Midnight mission (long)
The moonlight illuminated the canyon and backlit the bridge as the car moved down the winding road. A glance over confirmed we were nearing the spot. The sounds of Tool came from the speakers; I could hear it but wasn’t really listening. Rob drove on but neither of us spoke a word. Concentrating on one deep breath after another. Lots of thoughts ran through my head ranging from the simple, “Should have got gas before we came” and, “got a 42 on there and I’m gonna take three seconds…” to the morbid, “damn, hope I don’t fuck this one up.”
I drummed my fingers on my knee and tapped a foot on the floorboard. My efforts to look calm were betrayed by my shaking hand resting on the bag in my lap. My tools were inside, the gear that my life would depend on very soon.
“Okay dude, one more time.” He said to me, referring to our plan for the jump. He wasn’t going to jump with me, just support my efforts from the ground. I ran him through the sequence of events that would take up the next half hour. I covered what actions to take if we were spotted or the jump was somehow compromised. He nodded his head in understanding.
Five minutes later I was standing on a catwalk in the dark and the sounds of the river drifted up from below. Pulling an elbow pad into place, I concentrated on my breathing once again. A shiver ran through me. Not the shiver of cold, although it was a chilly night, but the unmistakable shiver of fear. A dark form moved up the trail below and grew closer. Two flashes of the red light, barely visible if you weren’t looking for it. Rob’s in position, time to go… Oh man…
The breeze coming down the canyon was moving very slowly, not enough to affect me. There was sufficient light to safely fly and land my canopy. Everything seemed good. So why was I so damn scared? “Okay lets do it.” I whispered to the air.
I relaxed my grip on the ladder and took a step away from the vertical beam. My right hand tapped the fabric cap on my pilot chute, confirming its position. The moment of choice… am I gonna jump or not? Two more flashes from Rob’s light. I looked straight out to the line of cars winding down the opposite side of the canyon and felt my weight shift forward. My body was moving outward, away from the safety of the bridge. Chest pointed out, hips springing forward.
Freedom! I felt my boots leave the steel and my ears were greeted with an un-natural silence… but not for long.
“One” The sound of air passing by my ears intensified as my body picked up speed through the abyss. Every second brought me closer to the cold river. Right hand reached back and found the end of my Pilot chute. Fingers took a firm grip, “make sure you really have a hold of it!”
“Two!” The muscles in my right shoulder tightened as I threw the folded fabric into the air. Hands moved towards my shoulders in anticipation. Waiting… WHAM! The opening canopy sent a “BANG” down the canyon.
“Three” and I reached up and took the toggles in my fingers. I smiled to see a perfectly deployed parachute over my head and laughed that I pussed out of that third second.
I slowly turned the canopy around and crossed the canyon, flying away from the huge pillars. More flashes from the red light as I turned upwind toward the landing area. I lined the black canopy up with the road and slowly pulled down on the toggles slowing my speed. I flared a little bit low and rolled a few feet down the dusty trail. Not the most graceful of landings but nothing was injured.
I gathered my canopy up and stowed everything in the nylon stash bag as Rob walked over to me. “Nice one dude.” I shook my head and as we turned to walk to the car, I looked over my shoulder at the most awesome structure I’ve ever laid eyes on. Beautiful in the moonlight.
