Whenever we go out of town for business conferences, we always make sure to do fun things and not make it all business. A couple of years ago I decided to break out of my fear of heights and try zip-lining. My train of thought was that you are in a harness, should be pretty simple. I was right!
Our first attempt at zip-lining was in St. Louis, MO at Adventure Valley. This was the perfect place for a first try. When we first get there, it’s a small place with both zip-lining and paintball. We had made reservations online, which is required so that you pick out your time slot. We upgraded to have the gopro camera on our helmets. We opted for just one and then switched part way through the courses.
Our guides showed us how to get our gear on including hooking us in and unhooking us out on the course. Being that this was my first time and I am afraid of heights, it worked out well for me that the distance to the ground got larger as we went along. I gained confidence by the encouragement of the guides and my fellow zip-liners. It was nice to be in the earliest time slot and only one other couple with us. There was plenty of room up on the platforms and it was quicker to go through the course. Along with getting higher off the ground the lines got longer, which enables you to going at a pretty good clip.
We enjoyed our time zip-lining so much that we look for it when going places. So, the next place we went zip-lining at was in Frankenmuth. They had a festival that had the main street in town closed down and the zip-line right in the middle of the road and slightly downhill. For those that were taller than me (5’ 3”), they had to really lift their legs up towards the end so that they didn’t drag their feet.
Now one place you will want to put on your places to visit and zip-line is the Mega Cavern in Louisville, KY. Once again, this is a guided tour and they assist you with setting up the harness. As the name says, this is in a cavern, so wear long pants/jeans. One thing that we did take advantage of was the digital picture package. It’s so nice to not worry about our own cameras/cell phones. They have lockers to lock your belongings up in. You don’t want anything dropping, you won’t get it back.
Our first long zip was through hell, as they called it. Nice red “fires” at the bottom of the cavern. Also, along with the zip-lining there were a couple of suspension bridges. I was glad that they were well into the course after a few zips. These were a bit nerving to me with my fear of heights, but I successfully got across them. My favorite zipline here was the finish where you can race against someone.
From now on, we look for places to zip-line at when going out of town. One on my list is at the Ark Encounter, but that’s another post. To find your next zipline adventure, check TripAdvisor. Let me know if you like zip-lining and where your favorite zip-line is at.
