Ladies High Challenge

I just got back from doing this Ladies High Challenge at Thompson Park in Lincroft through the Monmouth County Park System. The daredevil in me seems to always want to sign up for things like this but when the day comes to do it (as it did today), I think "what the hell was I thinking!?" I wished it would get rained out and after calling the weather cancellation number since it was raining where I lived, I learned that yes, it was still on. Shute, sugar, sh*T! So I think, how bad can it be? So off I go. A group of us meets in the park and after introductions and such, we walk in to the woods where this "challenge" is set up. We will be zip lining about 35 feet high in the air which is basically just attaching yourself by a pulley to a telephone type cable line, you stand on a platform up in the air on a telephone pole and once attached, you glide down, James Bond style. I did this in St Lucia last year and it was a blast. I was terrified in St Lucia right before we did it and after my first "zip", I couldn't wait to do it again. I thought this would be the same thing today, most likely much tamer. I mean, how scary can it be for the park system to have put it together? (my palms are beginning to sweat thinking about it now!) So we walk over to the whole set up and the instructors start to tell us how this is going to go down. We first will climb up inside a ropey, round, cable net contraption (about 35 ft high), hoist ourselves up onto 2 wood boards that are about 1 inch thick, attach to another cable, tightrope walk on a (extremely thin) cable while holding on to another cable above you, get to another (haha) platform (yeah right, try more like a sideways telephone pole) and then tightrope walk again with 2 cables to hold on to above you and then you finally get to the platform (this an actual platform a whole 2 feet square) and then you attach to the zip line and away you go sailing along. Piece of cake right? Hah. After seeing the instructor do this whole thing, I decided right then and there, no way was I going to do this. I would climb a bit of the rope thingy and come down and just cheer on the other gals. So after about all of the girls go, (very brave they all were), it was my turn. So up I go on the rope and halfway up, I look down and think, ok, I'm not all that scared, I'm sweating profusely at this point but I think I can go a bit further. After straining every muscle that I didn't even know I had in my legs and arms, I hoist myself up a bit further. Now all of a sudden I am close to the top. How did I get so far?? What am I doing up here? Well now it is time for me to come down but for some strange reason, I continue on. The tricky part is getting yourself up high enough to the top so you can clip into a safety carabiner (those metal thingys that rock climbers use). So before I know it I am clipped in and then you have to grab another one that is on the tightrope cable. So I'm clipping in, unclipping the one that attached me to the telephone pole and now I am tightrope walking 35 ft high in the air. Again I am pushed forward by some unknown force so here I am wobbling like you have no idea but I keep thinking if I just continue forward, I will get to the next platform and then I will be zip lining and I will have done it. The whole time the instructors are telling you what to do from the safety of the nice solid ground below. I couldn't believe they were not up here carrying me! So I make it without falling off the cable to the next platform, hoist myself onto the nice wide sideways telephone pole (oh yeah, I'm feeling real secure on this thing!), hook onto the next carabiner, unhook the last one and off I go again. This time it's walking on a cable with 2 cables on either side above your head to hold on to. Now at this point, I am past sheer terror, my face is dripping wet as if someone has poured water over my head, but forward I go. I need to mention, while on these cables, dear sweet Louise, one of the other gals, was talking me through the entire thing. She had already been through the torture so she knew some strategy to share with me. I don't think I would have made it without her help although there is nowhere to go once you're up there but forward. So I finally make it to the huge 2 foot square platform and breathe for a second and then you're clipped onto the zip line and you sit down in your harness and then just inch off the edge and you're flying away. This is the best part, it's so fun and you feel so deserving at this point to get a nice ride. So you sail forward at a pretty good pace and then the cable turns upward a bit so when you get to the higher part, you just naturally start to glide backwards ( I went with no hands mom at this point!) and then the other gals help you get down by a ladder. The middle of the zip line cable is only about 7 feet high so it's easy to get down here. So what's this got to do with "being geen" or eco-friendly? Absolutely nothing at all, but it was great to be out in the woods, sharing some time with some great gals and if you don't scare the crap out of yourself once in awhile then what's the point of living? Am I glad I did it? More than you know. I feel like I'm walking taller and more confident and no one can touch me. Would I do it again? No way in hell !