Walking the Walk on a Tight Rope

*The photograph of Karl Wallenda is an original courtesy of Georgia State Parks.

Finally got a moment to look up the 65-year-old guy (aerialist Karl Wallenda) who walked across the Tallulah Gorge on a tightrope/highwire in 1970.

He, uh … he was the real deal.

We found the video of him taking the walk.

Here’s the YouTube link: via Foggy Melson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ahlitLvOuM

They called him “a German-born daredevil,” and apparently Gov. Maddox used the stunt to bring attention to the Tallulah Falls. (As if the gorge wasn’t enough.)

These photos are what’s left of the concrete platforms and steel beams that held the wire.

When he crossed, the tightrope stretched about 1,000ft across, 750ft high — and he performed TWO headstands and then finished with a martini from his wife. 🙂‍↔️

“After 18 minutes (and two handstands, one in honor of soldiers in Vietnam and another for laughs), the 65-year-old hopped off the platform on the other side, where his wife handed him a martini.” -- Thomas Wheatley | Atlanta Magazine (https://www.atlantamagazine.com/news-culture-articles/flashback-karl-wallendas-high-wire-walk-across-tallulah-gorge-1970)

It’s worth a Google, but just a warning that it’s a very sad, unfortunate ending to his story.

But he died doing what he loved. He was a daredevil up until the very end.