Have you ever been on our K3 Zipline? It’s a thrill.

First you climb a ladder into a 45-foot tower. Then you walk across a rope bridge suspended high above the ground, with nothing but the sky and narrow boards beneath your feet. Once inside the tower at the other end of the bridge, you’re attached to the zipline and asked to sit on the edge of the 55-foot tower. Your heartbeat quickens. Your palms sweat. It’s just you and your harness, the pulley and the line. You swallow big. And lean forward into the open air.

And then? Then it’s magic.

First, your stomach leaps and your heart skips a beat because of the free-fall. But as soon as it happens, it’s over, because the line catches you and then you’re just sailing through the air. The wind whips past your face and through your hair. The trees go by in a green blur. You feel free.

What do most kids say when they’re standing on their own two feet at the bottom of the zipline?

“Can I go again?!”

Birch Bay Ranch is a place for adventure. We have so many amazing activities that require you to step outside your comfort zone, conquer your fears, take a leap of faith. The K3 Boardwalk and Zipline are not physically difficult activities: you don’t have to be in great shape to conquer them. But for some people, conquering their fears is the most difficult part.

In a recent article in the Calgary Herald, Tim Gill, a writer and researcher on childhood, discusses the fact that children today aren’t engaging enough with uncertainty, which prevents them from learning skills they’ll need later in life. He doesn’t claim to be a parenting expert, but he does have over 15 years of experience researching what he says to be the gradual loss of children’s ability to handle uncertainty. The exact same uncertainty a kid might feel as they stand at the top of the zipline, knowing that it’s safe and having seen how much fun their friends had trying it, but fearing the free-fall.

“We need to remind ourselves of how much children like and want to have that sense of freedom, that taste of adventure,” he says.

We agree with him. Almost every kid who was afraid to go down the zipline is always really glad they took the leap. And we are so glad we can provide a space for them to embrace that adventure!