Troll Hunting

I had been lamenting the fact that the art installations of Thomas Dambo's trolls were all too far away for me to visit, but recently, eight were put up at Northwest Trek. Even better, my botany partners invited me on a troll-hunting excursion. We arrived at the wildlife park well before they opened the gates this chilly morning in order to beat the crowds. One of the trolls was only viewable from the tram, so that was the first order of the day. Unfortunately, our driver sped past it and I was only able to get a very blurry photograph, but we walked the trails for several hours after the ride and found the remaining seven, all shown above. My favourite was Taks (center), although I did allow myself to be "captured" in Lilnut's net (shown center left) in which I was able to stand upright (sorry, no photo!) to give you an idea of the scale of the figures. The park seemed somewhat sparse compared to when I last visited it perhaps 10 years ago, with fewer herds of bison and elk in sight of the tram, but the trolls made the day as far as I was concerned.

Zip Trip Adventure

Day 295: Four of us met at my house this morning in time to be first through the gate at Northwest Trek, lining up to purchase tickets for the zip-line Adventure Course, second only to the Sensation Course in terms of difficulty. I'd completed the Discovery Course last week and was ready for something a bit more challenging. Ian was an old hand at zip-lines, and Maureen was excited by the prospect of a thrilling ride. Her cousin Kathleen might not have had quite as clear a picture of the day's agenda, but was game to try something new. Standing at the base of the first obstacle, a 30-foot climbing wall, she may have had some doubts. Maureen led the way, followed by yours truly, then Ian, and then Kathleen came up and was met with our cheers of encouragement.

Ian reaches the top of the wall

There were some suspension bridges to cross, each one gaining a bit of altitude between platforms, and there were also cargo nets to clamber through. The course is just that: an obstacle course. Over the next hour and a half, we'd progress from the easier challenges to tougher ones, with six different zip-lines up to 650' in length to give us a break from our physical exertions. Trust me, climbing through cargo nets on an incline isn't easy, especially when there's a gap between two of them on the way to the next platform.

Kathleen in the double nets

Previously, I'd been told I couldn't take my big camera with me, so today I brought along my little Sony point-and-shoot. If the photos aren't up to my usual standard, blame the camera!

As mentioned earlier, the difficulty in surmounting the obstacles increased as we worked our way through the course. I've tackled some pretty scary suspension bridges in my day, so those didn't bother me. However, swinging steps were something new, and I would have gotten through more easily if I'd remembered to check if there were stoppers on the cables before proceeding across. Clipped in, I got the carabiners stuck on a stopper, and then had to back up a step (yes, backwards!) to free it.

Swinging steps

The only other real problem I encountered was the tightrope. Although I'd breezed through an easier version of it last week, I tackled this particular challenge a little too directly. Halfway across, I did an unintentional pirouette. Maureen, waiting in the wings and gathering her courage, must have felt it falter just a little as I regained my balance. Ian crossed behind me with the grace of a dancer, and then Maureen followed suit. It was her most uncomfortable moment on the course (as it was mine).

The tightrope

Finally, two long zip-lines took us back to solid ground. There may have been some touchy moments, but not a one of us took a fall. I handed my camera off to Ian so he could get a shot of me zipping home. This course was both fun and exciting!

As the Crow flies

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.