I love that I live in a place that I can encourage my sense of adventure within a short car ride. I had never been ziplining before and the Lake Travis Zipline Adventure promises the longest zipline in Texas and the second longest in North America. After a little safety demonstration and some instruction, we were suited up in a helmut and harness and off to the first zipline. The first 2 ziplines were shorter and allowed us to get use to flying through the air before reaching the point of no return (other than by zipline, of course!) when we got our first glimpse of flying over the lake.
It was a really windy day when I chose to go which made the adventure a little more interesting. To get across the lake we were going against the wind so our guide instructed us on techniques to go quicker across so we wouldn't get stuck. It came down to either cannon ball style of lying flat like a pencil and I chose the pencil. As I was getting closer to the jump off the platform I had to laugh at myself because my fear of not making it all the way across was greater than the fear of actually jumping! As I stood at the edge willing myself to lifting my feet and mentally preparing to become a pencil, I took a few seconds and found the courage to make the jump. Immediately my heart started racing and I could feel the wind on my face and running through my hair and a great rush of adrenaline as I became a "pencil" in shear determination to make it across. Trees passed under my feet and then cleared to a beautiful view of Lake Travis below with the wind blowing against me but my fears of not making it across cleared as the opposing platform neared and I came in for landing.
The well touted "longest zipline in Texas" was the most anticipated one of the day and the most work to get to. The hike was about 22 stories in height and felt like you were going straight up. I consider myself to be in decent shape but I wasn't sure I was going to be able to make this one. After a rest break where my legs basically told me they weren't going any farther unless I stopped for a minute, I finally made it to the top to the reward of an amazing view. This zipline was 2 side by side so you could race with a friend. On your mark, get set, go! And we were off...I have to admit I was the slower of the two but I wanted to take in the view! It was gorgeous and all that work to get to the top was soooo worth it. On the last zipline of the day, the wind was at our backs and we sailed over the water at speeds probably close to 60 mph which was amazing! The stop, however, a little less so. Let's just say the whole day ended with a bang...literally. But the incredible rush of it all was definitely worth the little rope burn souvenir I took home with me for a few days!
It was a really windy day when I chose to go which made the adventure a little more interesting. To get across the lake we were going against the wind so our guide instructed us on techniques to go quicker across so we wouldn't get stuck. It came down to either cannon ball style of lying flat like a pencil and I chose the pencil. As I was getting closer to the jump off the platform I had to laugh at myself because my fear of not making it all the way across was greater than the fear of actually jumping! As I stood at the edge willing myself to lifting my feet and mentally preparing to become a pencil, I took a few seconds and found the courage to make the jump. Immediately my heart started racing and I could feel the wind on my face and running through my hair and a great rush of adrenaline as I became a "pencil" in shear determination to make it across. Trees passed under my feet and then cleared to a beautiful view of Lake Travis below with the wind blowing against me but my fears of not making it across cleared as the opposing platform neared and I came in for landing.
The well touted "longest zipline in Texas" was the most anticipated one of the day and the most work to get to. The hike was about 22 stories in height and felt like you were going straight up. I consider myself to be in decent shape but I wasn't sure I was going to be able to make this one. After a rest break where my legs basically told me they weren't going any farther unless I stopped for a minute, I finally made it to the top to the reward of an amazing view. This zipline was 2 side by side so you could race with a friend. On your mark, get set, go! And we were off...I have to admit I was the slower of the two but I wanted to take in the view! It was gorgeous and all that work to get to the top was soooo worth it. On the last zipline of the day, the wind was at our backs and we sailed over the water at speeds probably close to 60 mph which was amazing! The stop, however, a little less so. Let's just say the whole day ended with a bang...literally. But the incredible rush of it all was definitely worth the little rope burn souvenir I took home with me for a few days!
