The View From My Fishbowl

I can’t share one camp experience without sharing another equally as thrilling, but it really isn’t a Part 2…more like Segment 2.

This particular campground we were using was not only infested with mice (in particular cabins), but had a large and beautiful lake, stocked with fish, canoes, kayaks, and paddle boats. We’ve always had swimming pools at our camps, but never boats. It was a new experience for many, and lots of fun for all involved, even those who tipped over (not me, by the way). Over a portion of this lake was a very long zip line, which started on one side of the lake about 3 stories up, and ended on the other side of the lake on the ground.

Split up into teams, we were making a game out of this zip line. In the water below the line were people in boats and every person who went on the zip line was given sponges soaked in water. For every person, boat, or oar you hit, your team would receive so many points. I decided to take a shot at it for my team, and as I was putting the harness on, one of my teammates explained why she wouldn’t be participating in this game. Apparently the year before, she had been on the zip line, landed wrong and twisted her ankle rather severely. So I made a mental note not to land wrong and skipped merrily on my way all the way around the lake where the tower was, the whole time with the harness awkwardly attached to me.

When my turn came, I scampered up the tower with my two sponges dripping with water, and was assisted at the top to climb the ladder (as if the tower wasn’t high enough). At this point, I caught a glimpse of exactly how high up I was and I felt a strange little quiver in my stomach and a shake in my knees. Determined to do this and ignoring the sudden impulse to run back down the stairs, I was then instructed to turn around backwards holding on only with my two hands (already full of dripping sponges) to two poles sticking up on either side of the ladder. I was then given my instructions for landing. My brain was not computing the instructions, however…it was simply screaming at me, You idiot! What are you doing?!?! You are going to die!!! I just argued back and said I was going to follow through, so brain, would you shut up already?

Somewhere in all this arguing with myself, I did catch a couple snatches of the landing instructions. Relax. You will automatically turn around backwards. When you hit the end, just stand. Let the line do it for you. If there was more to it than that, I certainly had no comprehension. I kept getting hung up on the relax part which he kept repeating, probably because my knuckles were turning white and my eyes were ready to pop out of my head.

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and let go. In my anxiousness to grab an instant hold of the rope, I just dropped the sponges and they barely made it into the lake, far from any of the boats underneath. Within seconds I was practically flying. My rope must have been twisted when it was hooked on, because I spun around in circles the entire length of the lake. I screamed the entire distance at the top of my lungs, and that even though my voice was already mostly gone. (It was really gone after that!)

When I came in for my landing, I did not automatically turn around backwards. Instead, I came in frontwards. I screamed at the man on the shore as I flew by him, What in the world am I doing?! because I really couldn’t remember if I had been given instructions on what to do if this happened. I’m not sure what I expected him to do about it, but in moments of desperation, you have little to no solid reasoning. A split second later, I plowed feet first into a huge pile of mulch, spraying dirt and sawdust everywhere…in my shoes, in my clothes, in my hair, and probably on everyone around me.

To say I was relieved to be on solid ground would be an understatement. If I didn’t have to stand there until I was unhooked from the line, I probably would have collapsed, because my legs felt like jelly. All around me everyone was laughing hysterically, and yet I was too because I was just so glad to be alive.

Even with all that, I would definitely do it again. It was the most terrifying and yet exhilarating experience I have ever had. Whether I would scream as much the second time around or not, I have no clue. We’ll have to see what happens next year…

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