On the days when it gets to be just too much, you find yourself just desperately needing to get off the ship and do something, anything, that’s different from your routine.
In my case, I just decided to fly.
With, as usual, the help of some sturdy steel cables and a couple of industrial strength carabineer clips.
The weather couldn’t have been better for ziplining. We’ve been having what, in Alaska, equates to a true heat wave. Actual warm bright sun for the entire week. This is nearly unheard of. Alaska you normally need sun block just because it’s overcast and it’s a healthy habit to get into, not because there’s any *direct* risk of being burned. This week though, we’ve all been wandering around port in light t-shirts and shorts.
Escorting tours in Alaska is quite a different experience from the more regimented rules that come with performing the same duties in the larger more exotic ports. When I last functioned as an escort it was in Rome, and my experience on that trip actually put me off signing off for a long time. But in Alaska the groups are smaller, the tours more adventure-oriented, and – to be totally honest – the guests who go on things like zip lining tours are much less likely to depend on the arm of an escort. So it was that I found myself sitting dutifully at the back of the back of the bus as we wove our way through the back-roads and up into the mountains above Ketchikan.
For the last leg of the journey to the platform the tour rides in a huge open-sided four-by-four that requires a very step set of stairs to climb into. Once at the top of the trail we all trooped into prep area and stood patiently while the guides explained all the safety rules (all long hair in low ponytails, wear gloves at all times while zipping, do not touch your gear let the guides perform all adjustments for you, and don’t ever brake in front of the carabineer trolley), and strapped us into felt like ten pounds of gear.
And then, finally, you can leave your troubles behind at very high speeds.
I don’t even want to compute how fast the average zip goes. But I do know that at one point I nearly didn’t make a high enough top speed to make it to the end. I was about two feet short of being a bird on a wire and starting to slide backwards. The thing is, this has happened to me before – it often does when one is of a slight build – so I know how to whip myself around and pull myself in hand over hand. I may be a lady, but at least no one has to rescue me!
So I got to spend my afternoon flying down a mountain side. The course ran a grand total of six zips, one very easy rappel, and one 250ft “slide of doom” (actually, the slide was somewhat terrifying, if one can be scared of an oversized piece of playground equipment!), before we all stumbled to the four-by-four that took us back down the mountain and funneled us through the inevitable gift shop.
It’s been a very strange, and very difficult week in a lot of ways, there have been a lot of little things happening ship-side that are hard to describe and probably wouldn’t sound like much to someone who wasn’t directly involved in the situations.
So for one shiney shiney? It’s so nice to just fly away for a few hours…