If you've ever camped alone near a cliff...

[Robb]

...HEyHEY's post reminded me of this.

I went on a longish backpacking trip, near the end we all split up to spend 24 hours alone in various campsites, shouting distance apart but far enough that if you respected the boundaries you wouldn't see anyone else.

Five campsites were in the river valley (this was Utah) and five were up on these spectacular clifftops.

Here's the kicker. All five people who camped on the clifftops reported the same odd phenomenon: they each individually chose to rope themselves in, in one way or another. Not because they were in danger of falling, but because they feared they might just inexplicably decide to leap off.

Pretty balanced group, I should add. But amazing that they all, somehow, tied themselves to trees and rocks so they wouldn't jump off a cliff.

I never got a good explanation from anyone about this... anyone feeling smarty-pants? :shrug:

[xray s]

1. I camped at the rim in Canyonlands

I remember thinking that I might sleepwalk over the cliff. Didn't tie myself to anything, but didn't sleep too well either.

[Ready4Change]

2. I know people who say the same thing.

The thought never occurs to me, though.

Come to think of it, the people I know who say this are all ladies. How many of the campers were ladies?

[Robb]

3. about half, I seem to recall.

Didn't seem to be gender-specific. :shrug:

[skippythwndrdog]

4. I just camp waaaaaaay back from the edge

[qnr]

5. I've never had a suicidal thought in my life, but

Growing up in NYC, I'd be on the bridges, or on the roofs of buildings (mostly the bridges though) and wonder what it would be like to jump.

[Kenneth ken]

6. I get that ticklish thought

about jumping pretty much any time I am high up in a tall building, or on a bridge, or near a cliff. For me, it has a lure of how the flight part would feel. The secondary thought of how the splat part would feel, makes me a little queasy. But the flight part, very seductive.

[HEyHEY]

7. I'd do it just incase I got up to take a piss at night