Life at Whitworth South: Canopy Tour

On Saturday April 2nd, all of the student here at Whitworth South went on a zip-line canopy tour. The tour was through a cloud forest, with 11 different cables over rivers and valleys and forest. It was all quite lovely. Reminded me a little of the good ol' green-green Willamette valley, tropicalized a bit.

This was the start of our tour, up to a big platform. It made me want to live in a Swiss Family Robinson treehouse even more than I already did! So now I'm sure...I'm living in a tree at some point, at least for a while.

We went on with the tour, having tons of fun, seeing lots of gorgeous scenery, and even finding a huge black beetle the size of a Twinkie (no joke) Here is a picture that Lauren took...

Thanks Lauren!

So, the canopy tour was great fun, and I could tell you about how high up we went at times, how many cool plants we saw (check out the strangler fig!) and all of that jazz, but I have a better story...

Of course, at the beginning of the tour we were given the instructions about how to ride the lines safely and all of that. One hand on top, head to the side, lean back, and tuck in your feet. The last one will become the most relevant in just a minute. This keeps you from spinning around and running in to trees and all.

Us getting the directions for the zip lines.

Photo from Canopy Adventure

They told us all those things. Yes, I knew them, I kept them in mind.

What they didn't tell us was what you should do if, while leaving one of the platforms backwards, you shoe happens to catch on the edge and slip part way off.

*Just for the record, my shoes were on tight. I had just tightened on that exact platform. How ironic.*

So, my shoe slips part way off, and I instantly have many thoughts running through my head.

"I'm supposed to tuck my feet. I can't see what is in front of me. A tree branch just brushed my feet. If I tuck them under me (and hence closer to any trees) my precariously balanced shoe will fall off for sure. If I don't tuck them I will start to spin*WHACK*"

Just before the whack I had spun just enough to smack my right leg (shin, ankle, calf, all aren't right. What is right between those three?) directly into a tree trunk. Then I began to spin quite furiously. Although I thought this was quite entertaining and fun, my shoe did not agree and promptly excused itself from the party, preferring instead the tranquil quiet environment of the jungle floor, presumably.

And so I arrived at the other end of the line with only half a pair of shoes.

Nonetheless, the rest of the tour was very enjoyable. And besides that, I have a much more exciting story than I would have had otherwise, and also more room in my suitcase! Perfect!

Here I am with both shoes.