Tag: Swing

Another camping trip

pottymouth818Leave a comment

The last couple of days I was on a camping trip at the Salton Sea. I had a good time because everyone on the trip was upperclassmen, primarily seniors. I don’t hate the freshmen, I just don’t want to be around them. 

The best part about the trip was destroying myself by falling onto a cement plank and into a pile of thick mud (made up of chemicals and fishbones) that smelled like horse doo-doo. Kate had been filming me on the swing and I was calling her name to try to get her attention to film me jumping off of it when the seat slipped out from under me. I twisted straight off the swing, contorting my back, and landed in the most perfect place. I  don’t remember the last time I fell so hard and so out of nowhere; I never saw it coming. 

The trip was also good because the weather was nice. At night having the weather be pleasant makes a huge difference.  I usually get anxious when I have to stress about bulky layers and staying warm, but this time that wasn’t the case. I wasn’t worrying about when the weather would get to me. 

A final contributor to this good time was the fact that it was only two days long. I didn’t feel like I had to hunker down and prepare for war. It was a quick trip that I was just able to simply enjoy. 

Camping is also a great time because I always love talking to people on my trip. 

Overall it was a great trip and I’m glad I was on it.

“Tent Camping” by Ben Duchac/ CC0 1.0

The SkyCoaster

kirbyfullyloadedLeave a comment

I think it’s safe to assume everyone has been on a swing.  Most people have been to a fair and seen those trampolines that have harnesses and you can do flips in.

Mix those two together and add some extreme.  You might get a general idea of what the CIMI SkyCoaster is like.

This year, the camp introduced the newest edition of CIMI equipment.  The SkyCoaster is essentially, a giant swing.  It stands about 30 feet tall (same as a tyrannosaurs rex) and is located behind the rock wall in the eucalyptus grove near campus.

There  is a pull crew and a catcher on the ground.  The camper straps into a full body harness, climbs a ladder, and is hooked in to a towline; the pull crew wear climbing harnesses with carabiners secured to the towline and pull the camper up 30 feet in the air.

A ripcord is attached to a pulley system and the camper counts to 3, out loud, so the pull crew can brace themselves before the drop jerks the towline. After pulling the cord, the camper falls 3 feet and swings 26 feet out and up into the air.

Read More »