Zipping Through Morning

Day 287: I'm not fibbing. Going zip-lining may have been in the back of my mind, but it was not an idea I was seriously entertaining when I left home this morning. I had two free passes to Northwest Trek, and when I couldn't locate a potential cohort, I decided to go alone. Now bear in mind that I'd read up on the zip-line adventures NW Trek offers, and although I hadn't seen the course layouts, I was afraid I might lack the upper body strength to complete any but the very basic "kiddie" version. I couldn't see that being much of a thrill, not for an old climber like Your Humble Narrator, no sir.

As I drove to Trek, the mental gears began to grind. What harm could there be in asking about difficulty? The gal in the admissions booth encouraged me to talk to staff at the zip-line center. They in turn assured me that the Discovery course was within my physical capabilities. The next thing I knew, I'd forked over the fee and was getting harnessed up.

There were about ten people in my group. We received some basic instruction and then were told we'd be expected to go through a qualifying course before being turned loose on the real thing. "If you make two mistakes, you'll be disqualified from the team," we were told. As we lined up, I sensed a uniform reluctance at my back, so I said, "Well, I might as well be the first one to make a fool of myself." I clipped into the first safeties and scrambled up a ladder, over a slatted suspension bridge and whizzed down a short zip-line. Passed with flying colours!

Advancing to the real course, I conquered a "climbing wall" quickly, bounced over a longer suspension bridge slung between the trees (suspension bridges are old-hat for this Parkie) and called out, "Clear!" Then I crossed a 4-inch wide plank bridge to the next platform and called out, "Clear!" again. The course instructor advised me that I didn't need to give the "Clear!" signal unless there was someone waiting behind me. Oh, nope...nobody back there. Halfway through the course, I realized no one was anywhere near me. I was way ahead.

All in all, I passed over or through at least ten "obstacles" such as plank bridges, cargo nets, hammocks, slat bridges, loose loops of rope, and a single "tight-rope" cable in addition to three short zip-lines (the longest about 250 feet). Unfortunately, I was not allowed to carry my camera, so I went back and got these pictures from the ground. I'm almost tempted to buy a GoPro (permitted) because I'd like take on the more challenging courses.