the swing

Remember the thrill? The excitement you got when you first got on a swing. When you felt the rushing wind blow past your face as you pumped your feet. Trying to get higher and higher - but yet you were never satisfied. You never reached a point high enoough to think "wow, this is a little too high"

What would you say if I found a swing that brought you to that place and beyond?

I first heard of this swing about a year ago. I heard it was built on the edge of a cliff! It was huge and thrilling! But, noone would tell me where it is.

Only two people I knew, knew where it was, and they decided they wouldn't tell anyone where it was... Well, only one person, and only when they were leaving. They said they wanted to keep it a secret!

Well, what they didn't realize is that my middle name is William, which is actually short for Sherlock Holmes! I paid close attention to what they said, kept an ear to the gound for any clues. But they were good - all I figured out was that it was on the old trans canada aka the 1A.

I used some deductive reasoning - people knew where it was, and had to drive to it = there must be a parking lot...

I knew that more than just the two of them knew about the swing = well trodden trail

I knew there were only so many trails, but it had to be close to a cliff, and parking lot, and there would be a trail.

I figured I'd start my search at Muleshoe.

Now I wasn't the only person who wanted to find this swing. My good friend Jesse (friend from high school) wanted to find it as well, and he has skills only the most experienced young adults have... He uses Facebook! These girls made a huge blunder, they posted pics. He first said you couldn't see anything - to which I told him there must be a mountain we can identify in a pic!

Well, there was. And he figured the trail must be at muleshoe.

So, logically, we were both thinking. Muleshoe - so we started at Muleshoe.

We located a trail, and started hiking. It took us up a steep, well trodden path. (But not a well built path)

Eventually we came to a split, Jesse took the high trail, me the low trail. This is where I looked up to the top of the ridge and saw a bear! Good time to realize I didn't have bear spray on me!

So we chose to walk the low trail. Not 50 metres later we found it!

A huge, massive, super fantstic swing!

I'm talking big, like 30'+ from seat to end of rope. The seat was 5' off the ground! But it wasn't built on the edge of a cliff, but on a really steep hill.

It is imossible to describe the fear that o was rooted in as I stepped up to the swing. Would it hold me? Will I fall? It would really hurt if I fell! That's a long way down! Will that old tree of a cross beam hold under my weight? Ok, so I'm only 165lbs, but still... What if it breaks? How long has it been there? Can I trust it?

Well, there was only one way to find out, a test run.

It took every nerve in my body to convince myself that it might hold, and every muscle in my body to actually let myself swing!

The feeling I went through defies anything I have ever done. At least sky diving I could trust that the guy knew what he was doing, but here, I didn't trust the swing to hold.

But it did, and it sen me way in the air! Probably 60'+ at the peak of the swing!

It was crazy! Nuts! But oh so much fun!

It took a lot of convincing to get cousin Mel to go, but she eventually released herself to it.

I have a few pics, maybe I'll get them up on facebook.

Now, I mentioned a fox and wolf.

So I brought maddy to the swing this past friday, it was our last time to spend together before she move home (actually, she left this morning). But on the way to the swing I saw a red fox not 20' from me, and a Wolf not 50 metres from me on the eay back to the parking lot... Both sightings were in the same spot I saw the bear on the first trip! How odd eh?

Anyway, it's well past me bedtime!

Goodnight!