Last Monday, I begrudgingly set out to complete the only Halloween-related item on the 161 things list — #70: Throw a flaming pumpkin into the gorge. My initial reaction to this task: What the hell? Is that even a thing? I had never heard of anyone throwing pumpkins into the gorge, nor did I understand why numerous other Halloween traditions at Cornell had been left off the list. I planned to write this column on these forgotten activities — like go to a frat Halloween party dressed as a tennis player and hook up with that guy in the hippie outfit. Or better yet, sit back and admire all the other costume-mismatched couples. Certainly, I did not expect pumpkin-throwing to provide the same level of entertainment, but I was left with little choice in the way of Halloween festivities, so I headed to Wegman’s with my friend C to purchase pumpkins and matches.

We headed to the north side of the suspension bridge with two small pumpkins, two lighters and a few ears of Indian corn for good measure. I should mention now that I am terrified of both heights and fire. I didn’t learn to use a lighter until my sophomore year of college, and I have never, and probably will never, light a match. Convinced that I would end up lighting the entirely metal bridge on fire in a matter of seconds, I tiptoed out to the center of the bridge, with C dragging me the entire way.

We decided to commence the endeavor with an ear of corn. C held the base of the corn while I lit the stem on fire. The flame wasn’t exactly awe-inspiring, but the corn was lit, so we threw it off the bridge and watched it fall into the gorge. Not really the coolest thing we’d ever seen, but it wasn’t a total disaster, so we moved on to the real deal.

Balking at my roommates’ suggestion that we douse the pumpkins in vodka, I decided instead to light only the pumpkins’ stems, assuming that they would light just fine on their own. I was wrong. The wind made even getting the lighter to stay on nearly impossible, and the pumpkin stems were being incredibly difficult. I was ready to give up and head back to solid ground, but when I turned around to leave I saw someone stop and stand next to C and me. After giving him a once-over to make sure he was not a cop ready to arrest us (though I was secretly hoping he was and would just tell us to get off the bridge), we filled the newcomer in on our pumpkin-throwing plans. It turned out that Brian had a fair amount of experience with flaming pumpkins, and he suggested we wrap the pumpkins in paper so they would actually light.

Using some old copies of The Sun that C had in her car, we covered the pumpkins in paper — finally, we were ready to start lighting. I made C do her pumpkin first. Brian lit the newspaper surrounding her pumpkin, and we watched her throw it into the gorges. The chances of burning myself didn’t look too high, so I agreed to try my pumpkin as well.

Once Brian had lit the paper around my pumpkin, he told me to wait until the flame really caught on to throw it over the bridge. About three seconds in, the flame started to grow, and I was ready to get rid of the flaming ball in my hands. C clearly thought it was time to drop it as well; she stood on the side screaming, “Jenni. Throw it. Now! Now! Now!” Though C drowned out Brian’s counter suggestion to wait a few more seconds, I managed to keep the pumpkin in my trembling hands until the flame was substantially large. The pumpkin fell into the water, leaving a stream of falling flames, slowly making their way to the depths below.

Despite my initial reservations, #70 turned out to be quite fun. The falling pumpkins were really cool to watch, C and I made a new friend, and I didn’t end up a burn victim. This Halloween weekend, I’m avoiding the hippie at the open party (yes … that may have been a real-life example) and heading back for more pumpkin throwing.