A League of Our Own : Caught in the Ivy: New Hampshire Day 3

SHOWER!! Aaaahhh. Happy again and hair down. :)

We headed for our next destination, giving ourselves plenty of time to stop and discover small town America at our own pace.

We wanted to rent a canoe and paddle out on one of the many beautiful lakes, but it had rained all night and looked like more was on the way. Best to go to the White Mountains and look for moose.

Still no moose, but we stumbled on this covered bridge:

The drive was more and more mountainous and breathtaking. The clouds were also impressive.

Our big adventure for the day was... ZIPLINING!! When I think of it, I still can't believe we did it. It was so scary and exhilarating all at the same time. Neither of us like roller coasters or free falls... soooo what were we thinking?? I DON'T KNOW!! It just seemed like one of those things you had to do in NH. That, and spot a moose. The SkyRider Tour is the longest and highest zipline canopy tour on the east coast. We did not bring our camera, because we knew we wanted both hands securely on the harness. Here are some pictures and videos from the website: http://www.alpinezipline.com/adventure-tours/zipline-canopy-tour/photos-videos.aspx
Here's the one picture we took BEFORE the adventure:

Here's what we signed up for: Begin your descent from 50' up in a pine tree, with spectacular views of the western Whites. Ride the dual ziplines, racing your friends. SkyRider includes 5 ziplines and 5 suspended bridges, ranging from 800' to 1600' long and 200' above ground. Top off your adventure with "White Knuckle Pine," an 80' drop and zip speeds of up to 50 mph.

Well, needless to say that I (Rebekah) did not reach 50 mph because I was a "super cold"--code word for "lightweight," meaning that I may not make it to the end of the line, and could get stuck and need to be rescued like in the movie "Cliffhanger". Yep. You guessed it. On the longest run, I just didn't quite make it to the end, and felt myself slowing down--even though I was "cannonballing" like I was told! Sure enough, I came to a complete stop about 15-20 meters out. I said "Uh-oh" and immediately, one of the guys harnessed himself to the cable and pulled himself out to me. He said "hello" in a sing-song voice, like the trek was nothing, then he clipped me to himself and pulled us both in. He wasn't Stallone, but he was strong enough. Matt was "hot"--code word for "heavy enough to make it to the end with a loud crash against the cement brake, and basically running into trees." When I told him that I had gotten stuck, he said "I know! I saw you from the other end 1600 feet away!"

The last line was so, so scary. It had a terrible free fall and that's when the photographer captured moments of sheer terror. My worst fear began on the platform that was up the tree. I saw the guy before me jump off and his weight made the line sink in so much that it looked like he went straight down. I shouldn't have watched. So I panicked a little and told Matthew I didn't want to go anymore. I was basically holding onto the tree trunk (which, by the way, was swaying in the wind BIG TIME), and the guide's harness. The guides must have overheard and seen my hesitation, so they yelled "come on! you can do it! ONE... TWO.." and for whatever reason, I jumped on THREE! I still can't figure that one out. Must be some sort of psychological trick.

At the end, one of the other zipliners told me that my legs went wild during the free fall, kick style, then I gained control and tucked in nicely. What a compliment! It's interesting he said that because I remember every thought during that jump (except why I jumped on THREE!). I held on so high (and so tightly) on my harness that I was basically doing a pull up, rather than sitting in the "comfort" of the straps around my thighs and waist. As I was falling, I remember thinking: "OH MY GOSH!! WHERE IS MY SEAT?? THEY FORGOT MY SEAT!! I'M GOING TO FALL!! Oh. (and the zipline caught me, so I relaxed my arms) There's my seat. I can sit now. I'm safe. I made it. Hey! This is FUN!"

Matt claims he felt totally numb inside. I didn't see his initial jump, but I saw him ziplining down--and so fast! He must have been fine on the inside, because he made sure to make three different funny faces for the photographer. Typical.

That evening, we set up camp and searched for a moose on a highway known to have many moose. We found a swampy area and stayed until it was too dark to see much, even with binoculars.