Trek Mountain Girl: Grafton Zip Line Adventure

Getting ready for an Adventure

About a year ago, the Aeries Winery in Grafton Illinois added a Zip line to it’s activity options. I thought about going a few times, because you know we adventure racers are always up for something new. I had zip lined in various places, from the Wymann center in Missouri to the jungles of Mexico. Of course Mexico was the largest, coolest and most dangerous of all the zip lines.

For instance, in Mexico, we were not given helmets and the brake we used was a V shaped stick that we had to find in the woods. The towers to get on the zip lines looked to be built out of scrap wood, they were very shaky and felt as though they might fall at any minute. At the end of the landing platforms were old mattresses and there was no mechanism to slow down a rider if he/she was coming in too fast. The day we went, it was raining and the lines were fast and the stick brake did not slow you down no matter how hard you pulled down on it. The ride was a scary rush of excitement, but we found it to be very dangerous and no one knew that better than my mom. She flew in on a line of about 2000 feet from I don’t know how high, it seemed like 4 stories, her stick brake did not slow her down, so she hit the mattress hard, flipped backwards and hit her head on the platform, creating a big gash in her head with lots of blood and I’m sure a concussion. We had to take her to a hospital on the resort we stayed at and have her head stitched up.

The other zip lines I have been on were at climbing camps and during adventure races, they were much safer with all the correct safety equipment.

So when I heard about these new zip lines, I wondered how safe they were, how big they could possibly be and how much it cost to try it. When I found out the price, I thought it was really steep compared to other lines I had been on, plus I wasn’t sure the hills were big enough for them to be very long or very high. I really didn’t think I would try it, but then my some of my family started working there and a friend also went and said it was great, which made me want to try it.

So last week, my girls Jade and China and I made a trip to Grafton, it was a nice cool overcast day just perfect for an adventure. We met the girls Aunt and Uncle there and their Uncle Donny even went with us, using China as his training person because he was in training to start working the tours. Not to say that China was a little worried when he hooked her up, but the regular tour guide, Tatter, double checked Uncle Donny’s work.

We had a great time, I took along my adventure camera and got some good shots during the Zip Tour. Our guides were great, they knew what they were doing, they were funny and kept us moving and having fun. I think there were about 12 people in our group and it took about 1:45 to get through all 9 lines. It was exciting, the lines were very fast, the equipment was top notch, the tour guides, Kyle and Tatter were great and we had a really good time. So although I’m cheap and thought the price was steep, I would do it again, it was well worth the cost they charge to do it.

Oh and the entire time I was out there, I could see paths below us and my thoughts were “this would be a great place for a trail race or adventure race”, maybe we can talk the owner into putting on a race, I’m sure it would sell out just like the Pere Marquette Trail Run does.

So if you get a chance take a ride up the River Road and check out the Grafton Zip Lines and stop by Aeries Winery after for a taste of the good stuff. I guarantee you won’t regret it.