It was in my middle school years that my time spent at Yosemite were at its peak. Every year my family and I would head up to a camp there for about 3 weeks, to take in the beauty of nature and enjoy various camp activities. The camp provided many activities, from hiking trips, to arts and crafts, to horseback riding, to even the event known as ‘The Big Swing”, in which a person was attached to this huge machinist strung between two huge Redwoods, and then, through others pulling on a huge rope, was lifted to one horizontal and vertical extreme, in which case the line would be cut, and the participant was left to drop about 90 feet, and enjoy one of the largest swings in existence. Suffice to say, it was an enjoyable time.
But the Big Swing is not the activity I will be talking about in my piece, no no no, not at all. This is because, through all the many activities at this camp, many ranged from relaxing, such as tie dye, to thrilling, such as the aforementioned “Big Swing”. But one activity stood above the rest in terms of fear and thrill. It was not the rough riding skateboarding, or the dirt sledding, or even the Big Swing itself. No, this one was truly a step above the rest. And it wasn't even truly the activity itself that was daunting, but the process of getting there that was. You see, the activity was ziplining, which in and of itself was thrilling enough, but the process of getting there, that was the challenge. You see, the camp did not have it start at the top of some hill, or some other easily accessible place.No, instead they had it start at a more, let's say, ‘natural’ starting point. As some of you may have guessed based on the location, the start was at the top of a 250 meter tall Redwood. And the way up there wasn’t exactly easy.
The reason why climbing the tree was such an ordeal was due to its rather unorthodox climbing method. Now, those of you who are experts at the fine art of tree climbing know that the easiest trees to climb are those filled with various branches and footholds, as to make a variety of routes in order to get to the top as simple as possible. The majestic Redwood tree, however, has no such low hanging branches, as all of its foliage lies at the top of the tree. So, how does one get to the top in order to go on the zipline? Here in lies the danger, and therefore the thrill, that makes this part of the zipline the most terrifying activity at camp: The metal stakes. These stakes are inserted at regular intervals up the tree, and eventually lead to the platform at which you can zipline. The problem lies in the fact that one has to climb 250 feet up the red wood in order to get there, a feat made all the more difficult by the facts that I was around 13 years old at the time, and not in the best of shape to boot.
In a nutshell, it was not easy. That wasn't to say that the camp didn’t try and make it easy or safe, as they had many precautions to make that happen. This came in many forms, one of which was a pulley system in which a person would catch you if you fell, and help you if you needed it. Overall though, you had to pull yourself up to the top, which to be honest, just required simple repetitive motions in order to do that. The real battle was in the mind, as I had, and still continue to experience, a severe fear of heights. So, as I climbed it took every bit of my willpower in order to keep moving forward, and not give up. Even then, it took multiple attempts in order to get it done, but once I did I, for a lack of better words, felt absolutely amazing. It felt like I had just won a war, and I felt as every bit elated and ecstatic as one might expect. After that, I even got a nice reward, a zipline all the way to the ground below.
What I learned from this experience was a powerful lesson indeed, and it goes as follows, ““One Does Not Overcome Fear, One simply Learns How to Face It”. This lesson has served me well since, as I know that all fears or hesitations can be overcome, and that after each one is dealt with, it becomes easier to face the next one, and the one after that. Suffice to say, I have gained tremendous amounts of confidence from this lesson, and I know that as long as I stick to it, I can at the very least try to face anything life throws at me. Whether I succeed at these endeavours is another story entirely. Overall though, this is a lesson I am glad I have learned, and I hope you have some confidence yourself from it.
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