Later, Jack helped me rappel down a small cliff after I'd watched some of his climbing buddies do it. I put on a harness, thin strips of rope that fit around my waist and thighs like a pair of shorts. Jack helped me string a rope anchored to a tree through a carabiner attached to my harness and then instructed me to back off the top of the cliff. For additional safety, Jack had me on belay from the top. I felt like I was stepping into thin air, but instead, horizontal to the ground below, I"walked" down the cliff controlling the rappel rope with my gloved hands My entire body(especially my legs) shook worked my way down, but I made it.