Camp Erdman: Odyssey III (Part 3 of 6)

Continued from the previous post...

The moment everyone had long anticipated finally arrived: Today, is the Odyssey III Challenge Ropes Course! The Odyssey III was the biggest highlight at camp. It is also the greatest and scariest challenge the camp has to offer. Newly installed in January 2006, the Odyssey III Challenge Ropes Course is only available to a handful of camps around the world. In fact, there are only six that exists in the entire world. It is a great privilege that one is located here in Hawaii! Aren't I lucky? =D

Everyone looked slightly nervous as we slowly walked toward the Odyssey. There was much talk about whether people were going to try it or not. Before camp, we even had to send in a liability form. I walked with Cam and he exclaimed how high the Odyssey looked. I asked him if he was going to try it.

"Well, we paid for this thing so we might as well try it. I'm not going to waste my money."

I realize that what he said was very true. Although it was gigantic, I actually didn't feel at all scared. Rather than fear, I felt a sort of adrenaline rush. It's strange why I felt this way when everyone else said how scared they were. I was surprised to see Luli again, carrying some equipment. The class split into two groups and somehow, I ended up in Luli's group again. There were eight girls including Ally, Misaki, Hoang, Erica, Ha, Samantha, Juri, and myself.


Odyssey III high up.
After we put on our harnesses and helmets, Luli guided us to the high-level (thirty feet) first. He claimed that if we tried the harder challenge first, the low-level one (eighteen feet) would seem very easy afterward. Ooh boy. ><;


Hera we are, thirty feet up high. I'm wearing orange!
On the first obstacle, we were allowed to hold on to the ropes at the top. An occasional pole suspended by the ropes would show up and we were allowed to grab onto it. Although this turned out to be the easiest, I remembered how much my arm ached as I held on for dear life. It hurt so much that it literally felt like it was about to break off. I continued to hold on because I didn't want to fall. I felt so happy when we finally finished the first course. Walking on a thin rope thirty feet up high in the air was a terrifying experience, but it wasn't so bad afterward.


Our first obstacle with the poles.
The next challenges weren't as easy because we weren't allowed to hold on to our ropes at all. There was one where I had to push a rope in front of me and I kept losing my balance and falling backward. Luli would keep holding me up. I really need to work on my core muscles! u_u; The hardest challenge was when we had to share a rope between two partners. Erica and I were partners holding one side of the rope while Hoang and Ha held the other side. We couldn't hold onto anything else except that one rope. This really required teamwork and it was difficult for us because we kept apply different amount of pressure on the rope at different times. Erica and I would pull with all our might and it wouldn't be balanced because Ha wasn't helping Hoang pull the rope. When Ha did grab for the rope, the force became so strong that Erica and I couldn't hold on because we were weak. Erica kept threatening to fall but I tried to hold her up the best that I could. I'm glad she's so small because it would have been more difficult if it were a heavy person. XD There were many times that her imbalance through me off as well and we were both about to fall, but Luli was in the back of me so we didn't. I knew that we were safe even if we fell because we were attached securely in our harness but I still refused to fall.


Another challenge we had to do - and it's way harder than it looks!
Misaki's crow bar would get stuck every time so it was difficult for her to move forward when the rope was holding her back. During this challenge, it was the first time Misaki and I talked so much. She confided in me how scared she was. Although I didn't say much, I felt that I was actually the weakest in the group. Even though Misaki's crow bar kept getting stuck, she was brave enough to move on forward and keep on going.

When we finally finished the second level, we were supposed to jump down. We would swing across on the rope (almost like a roller coaster) and go back and forth (depending on our weight) until we reached the ground. When it was time for Ally and I to jump, we shouted, "1...2...3!" Ally jumped on the count of three, but I froze. I was thinking to myself the whole time, "Finally we're finished with the high-level! Jumping down looks like fun. I can't wait until it is my turn to jump." I kept telling myself that this was easy. But when the actual time came, I froze! I FROZE! Nobody else froze, not even Erica and Misaki (the ones who were supposedly scared). I was the only one who hesitated. Luli stood behind me and said, "Well, it looks like you need a little help." Without any further warning, he pushed me off. Once I was in the air, it felt so much better.

We had only thirty minutes left before lunch after finishing the high-level. We decided to quickly go through the low-level. Misaki didn't want to go on the low-level, but we all persuaded her to try it. The high-level was harder but because we went there first, the low-level should be easy-peasy. In fact, to challenge ourselves even further and because we were also racing for time, the low-level became a sort of race between our team and whoever got across first would be the winner.

It was easy, except for one of the courses in which we had to jump from one platform to another on the ropes. Misaki went first. She leaped, missed, and fell. After watching her fall, I grew scared. I cheated and walked on the ropes even though I wasn't supposed to. This proved I was the biggest coward. I regret cheating now and I feel really disappointed in myself. It was the same at Ice Palace. I always needed to feel safe. When I'm skating at the big side, I would stick to the edges. I wouldn't even challenge myself to let go and skate in the middle because I was terrified of falling. When I was up at the Odyssey, people said that it was scary at first, but once you fell, it became fun. I knew nothing was going to happen to me but for some reason, I still couldn't bring myself to fall. I don't know why I am so petrified of falling. When we had to jump on some more platforms, I decided to just go for it and leaped. I was glad to be able to hold on to Misaki's hand when I reached the other side and also have Ha help me.

One of the other challenging obstacles in the first level was when I couldn't hold on to anything but my partner. In this case, my partner was Sam. We held onto each other's shoulders and slowly crept along, counting one and two as we took each step. This really tested our sense of balance and while everyone else rushed and fell, we concentrated on each step and made our way carefully through without falling once.

I felt so happy after completing the Odyssey III. We didn't go to camp just for fun. Teamwork and communication was stressed, emphasized, and said repeatedly. This is Leadership camp, after all. During the Odyssey, we had to work together with our teammates and trust and depend on our partners. If one person fell, it is easy for everyone to fall with them, which was why we needed to work together. People you don't normally talk to are there to help you. Some said they were glad to experience going on the Odyssey III, but wouldn't try it again. Ooh, I would love to go a second time but I highly doubt I would. It seemed like a once in a lifetime chance for me.

For lunch, we had huge burgers. It was so huge that I couldn't fit it through my mouth even when I opened it as wide as I could. Cam sat next to me and laughed at me with everyone else.

To be continued...