EISPIRATEN

Dumb question; I was never any sort of technical climber...

For short steep drops, especially on slippery ground, I keep thinking it might be nice to carry maybe 40’ of lightweight rope and some kind of handheld clamp or clutch gadget. Loop the middle of the rope around a tree, root, or rock, use the clamp/clutch thingy to grip the folded line, and let yourself down. Then release one end, let it drop down, and be on your way. Two people could share one.

It might be nice to carry a length of lightweight rope anyway, on general principles. I always packed a shorter length when hiking or trekking overseas.

Is this a thing? Or is there anything similar to what I’ve described?

Thanks in advance.

The clamp or clutch gadget you're talking about is a thing called a belay device. They're cheap and super handy. The two most common styles are called the ATC and the GriGri. In the situation you're describing, the standard technique would be that you wear a climbing harness and rappel on both strands. There are other, lower-tech methods of rappelling, including some that don't require a belay device or a harness, but they're harder to do, and I wouldn't recommend them.

Pulling the rope down like a pulley as you descend is a bad idea. It will kill a tree, and the rope can get snagged, at which point you're kind of screwed. There's going to be a lot of friction when you're weighting the rope. When people rappel, they throw down both strands all the way to the bottom, rappel down, and then pull the rope down at the end.