backpack, ready to go. Joe, Anna, Hannah, and I held on for dear life as Todd drove us south, away from the city and into endless flat farmland of Indiana, racing the quickly setting sun to the horizon. In the purple glow of dusk we stared up at the 100-foot tower before us... Some of the details of our adventure were beautiful, some a bit terrifying, some hilarious, and many were powerful and deeply personal to me... my life will never be the same. 

When we got to the tower, we saw an obvious problem: there was an eight-foot high fence around it, topped with barbed wire, and it was locked. The guys told us girls to wait in the car, and they were going to scope out the situation. They walked over to the fence, and when they came back, I expected us to start the car again and drive back home. Instead, Todd grinned and said, "Good news! We're pretty sure the park ranger isn't coming back tonight." So what do we do? Well, we jumped the fence, of course! Despite what you might think, it was not all that easy. First, Joe tried to climb the fence with me on his back - and as I hung facedown five feet up in the air, I just knew he was going to fall and crush me and we would both die... this felt like the worst plan we'd ever imagined.

The team laid me in the grass on my back and circled the fence trying to find the best place to get over it, all the while anxiously keeping watch for the park ranger who might come by with some questions. The "plan" was, that if he did come, the rest of the team would run and hide, leaving me in the backpack on the ground, where I would claim, "I came alone!"

I started to say, "Hey guys, should we really go through with this?" I remember Todd standing over me with a very serious face, and he said, "Do you trust us?" I had to consider it. Of course, he and Joe are medical professionals, and Anna and Hannah have been my caregivers for a long time, so physically I'd say this is the most trust-worthy team ever. But beyond that, I really did trust them all. Ok, so now that that is settled, let's have an adventure.

Joe and Hannah jumped the fence, then Todd and Anna picked me up and set me on top of the fence (Joe put his jacket over the barbs to protect me). Then Todd jumped the fence with all the grace of Legolas the Elf, and they lowered me down the other side. And we're in!

Then they strapped me to Joe's back again, and he charged - CHARGED - up the tower! At the top, the team got me off his back before he could pass out, and transferred me to Todd's back. He walked around the top of the tower, showing me all sides of the flat Indiana view that went on forever, with a dim orange slit across the horizon where the sunlight still held on, while the stars were starting out come out in the darkening sky. We sang some songs and Joe read a Psalm, and then Todd took me back down the stairs - he walked backward so my feet could hang and not get caught on the steps.

As fun as it all was, none of us could fully relax because, of course, we still had to get back over the fence. And this is after we've gone up and down a very tall, very steep tower, and it's dark. I actually have a mental block about how we got back over, though I think it was similar to the way we got in. The only piece I remember vividly was when I was hanging over the outside of the fence, and Joe was holding onto the backpack by the top handle-strap with one hand, and the girls were standing under me with their arms outstretched, and Todd was frantically trying to get over the fence to catch me before I fell. That was the second time that night that I thought I would die... but I was totally ok with dying that way. It sure beats the idea of dying in a hospital bed.

Once we were safely on the other side, we all laid in the grass looking at the stars for a while. I just remember breathing hard and feeling my heart pound and my head throb, knowing that we had just cheated death - or at least mortal injuries - for a pretty view and the thrill of a challenge. But we did it together, and I was amazed that I had friends who were crazy enough, who loved me enough, who I trusted enough, to go on this adventure with me.