Reply #22: lol Not steel. I think my broken back shows that [View All]

We were diving into the river. We had been going down the mountain via the river and either shooting over the smaller falls on our bottoms or diving from a handy cliff. Then we would swim or wade to the next "thrill" spot.

I went to dive and changed my mind -feared I wouldn't be able to clear the rock jutting out just before you hit the river. As I turned on the rock area everyone was diving from, all wet and slick, I fell.

Down I went....s-l-o-w-l-y...or so it seemed

I landed on my feet, fell to my butt... then literally bounced back to my feet, before ending up on my backside.

I ripped nails from my fingers trying to grab anything and everything on the way down. I ended up with a fistful of honeysuckles in my hand.

They tried to do the helicopter but the trees were too thick.

Eventually,the rescue workers made a chain along the narrow bank along the river and carried me out. 2 of my rescuers went into the river...scary moment...cause I just knew I was going in with them...back board and all. Hard to swim while strapped to a board.. The rescuers were able to swim to to the bank and other people jumped into make sure they would make it.

This was at Waters Creek (along the Chattahoochee River route) in the North Georgia mountains. Not really a "famous" spot unless you're a local. You can hike...no real mountain climbing along that part... farther up the mountain for that..


I laid on that rock for quite some time while the best method of getting me out was being debated. During that time, the park supervisor for that area drove down to "see" me. He struggled over, looked down at me, and proclaimed "You'll be OK. You're alive."

He then told me I was the first to survive that fall and he just "had to come see the person that lived." He didn't believe the initial calls that I was "still moving".

Seems all the others hit their head on the edge of the rock and died. He then went into graphic detail of how they looked.

I think because I did land on my feet initially instead of being sprawled out, I saved my head from being bashed by the rock.

There have been 4(edit: IIRC) other falls at that spot since my fall... and all those have died as well.

People tend to get drunk and think they can just jump...the biggest reason they "fall"

I was sober. I just lost my nerve...knew what I was doing...just figured I wouldn't make the dive.