HENNIKER, N.H.
What is it about the concept of leaving solid ground behind and playing in the trees that touches a nerve in so many people?
Some people just shudder and hake their heads "no" when you even suggest such a thing. Others grin in a way that can only be interpreted as "Let’s GO!"
You know what? It’s the people in the first category who have the most fun on a treetop adventure course -- if they can bring themselves to take that first step off the ground.
Treetop adventures, aerial adventures, canopy tours, zipline adventures, treetop obstacle courses, or whatever you choose to call them, used to be rare but are now sprouting up all over the landscape.
Many ski areas here in the Northeast have found them the ideal way to increase their summer traffic. This means there’s at least one nearby for you to try. And, believe me, it’s worth trying.
The first one Marilyn and I tried was Adventure Lafleche (www.aventurelafleche.ca/en) in the Outaouais Region (www.tour ismeoutaouais.com/enca) of western Quebec, north of Ottawa.
I was eager, Marilyn was nervous (to say the least) at first, but she tried it anyway. I imagine that her delighted shriek when she stepped off that first zipline platform is still echoing around the hills up there many years later. We were immediately hooked. Since then, we’ve also done two other courses
The first was Arbre Adventure in Eastman (their website is only in French, but they gave instructions in English and you can find basic information at www.eastern townships.org/activity/440/arbre-aventure).
The second, which we did last September, was Arbre Sutton (www.pleinairsutton.com/sum mer.html) in Sutton, Quebec, just a couple of miles from the Vermont border. Fun, fun, fun.
I’d go back in a heartbeat.
As far as I’m concerned, the Quebec courses are still the crème de la crème among the aerial adventures I’ve done.
Here in the States, most of these operations have a guide with you every step of the way. But liability laws are considerably more relaxed (more sane? personal responsibility, what a concept!) in Quebec, so they don’t have to babysit you every second. Instead, they teach you how to keep yourself safe, then turn you loose on the course.
Personally, I like that, but other people might prefer the added security of closer supervision.
The first canopy adventure tours I know of in New England were at Tenney Mountain in Plymouth, N.H, (sadly, now closed) and Alpine Adventures in Lincoln, N.H . (www.alpinezipline.com) which is still going strong.
Unlike most of these courses, which use ski lifts to reach the starting point, this one takes you up the hill in a six-wheel-drive military transport (an adventure in itself). Then you zip down on a series of ziplines.
They offer two options. One, the "Treetop Tour" starts easily at ground level and takes you down the hill in stages, gradually ratcheting up the height and speed.
The other, called the "SkyRider," launches you at 60 feet in the air for an immediate adrenaline rush. We haven’t done that one Š yet. In fact, Marilyn and I have several of these courses we are eager to try this summer. She’s nervous; I’m not.
That’s my only problem with these aerial adventures; I’m not the least bit scared of heights. I enjoy the experience, enjoy the adrenaline, but I never get that added thrill of overcoming something that scares me silly.
I envy the people who shudder at the thought of standing on a platform high in the trees and launching themselves out into space to fly along on a thin wire rope (that, in realty, could hold up a ca). The people who are the most scared are the ones who have the most fun.
Life isn’t a spectator sport. Get out and enjoy!
Tim Jones is the executive editor of the online magazine Eastern Slopes.com and writes about outdoor sports and travel. Email: timjones@easternslopes.com.
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