treetop trekking | Mama Cormier

…..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.

…..as for me maybe next year

When I first saw the treetop trekking course I was in awe. I couldn’t believe how high the course was. I found out later that the wires were anywhere from 25 to 40 feet off the ground. This is the first year that Mono Cliffs has offered this amazing program to students. Our school was only the second school group to attempt this course.

Before the students were allowed on the high course they participated in a team building activity where they were encouraged to walk across a low ropes course. The wires and swings were close to the ground so that if one lost their balance all they had to do was step off. It was pretty challenging walking across those wires but I did it. It wasn’t a pretty site as my body wobbled and shook, making my way across.

It was raining and cold the morning my group headed towards the treetop course. The three groups that had already experienced the ropes had perfect weather. Everyone raved about the experience and my colleagues encouraged me to take on the challenge. All of us were fitted with safety harnesses and helmets and then sent to a different low ropes area where we learned how to use the harnesses and transfer our clips from one part of the course to the next. Safety first.

After going across the low ropes I felt much more confident and even allowed myself to hang from the ropes in the harness. I waited my turn to go up the cargo net to the first platform. I cheered on the students ahead of me and praised the two who attempted the climb but couldn’t bring themselves to go any further than the platform. When it was my turn my hands were already numb from the cold but I started the climb up the ropes anyway. It was much harder than I expected. The first platform was 30 feet from the ground and I was about 6 feet away when my arms just gave out. I tried to rest but my experience with anything physical has taught me that when you’re physically spent, pushing yourself can only lead to trouble.

The one thing that I’ve always wanted to experience is being repelled from a significant height. So rather than climb back down I asked if I could be repelled. It was a lot of fun and it inspired the two students who didn’t continue on the course to climb back up and then then experience the same thing. I think they felt a lot better having done that.

As for me, I definitely need to build up my upper body strength before I attempt this again. Losing more weight would also help. I’m actually looking forward to trying this again.