Cliff jumping can be deadly business, Story and photo by Nick Troiano Bushkill, PA Sometimes it’s 20 feet, other times, 70. Sometimes there are cheers by friends, other times, screams of a close call. It’s all about the adrenalin, the rush of the free fall. Then, God willing, comes a splash. Cliff jumping has always been a youthful summer activity in this riverside town, but Pike County may be experiencing a rise in this dangerous trend among teens in the area. “It is like having a water park in your backyard,” said Brad, a jumper of four years. They leap from ledges of all heights, occasionally doing flips, into the water below. Some require a running start; others require a leap of faith. Currently, there are about seven different locations he and his friends visit frequently. Brad said the places where they normally jump from, such as Hackers Falls, are becoming overcrowded. He said as this activity gains popularity, teens are finding new falls and ledges to frequent. But trekking into the wilderness can bring the risk of serious injury or death. Travis, an 18-year-old resident of Milford, said he was always scared of heights, but quickly got over that once all his friends started to jump. Peer pressure, as other avid jumpers contend, is one of the major reasons the activity is becoming more popular. On one afternoon in July of last year, Travis and three of his friends wanted to find a new spot that not a lot of people, including the park rangers, would find as easily a move that would almost cost him his life. They took what he estimates as a 1.5 mile walk through rough terrain to Adams Falls. Feeling fearless and invincible after jumping from ledges as high as 60 feet, Travis scaled straight up the waterfall. Half his body was already over the top before he ran into some trouble. “I couldn’t find any more crevices,” he said. After losing his grip, he fell and painfully tumbled backwards down the waterfall. His friends and a few bystanders retrieved him from the water while others called 911. Since Travis was unable to walk out because of his injuries, the rescue became an arduous process. It was a half hour before a park ranger reached him and another hour before paramedics arrived. “What a poor decision I made. There was no need for it,” Travis recalls thinking to himself while waiting in the wilderness. He eventually made it to the roadside in a metal basket on U.S. Route 209 where traffic was blocked off in both directions and a helicopter sat waiting to medivac him to the hospital. While the five-hour rescue, three months of recovery, and tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills are things he will never forget, the memory is fading from the minds of his friends. “It just doesn’t faze them anymore. Unfortunately, it will probably take another serious accident for people to realize that bad things actually can happen,” Travis said. Such a prospect is one of the greatest concerns of Chief Ranger Phil Selleck, of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. Selleck pointed out that injuries like that of Travis are not an uncommon occurrence. In fact, just last week, a park visitor broke both his ankles after jumping from a cliff at Factory Falls. The park has also had at least three fatalities related to jumping from heights into the creeks or river. Gregg Bitondo, a 17-year-old high school student at Kittatinny Regional High School, lost his life on May 11, 1999. The honor student and football quarterback jumped from a height of 30 feet at Raymondskill Falls and landed on a rock shelf below. Two other deaths occurred within the park in Karamac, New Jersey in both 2002 and 2004. Selleck said in addition to the danger of jumping from such heights onto possibly concealed objects, cliff jumpers are also threatened by the water. In some places jumpers near a waterfall face the threat of being sucked under by powerful hydraulics. He recalled once instance of a drowning near a waterfall where it took rangers nearly a full week to retrieve the body because of these hydraulics. From the Interstate Highway 80 bridge to Childs Park, cliff jumping is a daily occurrence in the park. Selleck said that rangers are beginning to crackdown on the general misuse of park lands and “cliff jumping is a significant part of that.” Luc, a 16-year-old cliff jumper from Dingmans Ferry with nine years of experience under his belt, was hit with a $125 fine and had to call his parents after being caught by a park ranger. “If you ask me, it’s a little ridiculous to prevent kids from doing something that was naturally put on this planet for the taking,” he said. Gregg Bitondo’s parents wanted jumpers to consider others. “All we ask is for kids to step back and think before they behave in a manner which may jeopardize their safety or life ... it can alter family members’ lives forever.”