The hike description said that at the two mile mark we would encounter an "obstacle."  That we could either pick our way through it or go up and around it.  The up-and-around alternative was supposed to be a 200', class 3 climb... not too difficult but we considered it tantamount to wimping out.  And us five red meat eaters weren't going to be labeled wimps!  So, over the drop-off we went... or more accurately... after much thought and route testing, we finally settled on a way that looked reasonable. - read, we probably weren't going to break anything vital.