Now for the most exciting part--

Hmm...so what's Apryl up to? This is Doug helping me get my gear on. What's the gear for? You'll see!


And a hard hat? Doing some mining? I look like I could have been on Zoolander. I like this picture with my cute pointy nose profile--too funny!


And up we go. There were metal prongs to use to climb with--about 1-2 feet apart--18 of them total.


A little perspective. I don't know how tall it was. 35 feet or so? Enough to freak me out.


Now, by this point, that little pole is wobbling like crazy as well. The idea is to stand up--and then jump!


This moment was one of the hardest in my life. My muscles were all shaking and starting to cramp up. If you have any issue with heights--you'll understand! Just stand up, I kept telling myself. See that little tiny platform? The other trees look close, but they weren't! Nothing to hold on to!



I did it! And then this next picture is just after I jumped. It looks kind of like a flying squirrel. It was actually harder to get from the pole top to the platform and stand up, than it was to jump. But that second before the ropes tighten was interesting! I made Janine look me in the eye and promise she wouldn't let me fall before I'd go up the pole. I had a neighbor who's husband fell and had a brain injury that really messed him up...because the spotter wasn't paying attention (it was a scout thing--so much for be prepared)...so I wanted to be extra sure I could trust Janine. She was awesome!



This is Doug hugging me (I clung right to him--so glad I made it and didn't die!) and then Jamie in the red, Andrea, my buddy in the white, and then Becca in the stripes. They were so awesome to root me on!

I did it! And it's true--life is different after doing something like this. Most things in life are not very scary at all, compared to what this was for me. It's a great lesson in perspective!