So, I’m afraid of heights. What I consider a healthy, normal fear. And I agreed to do a freelance article about Navitat–an organization that sends people flying through the treetops on a zipline. I was down for it, too, until I saw the photos of the 1200 line that’s 200 feet in the air.
Why did I agree to this? Oh, heck, I don’t know. But fortunately, I am wily and tenacious and have always thought that discretion is the better part of valor. So I did the first two of ten zips and then made a discrete exit down a foot bridge and back to the main office where I could interview the other crazy, I mean adventurous, people heading out.
I had expected to find the zippers to be thrill-seeking sorts, but they were housewives, businessmen, retirees, students and get this–grandparents. Patty Jane was zipping at 64 along with several of her girlfriends and not one chickened out.
So how did I like it? Well, it was fun, but unlike Patty Jane who said she couldn’t wait to do it again, my two zips will do me. I had a blast flying through the trees, but as soon as my feet hit the platform I was perfectly content to be unclipped and returned to earth. I guess I’m a feet-on-the-ground kind of girl. If I want to find a thrill in the forest I’ll wait for just the right week in April to go hunting for pink lady slippers or watch the woods behind our house for the inevitable parade of black bears.
If you aren’t TOO afraid of heights, though, Navitat is an exceptional way to see a slice of Appalachia. http://navitat.com/