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Find your adventurous spirit zip-lining!

unnamed-12My long-suffering husband lives in fear of our wedding anniversary; hopefully not because he has any regrets, but because I use it as an opportunity enlist him in all kinds of adventures. It’s become our tradition now to try out a new exploit each year to mark the occasion.

Earlier this month we celebrated 28 years of marriage by falling out of a tree. Fortunately we were strapped into a (very secure) harness with backup safety systems and in the hands of two very experienced guides at a reputable zip-lining company.

Upon arrival, after signing lots of forms releasing them of liability in the case of our untimely death, we suited up into harnesses that went around both legs, up our backs and over our shoulders. The guides attached heavy-duty straps with two very hefty metal pulley-like devices to our harnesses. It was those straps and pulleys that would be attached to the zip-line, I learned.

We had a beautiful, late-summer afternoon for our outing. There were eight other zippers in our group and two guides. A couple of the folks were afraid of heights, so I applaud them for facing their fears and strapping in.

After driving into the woods we were dropped at the base of our first line. Climbing onto the platform was just a matter of going up some stairs, as the first platform wasn’t very high off the ground. Safety instructions followed along with a run-down of our course. We would be covering six lines of varying heights: some as low as 20 feet off the ground, some more than 70 feet. The lines were also different lengths: some were no more than a hundred yards; one was the length of three football fields. The landings for each were different too, so every platform required new instruction on how to best “take off.” Watch this quick video of one of my runs. (Fair warning: I have a colorful vocabulary!)


What a blast!

All told the whole outing lasted three hours. There was a bit of hiking in-between some of the lines, but nothing too strenuous. Though I loved the rush of speeding between the platforms, my favorite part was just being up in the lush tree canopy. It was breathtaking.

All of our fellow zippers, even the ones who were afraid at the beginning, had a great time too. One little hiccup at the end made a couple of them queasy when at the final platform we were attached to a rope and lowered down about 60 feet. It’s a good exercise in trust … and it’s a good thing they test their equipment regularly!

68a9d70f87afd621ae9401c99802d1bfThough zip-lining was exhilarating, none of our anniversary adventures quite compares to our skydiving trip a couple of years ago. Not sure we’ll ever top that one for heart-pounding thrills, nor am I sure I wanna try!

Having a “hell-yeah-let’s-do-it!” attitude and an adventurous spirit is good for your mental and physical health. Trying new things, taking risks (within reason, of course) makes us feel strong and capable. Funny how those are two of the same qualities that are required for successful weight loss too.

Can’t wait to make a plan for next year! Do you think he’ll go hang-gliding with me???

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