…..todays challenge asks the questions: When was the last time you did something completely new and out of your element? How was it? Will you do it again?

I didn’t have to think too hard for this one. Last fall I took a group of grade 5 students to an outdoor education centre for three days. I’ve done this many times so the actual trip wasn’t out of my element. What was new for me was a brand new activity that the centre introduced that month – Treetop Trekking.

Yikes! The ropes were 25 to 30 feet off the ground. I practised on the lower ropes and learned all the signals and how to clip on and off to go from one section to the next. That wasn’t too bad and I felt that maybe if I could get over my fear of heights that I might actually be able to do this. What I didn’t figure on was how strenuous it was just getting to the first treetop station.

There were two ways to get up there …..either climb up the ladder, then up the tree and then hoist yourself over the edge of the platform and walk across the ropes to the first station or climb up the rope net. I opted for the rope net. I managed to climb 25 feet but I was still 5 feet away from the top. I had no idea how much upper body strength one needed to climb up the net. I was just too tired to go any further.

Now one thing I’ve always wanted to try was repel down the side of a cliff or wall. If I couldn’t make it all the way to the top then at least I could experience repelling. That was fun and it encouraged a few of the students who were afraid to try it to actually go back up and give it a go. 

Would I do it again? If I can get into better shape I think I would absolutely give it another try. For more photos of the experience go to my post Up in the Treetops.