Zip-lining the world's longest zip-wire course

For its May outing, Troop 50 headed to Georgia for an overnight campout and day of zip-lining and other outdoor activities at Historic Banning Mills, near Carrollton. The zip line course features nine zip segments, along with a sky bridge and tower. Although the troop only completed a portion of the facility's zip-line course, the entire course, which extends more than 39,127 feet in combined length, has remained since 2012 the world's longest zip-wire course, according to the Guinness World Records. Consisting of 135 ziplines, the entire course would take more than 12 hours to complete.

The rain the area experienced shortly before the troop’s arrival Friday evening resulted in a damp evening of overnight camping. After a leisurely morning of cooking breakfast and packing up gear, the troop enjoyed several activities at the facility, which included a round of miniature golf and a nature hike. The hike took Scouts and leaders past the enclosure where Liberty, a bald eagle billed as the newest member of the Banning Mills staff, now lives. Liberty coincidentally once resided at Auburn University's Southeastern Raptor Center (we'll forgive Banning Mills for the War "Eagles" reference!). Unfortunately, Liberty was shy during our visit and didn't come out for pictures.

Michael readies for the first leg of the zip-line course.

The troop reassembled for lunch, which was followed by a rousing round of “Happy Birthday” sung in honor of Jake’s 12th birthday — complete with celebratory Krispy Kreme donuts! The troop then headed over for the 90-minute zip-lining experience, which included a very detailed safety briefing and demonstration before Scouts and leaders took to the trees for some zip-lining fun — and even a little screaming here and there!

Thanks to the Banning Mills staff, there are numerous photos of the troop’s zip-lining experience available in the troop’s online photo album for download. And, thanks to Gideon, one of our Scouts, we have a Gideon's-eye view of the course from his helmet-mounted GoPro camera!

Our Gideon's-eye view of one of the initial zip-line segments
(as an aside, the staff member who receives him at the end of the segment is an Eagle Scout!)

Gideon makes his final descent at the end of the zip-line course.

The troop took Monday, May 20 off from its regular troop meeting, as well as Monday, May 27 for Memorial Day. At its next meeting on Monday, June 3, the troop will conduct leadership elections to fill troop positions for the second half of 2019, as well as elections for Order of the Arrow membership. It will conclude its 2018-19 troop year with a court of honor on Monday, June 10, and its summer camp trip the week of June 23 at Camp Rainey Mountain in Clayton, Georgia.

Flying high in the mountains

     The Zip and Splash crew headed back to the Nantahala Outdoor Center this morning for another round of "high" adventure. This time we were set to tackle the eight zip lines at the top of the mountain above the NOC. Our scheduled arrival time was at 8:30 AM, which meant that we had to leave Camp Daniel Boone by 7:00. Since this did not allow us the time to eat breakfast, we hit the road with a boxed breakfast consisting of a biscuit, egg (synthetic), chicken patty, and an apple fritter. This hit the spot and gave us the energy needed for the morning ahead. When we arrived at the NOC, we were met by the adventure program director and the training director. They had been in communication with the scout executive for the Daniel Boone Council about the accident from yesterday. They listened to our concerns and offered their assurances that they were working hard to ensure that such an accident could not occur again. They also wanted us to know that the zip line program we were about to do was safe and staffed by well-trained guides. This was certainly the case.  We had three, very good guides, one of whom was a trainee, who were well informed and provided us with an excellent experience.

Our group is geared up and ready to begin our training.

     We were outfitted with full body harnesses and helmets, along with the safety lines and pulleys needed for the zip line cables. After a short drive up a very steep road, we came to the start of the course. We began with a session that provided us with the instructions for how to zip and most importantly, how to brake as we came to the end of the line. After a demonstration by one of the guides for how to do all of this, we were hooked up to a low, short cable and allowed to slide down the line and brake. This let us see what it was like before we got to the real thing.

Hunter is hooked up to the first line by our guide Chewy.
His hairdo is the source of his nickname. 

Trey prepares for a landing at the end of the second line. 

     We climbed a stairwell up to a treehouse that was the starting point for the first line. Each of us was hooked to a safety line that ensured we were always hooked into something. One of the guides went down the line first to assist us as we came to the end of the line. The second and third guide maintained contact with him with a walkie-talkie. They then got us hooked up to the line and sent us each on our way. Each line had a specific characteristic depending on the angle. The first one ran hot, which meant it took more braking at the end to slow down. The second line ran cold since it didn't need much braking. The third line, as you can probably guess, was just right.

     Each of the lines began and ended on a platform in the trees or on top of telephone poles. The fifth line finally brought us back to good ole Mother Earth but we were not there for long. The sixth zip line was the longest, stretching for almost half a mile.

The guys climb the tower to the start of the half mile zip. 

Our group poses for a photo at the top of the tower. 

The zip line disappears into the distance.  

     The guides informed us that we would have quite a view as we traveled down this line. in addition to the mountains and Fontana Lake, the view downward was also spectacular. At one point we were 340 feet off the ground as the mountainside sloped downward to a ravine. The previous lines had only taken us about 15-20 seconds to cross. The traverse down half a mile took 45 seconds. We were also instructed to pull our legs up and our elbows in to reduce wind resistance as we zipped. This was intended to ensure that we maintained enough momentum to reach the platform at the end. Unfortunately, despite the fact that we were zipping at a speed of around 50 mph, none of us were able to reach the platform and had to pull ourselves hand over hand the last few feet. After the experience of the mega-zip, the last two zip lines seemed anticlimactic.  

     Following a drive back down the steep road, we turned in our gear and enjoyed another leisurely lunch beside the river. We are now headed back to Camp Daniel Boone where we can visit with the rest of the troop and engage in some afternoon programs at the camp. However, my first act upon arrival is to convince some of these scouts to take a shower and put on clean clothes. Some of them appear to have foresworn bathing for the week. Wish me luck.
     The photos for today are found here.

A hop, zip, and a jump

     My apologies for the late post. As you will see, events conspired against me in trying to get this post out. Our second day of program turned out to be quite an adventure. After breakfast we loaded aboard the van and returned to the Nantahala Outdoor Center. Soon we found ourselves standing next to a mosquito-infested marsh as we geared up in full body harnesses and helmets to attack a variety of aerial obstacles.

Trey, Joe, and Nick brush away the mosquitoes as they wait for the helmets to be issued.

Wes is ready to go as well.

     The adventure course consisted of several elements connected to a 50 foot wooden tower. There were two sky walks where participants followed a path across a series of elements. We balanced on ropes, steps, and logs as we made our way across the course. In one place, a giant spider web made of ropes was shared across the upper and lower levels. Everyone made severals trips through both routes during the two hours of our scheduled time.

Joe crosses the lower side of the spider web.

     A zip line stretched across the road, starting up the hill next to the NOC tennis courts and ending at the top of the tower. We also made multiple runs down the line during our time on the course.

Nick takes flight at the beginning of the zip line.

     Three rock wall routes snaked up the side of the 50 foot tower. They were divided into beginner, intermediate, and advanced routes. Nick, Joe, Trey, Hunter, and the scoutmaster worked their way up each of the walls and most made it to the top after some encouragement from the assembled masses.

Trey begins an ultimately successful climb to the top of the wall. 

     After a lunch break spent beside the river, during which Mr. Williams discovered a nice set of relaxing chairs, we were on to the next challenge. The afternoon was spent on the alpine tower next to the same mosquito marsh. The alpine tower was made of logs set as a giant tripod with another upside-down tripod attached at the top. It made the structure resemble a giant hourglass. There were three climbing routes to the top that ranked from easiest to hardest. Each route contained different handholds, rope ladders, and steps. The hardest route contained a giant's ladder consisting of 4x4 timbers set as the rungs about five feet apart. Several of the scouts and the scoutmaster successfully made it to the top on the easier routes but no one was able to conquer the giant's ladder on the hardest route.  
   

Joe pauses about halfway up the tower.

     The final element of the day was called the "swing by choice." This consisted of a cable hanging about twelve feet above the ground. A participant climbed a ladder and was hooked into the cable. A rope was then looped through the harness for the participant to hold in place. The end of the rope was then taken up by the rest of the crew and used to pull the participant upwards towards the side of the tower. The participant then had to release the loop of rope and allow himself to swing downward through about a 50 foot arc. The element combines the fearful sensation of falling with that of flying like Spiderman as you swing back and forth across the arc. Hunter, Joe, and the scoutmaster were the only Troop 50 scouts who were willing to give it a try but each of us did it multiple times.

Hunter is hooked into the cable and is ready to be pulled upward.

The other participants pull Hunter up.

Now he is ready to release his grip on the rope.

He swings through the air like Spiderman.

     Unfortunately, the event that put a damper on everyone's willingness to participate was an accident that occurred on the alpine tower. As one of the other Zip and Splash participants (from another troop) was being lowered off the tower, the NOC staff member who was belaying him lost control of the rope and the scout fell the last ten feet to the ground spraining his ankle. The NOC medical staff checked the scout on the scene but he was then taken to a local urgent care facility by the Camp Daniel Boone van, accompanied by the camp staff member and Mr. Williams. The scout was not seriously hurt but the accident has likely halted his participation in the program for the remainder of this week. The incident put us behind schedule for returning to camp and also necessitated the writing of incident reports by Mr. Williams and me as witnesses to the accident. We are heading back to the NOC this morning to do the mountaintop zip line course. While we understand that accidents can happen, we intend to keep a closer eye on the scouts and the staff while we are zipping through the mountains.

     The online photo gallery is now activated. All of the photos from the troop at Camp Daniel Boone and the Zip and Splash program are grouped by days. Sunday's photos are found at this link and Monday's are here. Photos from Tuesday are found at this link. Tweets are also rolling to the troop Facebook page.