The plan was to go and look at a waterfall, not slide off the top of one. But there I was, standing at the top of a 35-foot waterfall with my heart thumping quickly and loudly in my chest, waiting for my turn. Pride plus peer pressure can forge a lethal combination. Those are definitely factors that motivated me to climb the cliff to the top of the waterfall.

My good friend Colin was getting married.  He asked me to do his wedding.  It was at a lodge in the Appalachian Mountains outside of Ashville, North Carolina.  I was living in Seattle, and I needed a getaway. I was honored to be able to go and celebrate with his closest friends and family. I had always wanted to visit the Appalachian Mountains, especially the Appalachian Trail. I arrived early and did two and a half days of trail running on the AT, enjoying those ancient mountains with their gentle grades and breathtaking vistas. They are not as dramatic as the jagged and glaciated North Cascades, but they have a serene beauty of their own.

The wedding guests were the only guests at the lodge. It was a large, old farmhouse surrounded by grassy meadows and forested hills. On the morning before the wedding, some of the guests had planned to hike to a waterfall that was nearby. I heard that it had a nice swimming hole.  The waterfall is on the Poga River and is called the Twisting Falls or the Compression Falls. I am not sure where the name of the falls comes from, but my theory is that a local chiropractor named them.

Colin, his ten-year-old son, his mom and dad, myself, and a few others from the wedding party put on our swimsuits, applied sunscreen, and piled into cars. We drove a meandering road through the hills until we found the parking lot set on a high trail that led to the river.  The summer sun felt good on our backs as we followed the trail down to the river and upstream.

Shortly after reaching the bottom of the dusty trail, I began to hear whoops and hollers, intermingled with the roar of the rushing water of the river. It sounded like a group of people were there ahead of us, and they were having a good time.  The roar of the water amplified with each step.  The brush surrounding the trail obscured our view of the river.

Coming around the corner and emerging from the brush I expected to see some teens jumping off rocks into a swimming hole.  Instead, I saw four adolescents standing precariously close to the edge of the top of a 35-foot roaring waterfall.  Another was seen clawing his way up the cliff to where the others stood, with a dangling rope nearby.

To my disbelief, one of the boys stepped into the flow of the river at the top of the falls, sat down, and began to slide.  The water accelerated his speed as he approached the brink before the river sent him hurling weightless into the cascading waterfall, dropping fast and deep into the pool below.

I was mortified as I scanned the pool and the falls for hidden rocks, but the whoops and hollers confirmed his safety as he gleefully swam to the shore.

I quickly realized that perhaps this wasn’t going to just be a cool dip in a swimming hole.  Understand that I have a fear of heights.  It isn’t pathological, but it is rational.  I can overcome it, but it triggers a great deal of adrenaline into my system whenever I rock climb or mountain climb.  What happened next intensified the nervousness that I already felt.

My friend’s mom started making her way across the river to the path that led to the top of the falls.  Seriously? If mom was going to go off the falls, there was no way I was going to receive a free pass.

Yes, I am a prideful person.  There may have been some of my male ego involved as well. I did not want to be shown up by a 60-year-old lady.

Peer pressure and pride forge a lethal combination.

I contemplated the dangers. What if my head hit a rock while sliding off the falls?  How could I be certain that there weren’t any rocks in the pool below the falls?  What about any unseen hazards hidden behind the falls?  What if I slipped and fell off the cliff at the top of the falls? What if the waterfall held me underwater and I drowned?  I had planned to look at a waterfall, not put my life in danger.  I sat down and watched for a while – analyzing the risk versus the reward.

Another teen slid over the falls.  He seemed to easily clear the rock lip at the top.  I did not see any projections on the sides of the “slide”.

I peered into the clear water and was able to see to the very bottom.  It looked deep, but the turmoil created by the current made it impossible to see what was directly under the falls.

Now my friend Colin was standing at the top.  A Navy Pilot, risking it all the day before his wedding.  Without hesitation he stepped into the current and sailed off the falls, emerging from the depths with a smile as big as his face.

Mom was next.  She should have been the model for Senior Living.  There was no sign of nervousness on her face. Fearlessly she showed all the young whippersnappers how it is done, gracefully plunging over the edge into the dark green pool below. My pride suffered another blow.

Now I had no choice. You only live once.  I had never seen a waterfall like this one – a waterfall you could fall off and survive without injury!  Swallowing my fears I swam across the river towards the falls.  A voice inside me told me that I was climbing to my death, that I did not need to do this.  A part of me didn’t want to do this. But my pride, the peer pressure, and the opportunity to do something unforgettable caused me to begin climbing the slippery and sheer rock towards the top. I knew that the climb was probably more dangerous than the falls themselves. If I fell here, I would land on rock, not in the water.

Before I knew it, I was standing at the top of the falls. It seemed much higher from the top than it did from below. I peered anxiously over the edge. I tried to appear calm but my teeth were chattering from the cold water and the nervous excitement. A part of me had to do this.  I abated my fears by telling myself that this would be no different than going down a slide in my backyard into a kiddy pool.  Getting started down this slide would be very similar, although the result that would be very different.  Once it started there was no turning back.

I was shaking as I waded into the river at the top of the falls. “Here goes nothing” I murmured as I pushed myself onto the conveyer belt of the current.   That was when the exhilaration began.  The roar of the falls grew louder as I slid along, approaching the chasm where the stream disappeared as it took a 90-degree vertical descent.  It looked glassy and smooth there at the edge.  The algae-covered rocks felt perfectly smooth as I slid along.  For just a fraction of a second that voice of reason returned confrontationally saying, “Have you lost your mind?”, but it was too late.  I raised my hands to the sky and went over the edge.

I was weightless and being enveloped by beads of water as I fell.  In that moment it seemed to grow silent and I concentrated on remaining upright. Faster and faster I descended before the explosion of entering the pool below.  My speed and weight took me deeper than I had ever been before.

I began paddling towards the surface, surprised by how long it took.  A surge of joy, spontaneous laughter, and a sense of accomplishment came from within as I exploded through the surface of the water to the applause of my friends.  My pride was restored and I was giddy.  I couldn’t believe I had just slid off the waterfall!  Finding my way to a rock in the sunshine, I relaxed, with a smile on my face.

Fear is a useful emotion when it protects us.

Fear can keep us from joy when we let it paralyze us.

Courage is often needed in order to walk by faith and not by sight.

Positive peer pressure gives us the courage to do what is right, in spite of our fears. It inspires us to take risks in order to accomplish our goals.

Isaiah 41:10

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

2 Timothy 1:7

“For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power, love, and self-control.”

 

  • When has peer pressure and pride influenced you negatively in life?
  • When has peer pressure helped you push yourself?
  • When has fear kept you from doing something you wish you had done?
  • What is God calling you to do that causes you to feel afraid?