Summer in the city is getting old – fast. The city streets offer no redeeming breezes to fight the sweltering heat, and the subway has transformed into a sauna. By mid-June, I found myself continuously daydreaming about the beach. I needed to find something new to do outside of the city, that preferably didn’t involve hours of fighting through traffic (I’ll still come see you soon though, Jersey shore!). Luckily, I found the cure to my summertime city-phobia: canopy tours.
I slathered on some SPF, tied up my sneaks and picked up my friend Mel to make the short trip over to Schwenksville for a little summer vacation.
Upon arrival, our two guides took our group to pick up our equipment. After getting fitted with a safety helmet and harness, and getting a quick safety briefing and zipline instructions, we were off! You start off by taking a chair lift to the top of Spring Mountain (probably the last place you’d think of in the summer), hiking to a starting point and then you gradually work your way back down to the bottom through a series of zip lines, rope bridge challenges and rappels. 
It was a short hike up to the first station. Although the first line was the shortest, it was definitely the scariest since it was our first time trying to zipline. Peeking over the edge, I realized how high up we were. But before I knew it, my guide had hooked my harness onto the line and after a quick shout of “Ready to zip!” I was jumping off of the platform and flying through the trees. I quickly decided it was the most fun I had had all summer.
After going through two more ziplines, we were completely comfortable and having a blast. However, this comfort was not to last. Now 50 feet above the ground we encountered our first challenge: the Burma Bridge. With our harnesses hooked to a line above, we had to cross the 65-foot bridge, made of separate metal grids, with only two small ropes on the side to keep us balanced. Although it was daunting to take the first step onto the bridge, all of us made it across without falling off, and were confident when we heard that there were still three more bridges waiting for us.
After rappelling down a large poplar, racing up a Cargo Net climbing area and traveling down another zipline, we thought we could handle anything. 
The next bridge, called the “No Hands Bridge of Doom,” proved to be the most challenging and scariest part of the course. The bridge was made of the same metal grids as the prior ones, but there were only three metal steps and they were each separated by long gaps, filled solely by the two firm wires that held the bridge together. To make it across, you either had to take big leaps or try to walk across the wires, with nothing to hold on to. Trying to cross the bridge without instinctively grabbing our harness lines proved to be surprisingly difficult, but after much fumbling we managed to make it across.
Everything felt simpler after making it across the “No Hands Bridge of Doom,” and we were feeling adventurous. We continued through a series of ziplines, each increasing in length and speed and we even tried ziplining upside down. We faced two more ropes challenges, the Vine Traverse Bridge (you could either walk along a long rope and move by holding onto rope ‘vines’ or swing from ‘vine’ to ‘vine’) and the Tyrolean Bridge (in which you had to grab the rope, swing your legs up, and crawl upside down to the other side).
Our final surprise was in the Dead Man’s Drop zipline. Our guide instructed us to stand backwards with our feet hanging off of the platform, hold our arms out, and then fall backwards. After the momentary terror of free falling, the harness caught us and we continued on for one final zipline. This final line, which was the longest, was the most scenic, and took us out of the shade of the trees and back toward the lodge. After one final rappel, we were back on the ground and walking over to return our equipment. 
The time had flown by – we had been out for two hours, but it felt like 30 minutes (why couldn’t this happen at the office?).
Spring Mountain’s Canopy Tours had been even more fun than we had imagined. The tour was challenging and exciting, our guides were fun and friendly. Plus, Spring Mountain is such a short distance away from Philly that it’s a convenient escape from the city. The Canopy Tours are open year-round, and they even have special surprises around Halloween time, in addition to their usual Scream Mountain Halloween specials. The tour that Mel and I did was the Full Monty, but Spring Mountain offers other variations, including the Heart of Darkness (ziplining in the dark), Operation Team Challenge (great for team-building), and Vertigo and Easy Rider tours (easier and shorter than the Full Monty). If Canopy Tours don’t sound appealing, Spring Mountain offers a variety of other adventures, such as Geo Caching, a type of 21st-century high-tech treasure hunt; rock climbing on their four sided rock tower; the Spring Mountain Warrior challenge, only for the most extreme survivors; and Dr. Drill boot camps. No matter what type of adventure you choose, Spring Mountain will not disappoint.
Click here to see more Flickr pics from our day!
Spring Mountain Adventures is located in Schwenksville, PA. For more information, visit www.springmountainadventures.com.
AroundPhilly Staff
