Earlier this week, our family of four (Matt is on leave and I strongly urged Becky to take a
day off) experienced an Adventure on the Gorge in West Virginia. The day was gorgeous - clear, not the rain as earlier forecast, and quite comfortable. The rhododendrons were if full bloom.
I made reservations
for the TreeTops Canopy Tour. I had
wanted to try zip lining for years and this was the year I actually acted on my
desire. I needed my entire family for
support and encouragement and for a possible push (or shove) if I hesitated at
any step of the outing.
We arrived at the venue
early which gave us enough time to sign the all-important ‘no liability’
paperwork and to make the even more important last trip to the restroom. When one is spending hours in the treetops, a
pre-trip restroom stop is imperative.
Our two very capable
tour guides helped secure our harnesses and helmets. We were off.
First stop…a baby zip
line for technical instruction. Once
dangling from the cable, we were only about two feet off the ground which
provided a definite false sense of security for the real zips which could be up to 90 feet off the ground. We learned where to place our hands, how to
cross our legs, how to straighten ourselves from a misguided twist (a failure
for me which I discovered later through several of my later zips), how to self-rescue in the unfortunate circumstance if we stopped out on the line and not on
the platform, slowing down and the most important stopping procedure. Everyone had their turn on the baby zip, and
we all passed. The entire group of 9 (our
family of four and another family of three) plus Rine and Derek (tour experts)
were ready to proceed. Next stop…tree
tops.
To put this adventure
into prospective, I am a complete novice with no experience, no athletic
ability and a huge fear factor. And, why
did I have this desire to zip line? Well,
it looked like a lot of fun when seen on television commercials. Or, maybe, it
was my loyalty to the Saturday TV Tarzan movies of my youth.
The procedure was
simple. Once on the platform, step up on a tree stump where Rine would
attach the gear to the cable system. Step
off said tree stump to set the gear in its proper location on the cable, place
hands in proper position, fold ankles over each other and zip…and yell. Then, quickly watch for Derek, who had
already zipped to the next platform, where he awaited and helped with the safe
landing.
At the end of the
first zip, we were standing high in the treetops on a small wooden platform that
surrounded the anchor tree. Once all of
us were on the same platform, it was time to zip to the next, just as small and
just as high in the tree tops, platform.
Matt entertained the
group with jest as we waited our turns. Matt
jumps out of airplanes in the Army, so this zip line business was pure
enjoyment especially with a bit of harassing of Mom…me.
Several zips into the
forest, I heard that the more you weigh the faster you travel. I was, needless to say, definitely the fastest
one in the group…ugh…I was getting my money’s worth of adrenaline rush.
Of course, once on the
platform, there was no escape, no retreat.
We were standing at tree canopy level.
We had to proceed from one platform
to the next platform. There was no easy out.
Becky was the slowest
zipper and she had the best, picture perfect landings on all 10 zips. She came in at the right speed and stopped
exactly on top of the tree stump as instructed with ease and finesse - a
ballerina of the treetops, a capable Jane. Unlike me,
who looked like the proverbial ‘fish out of water’, I never landed on the
stump, I was usually coming in too fast, and I flailed in desperation to stay secure on the
platform once my feet touched the wooden planks. I would certainly NOT be
featured in any marketing brochure.
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| Can you see the fear running throughout my entire body? |
This tour also
included five sky bridges. As a kid we
called these types of bridges ‘swinging bridges’ which I usually steered cleared of and
stayed on firm ground for several reason…fear and motion sickness.
Now, I had to face
five bridges. Again, there was no other route than crossing those bridges. Matt always
seemed to follow me and the bridges always seemed to be bouncing more than
necessary. I could not turn around and
look back, but I had a notion that Matt was contributing the extra motion. I had two Dramamines in me. I tried to prepare myself by taking a Dramamine
the night before and another in the morning before our drive. Still, the swinging and the fear of falling into
the abyss below were daunting. I felt a
bit woozy. But, I made it, extremely slow
and without incident.
The worst was yet to
come.
The adventure ended
with a 30’ rappel down a rope from the last platform. It was the only way down to terra firma. I aborted my first and meager attempt by
sitting down on the platform. I was downright scared. I knew I had to complete the rappel. There was no other way down. Visions of a past, my first and last, rappel
flooded my thoughts. Over 40 years
ago, as a young (I stress young as I am not young any longer) college student,
I was invited to go rappelling at Giant City with a group of friends. Again, I was the least experienced with no experience. Harnessed in, I hopped over the edge of a rocky
cliff and immediate did a 180 flip and after slamming into the rock wall with
my entire backside, was hanging precariously upside down. I remember the yells, “Don’t let go of
the rope!!!!!” I discovered later that
the rope was truly my life line. It kept
me from plunging to…well, you get the picture.
This rappel was rock
free, but I assumed that the ground would be hard.
I gingerly made my
way to the edge of the platform. I swung
out over the edge. And, down I went. The
friction caused by the rope slipping through my gloved hands resulted in an unexpected heat that was intense, barely bearable. There was no stopping until I made contact with the
ground. I did, gently, standing on
both feet.
I am grateful and
thankful to our two experienced, very patient, and very helpful guides. With their encouragement,
I SURVIVED and I had FUN!
Before returning home, we stopped to view the New River and the towering New River Gorge Bridge.
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crossing the bridge and looking down into the Gorge |
NOTE: I highly recommend a visit to Adventures on
the Gorge. There are many accommodations
and many Adventures tours to participate in covering all levels of expertise. ENJOY!
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