A leap of faith in White Mountain.
Dangling from ropes at high altitudes and fast velocities. That was the plan, to zip line across mountains in the Appalachians. As a first time visitor to the east coast, my friends planned the excursion and left me in the dark – I didn’t know what to expect and assumed we would simply hike up one mountain peak and zip line across to another. After driving to White Mountain National Forest, we reached our destination at a small roadside business.
Not one half-hour later, I was fully geared in zip lining equipment, sitting in an off-road vehicle that was climbing up the mountain. Our two tour guides were enthusiastic, amusing, and almost even convinced us that their deliberate erratic driving was due to multiple suspended licenses.
We finally reached the line, to which I was pleasantly surprised. We were at a full-fledged zip lining course filled with multiple lines spread out throughout the area. Our zip lining package consisted of five jumps which reached up to a quarter mile long and speeds of 50 miles per hour. In between the jumps we climbed up ladders and walked through planks built atop trees.
The course was not intended to be a sporadic one-way trip, but rather an immersion with the temperate rainforest which we traveled through. I didn’t find myself anxious to reach the next jump, but rather absorbed the fact that I was walking in the middle or on top of the forest. Little time was spent walking in the snow, and we were constantly pitted against shaky bridges elevated 40 feet off the ground. I felt the park was designed in this manner to maintain visitor excitement levels, and it was certainly kept me thrilled.
Born and raised in the west coast, I have been exposed to the Sierra Nevada, the Cascade Range, and the Rocky Mountains on multiple occasions. Having never zipped before, I’m happy to have experienced it on the Appalachian Mountains.
