Antiochian Village, Part II

Sorry. Med school has this tendency to get busy. Especially with all the other fun stuff I'm trying to do. Anyhow, Part Deux...

So from the zipline we moved over to a high element called "Ship's Crossing." This one is moderately ridiculous. Basically, there's a thin cable strung between two large trees. Maybe ten or fifteen feet above is another cable that has two long ropes hanging down, one near each tree. The only way to complete this challenge is two at a time. Both people have to use their ropes to get out near the middle of the cable -- which is about as far as those ropes will stretch -- and switch ropes, simultaneously crossing past one another to continue on to the other end of the cable. Of course, the cable you're standing on isn't taut, and with two people on it at once...well, it bounces around a fair bit. Also, it helps if the two people trying this thing are wildly different sizes...makes the whole "crossing over" bit a tad less awkward. I'll let the photos tell the rest of this story...



























That one didn't go quite as planned...the reason there's no picture of me up there is that I wiped out within a minute or two of stepping on the cable. Bah. Oh well, still fun!


The last "high element" of the day has two names. Officially, it's called the "Leap of Faith"; the name most often used to refer to it is the "Pamper Pole" (diapers optional but often recommended). Basically, it's about a 30 foot telephone pole with hand/footholds for climbing that has a trapeze hanging several feet out from the top of the pole. The idea is simple: climb the pole, stand on top of it (diameter is probably about 12 inches), and jump off the pole grabbing the trapeze in the process. I went up the thing last time I was at the course and my nerve totally failed me. It was all I could do to sit on top of the pole for a few minutes without puking all over everyone standing below encouraging me. Memories of that experience flooded back as I sat looking up at that pole. Despite relatively warm weather, I was freezing -- mostly because I was terrified. But I knew that the others weren't going to let me escape without even trying (for which, by the way, I'm incredibly grateful -- I would have been really upset with myself had I wimped out). So I found myself on belay, with my helmet perched on my epinephrine-addled head, staring up at my old nemesis. Small steps, I decided -- my goal would be to get a foot on top of the pole. With that in mind, I started to climb up the ladder to the handholds above. I got up onto the metal staples, climbed a little further, and froze. My body simply refused to keep going. I might have given up at that point but for the friends who surrounded me. They each had their own ways of encouraging me. Steve called for me to pretend that a certain person was there watching ("You're not helping!"). Jen wanted to know if I just wanted everyone to shut up so that I could concentrate on beating the pole into submission ("I don't have a competitive bone in my body...keep talking!"). Beth Ann, of course, reverted to her camp counselor role, constantly suggesting new approaches and intermediate goals, and simply wouldn't let me give up ("I think I'm done." "Come on, if you're going to fall off, don't you at least want to fall off trying?") Everyone chimed in, everyone offered support, and I clung to that chorus of friendly voices as if my life depended on it. And while I did fall off in the end (gravity and I aren't friends), I did so after having planted a foot on top of the pole and while struggling to get the second foot up there. So, thanks to the support of my friends and the grace of God (and no, I don't think the two are actually separate...) I did what I set out to do. When I came down, I was thoroughly exhilarated. I was also shaking uncontrollably and in moderately severe sinus tachycardia -- my heart rate, as near as Natalie, Steve, and BA could tell, was somewhere between 160 and 170. My extremities were freezing and the tips of my fingers were blue but I had (and have) no regrets. I gave it my best, and next time, I'll make it to the top. Anyhow, pictures...

Anyway, that's all I've got time for tonight. The saga will conclude with a wrap-up and random pictures from the day in my next post, and then we'll return you to your regularly scheduled blog.

Peace and God bless!

Antiochian Village, Part I

Finally, as promised, the long-delayed review of the day at the ropes course! Antiochian Village is a wonderful place that reminds me a great deal of the Benedictine abbey at Still River. It has the same sense of peace about it, but it also inspires a certain awe.
At the start of the day, we did some nice team-building activities to get everyone warmed up. Of these, the favorite had to be what the experienced counselors call "Turning Over a New Leaf." This involves standing on a tarp that's been folded to the size of maybe 12 square feet (3x4). We had to do two things. First, we had to get everyone -- all nine of us -- onto that tarp. That's the easy part. Then, with all of us standing on it, we had to flip the tarp over. Those of us who had been to the course before had tried this on a prior visit, but despite our best efforts, we hadn't managed to figure it out. This time, thanks mostly to Jen, we emerged victorious. However, there aren't any photos of it and the movie is currently too big to upload...I'll work on that.

From there, it was a short walk through the woods to the next element. Except that the short walk had a twist: half of us had to close our eyes and be guided through the woods by a partner. And this wasn't a nice, wide, flat path. It was narrow, rocky, and had plenty of ups and downs. It also had a plank, probably 18 inches wide and 8 or 10 feet long serving as a bridge across a small creek. Needless to say, this was quite a challenge. Unfortunately, we were all a little too focused on making sure no one went for an unplanned swim to take any pictures, so you'll just have to use your imagination here.

The walk through the woods led us to the zipline. Basically, you climb a ladder up to a series of staples (they look kind of like small horseshoes) and up the staples to a platform that's about 30 feet off the ground. From there, you're hooked up to the line itself which runs a couple hundred feet through the forest. Then you take a deep breath and either scoot, walk, or jump off the platform and go on an awesome ride through the trees. The scenery is amazing and the rush is incredible. Getting down requires some assistance: a couple of volunteers haul a ladder over to a wooden platform, unhook you from the line, and run the rope back to the platform for the next crazy, amped-up individual to grab it. Also, someone occasionally needs a little help stopping. If you end up in the position of having to do this, allow me to give you a piece of advice: F = ma. Thus, even if you're trying to stop a relatively small person, you're stopping them cold from probably 10 or 15 mph. It's a little harder than you'd think... Anyway, the pictures...

All right, that's about all the room I have for this installment. I'll work on the next one and get that up as soon as possible.

Peace and God bless!

At long last!

I finally have [most of] the pictures from the ropes course!! ...Unfortunately, I still have to sort through them, but hopefully within a day or two there'll be a complete retelling of the events of that wonderful, wonderful day:-)

Here's a preview...