No more living on the edge

There but for the grace of God goes me.

The death of a woman who was swept over Pine Creek Falls in Paradise Valley last week is a sobering reminder of how dangerous this place we call home can be.

A lot of folks out here enjoy life on the edge.

Where one wrong move can mean death.

Mountain climbing, skiing, snowmobiling, horseback riding, hang gliding and whitewater kayaking all involve a certain amount of risk. But it’s not always the riskiest endeavours that lead to accidents.

Hiking, fishing, and wading can be just as risky, maybe even more so because intense focus isn’t required. Inattention comes into play.

Mountains are inherently dangerous. So is fast water. Montana has a lot of both.

The prettiest places are often the most dangerous. A 16-year-old boy died in a fall at Pine Creek Falls in 2011.

It was reported that the woman who died Saturday was crossing the creek above the falls when the tree branch she was holding onto broke.

I think of all the branches and roots I’ve hung onto over the years. Most held, but those that didn’t only caused me a minor inconvenience, not death. However, there were certainly others, that had they broken, would have been the end of me.

I took a lot of chances in the past that I won’t take now, not necessarily because I’m any wiser, but simply because I’m just not as nimble or as strong as I once was.

It’s been years since I picked my way across a snow-covered rock slide or balanced on a log to cross a creek. I no longer go tubing during runoff and I’ve quit packing out elk antlers after dark.

I’m sure not as susceptible to peer pressure as I used to be. Call me “chicken” now and I could care less.

But there were times -- and they didn’t even have to involve alcohol -- when I was up for about anything. Fortunately for me, I survived those lapses of judgment.

Not everyone does.

Still, I’m not home safe by any means.

This is a big, wonderful state filled with mountains and rivers and spectacular places. If getting from here to there occasionally involves grabbing ahold a tree branch, I’m grabbing.

And praying it holds.

Parker Heinlein is at

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