By Samantha Carson
Dating during a pandemic was one of the strangest experiences of my life.
I met my now-husband, Michael, on eHarmony in late January 2020. Slowly but steadily, we progressed from messages to phone calls to video chats. We were starting to discuss an in-person visit to his home in Colorado when the lockdown was announced.
So much for our plans.
Eventually we decided Michael would come visit me. We planned thoroughly and were careful in our precautions, spending most of the time doing outdoor activities away from others. A visit to the aerial obstacle courses and ziplines high in the forest at TreeRunner Adventure Park in Raleigh was one such activity.
Having grown up in small towns, neither Michael nor I had ever been anywhere like TreeRunner. Set in the heights of the loblolly pines on the Jewish Community Center campus in Raleigh, TreeRunner’s aerial obstacle courses integrate themselves into the existing natural world rather than destroying it and building on top of the remains.
We started on the ground with an orientation to the park and an introductory ziplining lesson. The harnesses, carabiners and gloves required are reminiscent of those used in rock climbing. Once we learned how to use our equipment and practiced zipping low to the ground, we were released to take on one or more of the obstacle courses in the air or on the ground.
To reach the aerial obstacles and ziplines, we walked up a set of stairs from the ground onto the Main Deck, a central platform from which we could choose a course by level of difficulty. On each course, various obstacles hung suspended on ropes stretching from platform to platform, leading from one tree to another. We made our way across cargo nets and planks forming rope bridges; tried to keep our balance on ever-shrinking platforms swinging between trees; and zipped from one tree to another or back to the ground at the end of the course. We even tried out the 40-foot auto-rappel jump, another first for each of us.
We were both exhausted by the time we finished. Choosing more difficult courses meant climbing higher into the forest and navigating obstacles requiring greater balance and coordination. At one point, my arms—not used to the strain—nearly gave out in the middle of a course. When we finally reached the auto-rappel jump, we each hesitated, looking down at the drop and reconsidering how badly we wanted to impress the other.
We each did it. We each loved it. We each impressed the other.
Five years later, Michael and I are married and running our own business. We go on adventures whenever we can and frequent escape rooms and hiking trails whenever we travel.
And we go ziplining every chance we get.
TreeRunner would also be a great place to take kids over the summer. They specifically have “Summer Adventure Camps” and junior courses for kids. If the little ones don’t want to do the courses/ziplining, they can participate in gem mining or the putt-putt course that’s on the ground and goes under the trees and zip lines.
For additional experiences to bring people closer together, check out our article Bonding Through Adventure!
