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trembling!” I thought, ‘‘Hmmmm, I must be the only one who isn’t feeling terror.’’<br />
I was wrong. The moment I stepped to the edge of the platform, I was seized by fear.<br />
Holy smokes, am I really going to jump off this platform? It looks like 10 stories! What’s<br />
it going to feel like? Is my heart going to jump out of my lungs? How long am I going to<br />
be free falling? All these thoughts were racing in my head, while the rest of the crew was<br />
chanting, “Do it, Mom! Do it!”<br />
I inched forward. Half of my feet were off the platform. I thought, what the hell,<br />
and gave it a gentle jump. Well, that wasn’t successful. My “ jump” was way too gentle. I<br />
landed on my butt on the platform. I laughed so hard that my fear melted away. Our third<br />
guide, Ben, kindly asked if I was okay. I said yes and wished he would just give me a big<br />
push off the platform. That would’ve been better. The chanting from the crew grew louder:<br />
“Do it, Mom! Do it!”<br />
I stood up and embraced all my fears. Next thing I knew, I was flying down… I didn’t<br />
dive too far before the rope pulled me up again and I started to bounce in the sky. I saw<br />
only trees, beautiful trees around me. It was a moment of joy, tranquility and peace before<br />
I landed in the arms of our guide and the crew erupted in cheers. Birthday Boy teased me,<br />
“Oh, I saw you wanted to go, but not the legs!”<br />
The last zipline was the longest, and the one where you had two parallel ziplines.<br />
Sammy and I were the mother-and-son team. I made sure our GoPro, courtesy of our<br />
friend, was recording, and off we went!<br />
I thought for sure I’d be ziplining faster than my son, but not this time. By now, he’d<br />
already grown into a more deft zipliner, knowing how to angle his body for speed; threequarters<br />
of the way in, he was still ahead of me, but I was catching up, possibly due to<br />
heavier weight. This is the only [Pacific Crest] zipline where you don’t have to slow down<br />
on your own — it had some kind of smart braking system. The lower we’d go, the higher<br />
the speed. I felt like we were about to crash into the end when there was a sudden stop, so<br />
forceful that I bounced back. Another line pulled us and made us stop. It ended so fast and<br />
I already wanted to do it all over again!<br />
PHOTOS: Courtesy of Pacifi c Crest<br />
The high speeds, the views, the mediated recklessness of it all were intoxicating<br />
for them both, while I enjoyed the opportunity to drink a hoppy, mango-infused IPA<br />
at The Village Grind. It was a great day for us all, the high-speed offerings of Pacific<br />
Crest zipline adventures and the sedate pleasures of Wrightwood were about as perfect<br />
a Sunday morning as you could hope for. ||||<br />
Ziplines at Pacifi c Crest is located at 6014 Park Dr., Wrightwood, about 68 miles northeast<br />
of Pasadena by car. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Tours range from the 90-minute Quest<br />
tour, with four zips for $85 per person, to the Ultimate All-Day Adventure, with 15 zips as well<br />
as rappels, bridges, hikes and lunch for $209 per person. Book your tour by calling<br />
(760) 705-1003 or visiting ziplinespc.com.<br />
06.19 | ARROYO | 21
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