By the way, I finally made a Facebook page for Up to Run, located at https://www.facebook.com/UptoRun?fref=ts. It has about one like right now (from me), but hopefully it will grow.
For my birthday gift, my parents decided to take me to GoApe, a zip line / obstacle course located in the treetops of Rock Creek Park. After looking at photos of people slamming into cargo nets and holding on for dear life on the zip line, I decided that this was a great idea. Today, it was time to go for our 2-hour-long adventure in the trees.
Our time slot was 9:30 AM. We plugged in the address to my mom's iPhone, and it got us to the GoApe cabin with no problem. While my stepdad parked the car, my brother played around, and my mom and I filled out waiver forms. Then, my stepdad and I walked with an instructor / guide and three other people in our group - a father and his sons - to where we would receive an introduction and safety briefing. We were all fitted for harnesses and had a few minutes to practice hooking and unhooking the harness straps. There was a blue hook, red hook, blue pulley, and a place for a green hook (used only for ladders and the Tarzan swing). An emergency whistle and a place to stow away the blue pulley were also on the harness. Though it all was very confusing at first, the more I worked with the harness, the more comfortable I felt.
The guide then took us through Site 1. This was basically a warm-up, practice site. There was a very short ladder leading up to a platform and a wire crossing to another platform. From that platform, there was a short zip line to a wood chip landing zone. The other sites would have a similar format: a ladder climb to get into the trees, several platforms connected by various obstacles (cable wire, logs, wooden blocks, etc), and a zip line to end the site.
From there, we journeyed to Site 2. The ladder here was longer and more shaky, but it was climbable. We walked across a cable, a horizontal ladder, and a net. They all had had two cables for gripping on the sides. At one point, we came to a choice. We could walk across another horizontal ladder, or we could walk across a twisted ladder and then cross using strung out pieces of rope. I took one glance at the curved, weird-looking ladder and chose the easy path instead.
After more obstacles, a zip line led us down from the trees. Site 3 was somewhat similar to Site 2. Obstacles included some horizontal ladders, wobbly boards, and crawling through a shaking tube. Personally, I was most scared of climbing up the ladder at the beginning of each site. Honestly, the obstacles were difficult only if you over-thought them. I had the mindset of taking one step at a time, one obstacle at a time. Before I knew it, the obstacles were done, and it was time for the zip line.
As we reached the next site, we entered the code of the day and went up the ladder at Site 5. We did not realize that we skipped Site 4 until we had already reached the platform. Either way, it did not really matter. We could always go back and do Site 4 afterwards.
For the first obstacle, there was the cable for your harness and a rope underneath it. The idea was to dangle from the cable and use the rope to pull yourself along. After I passed, I realized that I preferred these zip-line-like obstacles over obstacles in which you had to actually had to stand up and step on objects.
After some more crossings, we reached another choice. We could walk across a simple cable (similar to the obstacle in Site 1) that slightly brushes against a tree near the middle, or we could take the long route, which involved wobbly, slightly-swinging blocks of woods and also an obstacle which involved putting your feet through little hoops one at a time. Once again, I took the short and easy route.
Later on, towards the end of this site, there was a point where I literally had to step from one tree platform to the other. After that, I had to walk across some wobbly logs (luckily, there were cables for my hands to hold on to) and a balance beam (no cables this time). I now reached the end of Site 5, which would conclude with a skateboard zip line. Supposedly, the person would go down the zip line while "riding" on the skateboard. Then, around the middle of the zip line, the skateboard would stop while you continued flying through the trees. Well, that did not work out 100% for me and all 5 feet of my body. I think I had my feet on the skateboard for a few seconds before I realized that I was too short to reach the skateboard. Still, like all the other zip lines, it was lots of fun to cruise through the trees.
I landed in the pile of wood chips on my rear end again and proceeded to turn around and head to Site 4. Site 4 was the tallest course with the longest zip line. Well, never back down from a challenge, right? Funny I should say that, since I had already chosen the short route over the long route two times. Still, I would not dare skip a site. I climbed up the long, never-ending ladders to a platform on a tall tree.
I don't remember if it was before we crossed the road or after, but at some point we had to climb up a log from one platform to another platform on top of it. It was a little bit nerve-wracking, even with my harness securely fastened, as I climbed from a high point to an even higher point, but I took my time and reached the top safely.
We crossed the road from up above using an obstacle similar to the first one in Site 5 - a rope strung across the two platforms for you to pull yourself across. From there, we climbed through the rest of the obstacles before we reached the final one - a horizontal ladder with no side cables for hand support. The wind was blowing a nice gentle breeze through the trees, but it didn't feel so gentle to me. I could definitely feel some shaking from there. I silently debated how to tackle the ladder and decided to hold on to the cable holding my harness as I took tender steps overlooking nature from 50 feet above. This was probably not a good idea as the cable hurt my hands, but hey, I was ready to get to solid ground.
This zip line was supposedly the longest. The zip lines were unlike roller coasters and never felt too fast. They were smooth and almost relaxing. I always challenged myself to land on my feet while facing forwards, yet no matter what I tried, I only succeeded once. The rest of the times, I was able to face forward as I neared the landing area but still was not able to land on my feet.
After finishing with Site 4, we went to Site 6 - the final site. All of the sites had water coolers and cups there, which I thought was pretty cool. Seeing that the course took about two hours to complete, water coolers were a necessity.
The ladders and obstacles soon led to another choice. I could do a Tarzan swing, walk delicately across two wires, and climb up a ladder. Or ... I could just walk across some net to the platform I wanted to go. At first, I wanted to take the easy route because I disliked ladders, but it was the last site, and my mom was already jokingly teasing me from down below about how I took the easy routes before. As my stepdad moved the rope for the Tarzan swing closer, I decided that I might as well take the long way. With three hooks securely fastened, I took a big leap from the platform and slammed into the cargo net, bounced off once, and hit the cargo net again. I crawled up the net to the platform, walked across the two wires to another platform, and climbed up another platform.
There, we were faced with the challenge of crossing on some square-shaped wooden boards without the aid of hand cables. This time, my stepdad suggested that I hold on to my harness straps rather than the cable. If I held onto the cable, something might get jammed or cut. I took his advice and grabbed my harness tightly. I moved across the last obstacle alive and reached the last zip line. I took out my phone, and this time, decided that I might as well take a video. There was always the risk of dropping my phone, but I was confident that I could hold on tight enough.
Anyways, we returned our harnesses and got certificates of completion from one of the employees. Overall, it was a very enjoyable experience. I don't think it was too physically demanding - and that's coming from someone who hasn't been able to work out for several months due to a stress fracture. As long as you can climb a ladder for a few meters, stand for more than an hour, and not have an absolute fear of heights, the course is negotiable for anyone. Anyone 10 or older and taller than 4' 7'', that is.
For people who are scared of heights, Site 4 would not be the site for you. You can stop at any time, and really all you have to do is focus on the task in front of you instead of focusing on the ground. The harness is secure, and if you feel tired, you can just hand from the cable and chill. Moving the harness hooks from one cable to another might be challenging, though, and the employees on the ground don't have an emergency elevator. This means that if you freak out on an obstacle, you have to either go back the way you came or finish the site.
Otherwise, the course is pretty fun. It's an active rest kind of activity - a chance to be outdoors and moving but not straining yourself or your body. In the end, it was worth it.
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