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I'm not afraid to admit that I'm scared of heights. Standing 50 feet off the ground on a lightly swaying tree platform at the new Go Ape Zip Line and Treetop Adventure in Kansas City's Swope Park didn't inspire a whole lot of confidence in my heart — at first.
But the two safety cables attached to my harness (which are strong enough to support an SUV with five people in it) ease my instinctual concern.
The feeling I get from jumping across narrow beams and clambering up vertically suspended nets is something I thought was lost to the halcyon days of the McDonald's PlayPlace. One thing McDonald's didn't have though: 500 foot-long zip lines.
Jungle (err, woods?) boogie
Though Go Ape's newest course inspired some fear in me, co-owner Dan D'Agostino says that's completely normal for first-timers.
"You get a little bit of trepidation in people because they're doing something outside their comfort zone," D'Agostino says. "One of the fantastic things about the course is giving people that courage and confidence to experience it and do it in a safe, rewarding manner."
D'Agostino and his wife Jenny opened the first Go Ape course in the United States in 2009, and they now have 14 locations throughout the country. The concept started in the United Kingdom about a decade before that, and D'Agostino thought it'd be a great way to get American thrill-seekers out in the wilderness.
"We've even had a 92-year-old grandmother finish a course, so it is an experience for everybody," D'Agostino says. "My mom in particular is deathly afraid of heights, but she was able to do the course because she was focusing on the training we provide."
The course
After signing the requisite legal waivers, I joined a group of about a dozen waiting to be trained. You've always got at least one cable, called a "trolley," hooked onto cables that wrap around the course, and you've got another line just in case.
The course itself is made up of various wooden planks, rings and ropes attached to tree platforms, as well as "Tarzan swings" into cargo nets. There are five sections, each ending in high-speed zip lines.
It should be said that I'm not what you would call "in shape," so the course was physically strenuous. Kansas City councilmen Jermaine Reed and Quinton Lucas both went through the course, and Lucas agrees that it was a challenging three-hour climb.
"The hardest part is when you're stuck just climbing for a moment and you're like, 'I just want to give up,' Lucas says. "But you have to keep going. I'm sure it's some great metaphor for life."
Though the pure rush of flying down a zip line just inches away from tree limbs is undeniable, I found that the most memorable part was something much more powerful.
Simply taking a moment to breathe in the spring air as the trees lightly swayed was surprisingly serene. Hearing the chirps of birds and squirrels at level with the newly budding trees as mounted patrolmen from the nearby KCPD stables sauntered below filled me with a sense of peace.
It showcased Swope Park's natural beauty in a way that you simply can't get on the ground. And by the time I snapped back to the next Tarzan swing, my fear of falling unceremoniously onto the hard, hard ground had subsided and the adrenaline started pumping again.
Go Ape opens Saturday, April 9. Participants must be at least 10 years old, 4 feet 7 inches tall and cannot weigh more than 285 lbs. Tickets range in price from $29-$58.
Cody Newill is a digital editor at KCUR 89.3. You can reach him on Twitter @CodyNewill or send him an email at cody@kcur.org.
