Fire in the Hole!

I was outside for a smoke when my coworker continued to ask if he would have enough time to go swimming in the Firehole River before his shift. I told him that it depended on how long he swam for. He refused to go which allowed for another body in the car. The driver told me to quickly change and so I did. We made it to Firehole drive on the hot day. We were all wondering how packed the spot would be but we managed to find a parking spot rather close to the entrance. Joel was the only one who hadn’t changed before the ride so we met him down in the water. The other two, Steve and Kaitlynn, and I went down and talked to a tourist who gave us advice on a good experience. She told us to walk back up the hill and follow a tiny path which would lead us to a cove for easy access. We waited for Joel and made our move. Foot protection would have been nice but not needed. As we stepped over tiny sharp rocks we made it to the water. We hopped in the water and followed the wall upstream stubbing more of our toes on the rocks. Joel took the head of the group and started off on the reef following the wall towards some small rapids. Joel kept his head up not watching where to step and took a plunge off the reef into the strong current which carried him 20 feet without a problem. I was next and found the ledge and jumped. As I surfaced in seconds, I found myself near Joel grabbing on to the reef to wait for the others. The others followed but took their time. We gathered around the bend in the river where it was 15 feet wide and would narrow into a 10 foot wide passage with a slight decline. Kids were climbing the opposite reef of us and walking to the end of the rapids jumping in.

We tried to swim to the gap but failed and floated down the stream back to our towels and swimming area. Attempt two. We followed the same path and got to the cove. We walked across the reef and jumped a portion of the gap swimming and kicking to ensure a spot on the opposite side of the reef. All three of us guys made the swim but Kaitlynn didn’t jump out far enough and I had to extend a hand out and grab her. We weren’t the biggest risk takers at the hole. We would watch and watch before we would attempt what others were doing. We made the walk on the slippery sharp reef to where we needed to jump into the rapid. A young kid said to just jump where he jumps and make sure not to go up any further from that point. So I was the first risk taker and jumped out five feet into the rapid that was a foot down. I surfaced quickly but the current had pushed me back to the opposite reef before I could do anything. The three others jumped and a good time was had by all.

We swam to the next cove that was by our belongings. We hung out and swam against the current for a good amount of time before some young kids were starting to climb some rocks that were six feet above the water. After watching them and being nervous about stubbing a toe a father went up and jumped in. After that, the spot was clear and I went for it. Joel and Kaitlynn followed but Steven stayed back. We went back to our spot on the reef that Steven kept for us before the craziness really happened.

A group from Old Faithful showed up and immediately jumped off a ledge that was 20 feet high. There were six men and two girls. The guys showed no fear except for possibly hitting a swimmer when they landed. So as the three of us felt great about our confidence, eight people came by and tripled our height. The last guy jumped and surfaced looking above at another ledge that was twice the size. The three of were shocked and awed by the amount of confidence these people had.

They each jumped several times. The only time they stuttered was the first time they went. Kaitlynn and Joel both wanted to do the jump. Steve was getting his camera ready and I didn’t know what I wanted to do. At that point I said, “Fuck it. Let’s GO!” and we swam over to the ledge and climbed up a steep hill. Looking down at my foot placement I could see the water get further and further away. We reached the top and looked down upon all the people.

I said that I would go first so that I would double think it if I stayed up there. I looked at Steven and he had his camera all set to go. I looked down at the people cheering me on. Joel and Kaitlynn were pumped for me. I was shaking and nervous and knew that at that moment it was now or never. At first I looked like I was in the beginning of a bobsled race. There was a rock to my right where I had a hand to help give some distance when I ran and jumped but while my hand was there, my body and legs had a forward backward motion going. Right before I jumped, one of the eight people yelled out and told me to make sure I jump at least 10 feet away. I rocked back for the last time and sprung forward pushing off the rock ledge. I yelled Mammoth on my way down and right before I hit the water I took a deep breath, closed my eyes and looked up. I felt like I was launched into the water by a firing system on a battleship. One second I was out of water and the next I was 10 feet below it. Swimming straight up I wasn’t sure how long it would take to get some air but I hoped for the best. At last my arm strokes felt air as my final push breached me through the surface water where I grabbed some air and released a scream and a wooh. It may or may not have sounded like a wrestler trying to stir up the crowd and get some noise.

                Joel had a little worry like I did. By the time I got situated back on the reef he was in midair. Kaitlynn on the other hand had the most difficulty. It took her about 10 minutes to jump. She did warn us she was afraid of heights. Kids, young adults, old adults, everyone was cheering for her as if she was about to win something amazing. I finally yelled out that she would give up the front passenger seat on the way home if she didn’t jump. A little while later she jumped and screamed all the way down into the water. There was a lot more of crowd applause for her then Joel and I combined. That day the three of us did something very illegally but in return we earned a huge confidence boost for ourselves.