I have a fear of heights. Or at least I think I do. My knees get weak when I look over the side of tall balconies or press my face against a glass window of a high rise. I guess it's more a fear of falling, rather than heights.
For some reason, despite this knowledge, I've had this strong desire to go Ziplining. Because, while I hate drops on rollercoasters (can't even go on Splash Mountain), I adore going fast. If I get on a rollercoaster that's speeding or COASTing along, no drops or loops, etc. I am happy. I just laugh and laugh. I can't stop giggling.
Ziplining seemed to combine a lot of things I like: the great outdoors, beautiful views, speed, and adventure. Usually ziplining is well-known in exotic beautiful locations like Costa Rica and Hawaii. But I don't have funds to travel there! Harumph. But, after doing some research I came across Ziplining in Catalina. Just an hour boat ride away. Yay. We ordered the tickets (you need to do so at least 2 weeks in advance, because they get booked). Filled with excitement...I just had to wait...
...Cut to a couple days before the excursion. I was SO SCARED. How fast was I going to go? What would it feel like? I wasn't afraid of the safety, I had done a lot of research on the Catalina Zip-lining Eco Tour, and knew I wouldn't fall to my death...but I was daunted by the unknown.
After arriving on Catalina Island...I started to have some anxiety. Could I go through with this? We got to the Eco Tour Station, which is just past the Casino. We had to be weighed (even though the carabeeners can hold about 5,000 pounds there is a weight limit of 250, I believe). We then signed a bunch of waivers, got a locker for our belongings (you can't take anything with you on the tour, except a camera if it has a strap), and put on a good ol' helmet. My mate owns a GoPro and the helmets had special straps just for these kind of cameras - so he got to wear it around his head and film us.
The group of 10 began to accumulate. One girl was begging to go on with either her brother or her boyfriend (couldn't tell), and usually they don't let more than 10 people go, but they made an exception for her. So there were 11 of us. We were situated in a benched area under some tents. There, we met our 2 guides for the day, Jack and Collin. They were very funny and upbeat and played off of each other.
They demonstrated (on a short pre-rigged zip line), the certain ways to sit in the harness and what to do if you get stuck in the middle of the zipline. They have several ways of getting you back to the base, but if you keep tucked up in the "cannon ball" position, you shouldn't have to worry. They also showed us how to slow down in a position called the "star fish". I was worried that I wouldn't remember any of this very important information in the heat of a panicked moment, though it was pretty simple.
After that, they put us into our harnesses and introduced themselves and asked how we were feeling. I'm guessing (and was hoping) they were used to nervous peeps.
After we were all harnessed in, we took a bus really really high up, to the top of a mountainous canyon. My nerves were going crazy. I had read some yelp reviews before and people talk about how stepping off a platform into thin air is the scariest part. So I was trying to psych myself up.
We got to our first zipline, called the bunny slope. It looked so far away and long. And this one was supposed to be easy. Collin went first so he could catch us at the other end, and he zipped away like the roadrunner. I became afraid of the speed.
I was no longer nervous about stepping off, like the reviews had indicated, because if you actually fell off the platform, you'd only fall about 5-10 feet, not into some deep canyon 500 feet below you, which I thought might be the case.
In our group we had a mother/daughter foursome, a little boy and his grandparents, and the girl and her brother/bf. The mother/daughter foursome went first, which helped ease my anxieties a bit. If 50-60 year old women could do it...I could do it too, right? I did notice that I was the only neurotic Jewish person in the group...and was wondering how many Jewish people actually do things like this. My inner Woody Allen was qvelling and coming up with all sorts of crazy notions to frighten me.
Then it was my turn to go. My heart was racing. Jack hooked me up to the line and held me - the group counted down. I couldn't do it. I thought Jack could have been a little more understanding, but he wasn't mean at all, just a bit impatient. I probably stood, hovering on the platform, for 5 minutes (but it felt like decades). What helped me the most was the rest of the group. They were cheering me on, telling me it wasn't "that bad", etc. It was like being with a wonderfully supportive family, and it really touched me. After my encouragement tank had been filled, I took my leap of faith.
The first thing I did was start cursing. I couldn't help it - it was a sensation/feeling I had never had before. But after the initial few seconds of adjusting, I started enjoying the scenery and feeling a great sense of pride and accomplishment. And of course, it was fun!
By the second slope (the longest one - about 1,100 feet), I was still nervous, because this one was much longer. But I enjoyed myself and had nothing to worry about, after all.
By the third line, I was excited and ready to go, only the slightest bit nervous because each line is different. This one was my favorite. It was called the Roller Coaster, and we were told to scream as loud as we could while we were on it. I went the fastest I'd gone on this one (about 30 mph) and there were a few little bumps.
Watch us on the rollercoaster (note: no sound b/c I didn't want to ruin computer speakers or eardrums with our screaming):
The fourth line we got to practice poses for the final line (which has a camera), we could take one hand off the handle bars, twist, move our legs, etc. Just never take both hands off. This one was short, but it was cool to try something different than the normal position.
The last one was essentially the same as the one before - strike a pose when you get to the camera at the very end (I was silly and looked the wrong way!).
By the end I was just really happy. It was such an enjoyable experience on many levels. The people in the group were friendly and encouraging. The atmosphere was supportive, fun, and lively. I felt a sense of accomplishment, engaging with my fear and conquering it. I would 100% recommend this tour and go ziplining again, and maybe on an even more intense/faster course.
My only, tiny complaint was that the tour is supposed to include information about Catalina's eco system and the kinds of nature or animals we might see in the canyon below, etc. I would have probably been too nervous to obtain any information, but it still would have been nice to learn something. Jack and Collin told us one weird anecdote about buffalo...but that was pretty much the extent of our "eco-tour".
At the end of the day, you could buy your photo for $17. I thought that was a bit pricey, but we got them anyway, since we didn't know the next time we'd get to go ziplining. Ziplining, itself is quite expensive, but if you can save up the money or have it on hand, it's definitely worth it.
This was the best activity of my summer, by far. And I wish I could go back and re-live it all over again.
To learn more about the Catalina Zipline visit here: http://www.visitcatalinaisland.com/avalon/tour_zipline.php
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