2012 - A Highline Adventure, Cloquet, MN

2012 - A Highline Adventure, Cloquet, MN

 

 

Hanging over the St. Louis River in the state forest near Cloquet, MN, there's a 1" steel highline conecting the two river banks. No one knows why it's there. No one knows when it was built. Even the MN DNR is not sure of its history.

Mounted aboard the carriage that rides the line is a geocache named Highline (GC3EHXK) by EskoClimber. Today, in an attempt to practice safety in numbers, we held a geocaching meet-and-greet event in order to complete the 4.5/5 rated geocache. About twenty of us gathered for the The Great Geocaching Circus - A Highline Adventure (GC4023F) and while I was the defacto chosen one to ride the wire, I think it is safe to say that all of the event attendees had a great time.

In order to ride the wire out to the carriage, I had built a zipline trolley out of 1/4" plate steel. Two plates were held in place with four 1/2" bolts. Two steel idler pulleys were mounted between the plates using 1/2" class 8 bolts serving as a shaft. The idea is that for safety, the trolley gets mounted onto the wire. Therefore, if any single piece failed, the entire trolley should stay mounted on the wire. The device worked more or less as planned. Though, one small design change would have significantly lessened the amount of work required.

Enjoy the photographs (click thumbnails for larger view)..

2012 - A Highline Adventure, Cloquet, MN Hiking the .3 mile to the highline Hiking the .3 mile to the highline	2012 - A Highline Adventure, Cloquet, MN A view of the highline and carriage A view of the highline and carriage	2012 - A Highline Adventure, Cloquet, MN A view of the highline and carriage A view of the highline and carriage
2012 - A Highline Adventure, Cloquet, MN Our group was organizing the approach Our group was organizing the approach	2012 - A Highline Adventure, Cloquet, MN Wow, the wire is higher than I expected Wow, the wire is higher than I expected	2012 - A Highline Adventure, Cloquet, MN Climbing to the launch platform Climbing to the launch platform
2012 - A Highline Adventure, Cloquet, MN Climbing to the launch platform Climbing to the launch platform	2012 - A Highline Adventure, Cloquet, MN Doublemoose was instrumental in setup of the trolley Doublemoose was instrumental in setup of the trolley	2012 - A Highline Adventure, Cloquet, MN Configuring the trolley for the ideal ride Configuring the trolley for the ideal ride
2012 - A Highline Adventure, Cloquet, MN Taking in the audience as we mount the trolley Taking in the audience as we mount the trolley	2012 - A Highline Adventure, Cloquet, MN Configuring the trolley for a safe ride Configuring the trolley for a safe ride	2012 - A Highline Adventure, Cloquet, MN Anxiety is starting to set in Anxiety is starting to set in
2012 - A Highline Adventure, Cloquet, MN Feeling anxious and the adrenaline is flowing, I almost gave up Feeling anxious and the adrenaline is flowing, I almost gave up	2012 - A Highline Adventure, Cloquet, MN Taking that first step was the toughest Taking that first step was the toughest	2012 - A Highline Adventure, Cloquet, MN I think she'll hold, double redundancy safety lines I think she'll hold, double redundancy safety lines
2012 - A Highline Adventure, Cloquet, MN Too far to turn back now Too far to turn back now	2012 - A Highline Adventure, Cloquet, MN A minor flaw in the trolley caused more work than planned A minor flaw in the trolley caused more work than planned	2012 - A Highline Adventure, Cloquet, MN Working the wire Working the wire
2012 - A Highline Adventure, Cloquet, MN Headed down to the carriage over the river Headed down to the carriage over the river	2012 - A Highline Adventure, Cloquet, MN Working the wire Working the wire	2012 - A Highline Adventure, Cloquet, MN More effort than planned and taking a rest More effort than planned and taking a rest
2012 - A Highline Adventure, Cloquet, MN One last break before attempting to climb into the carriage One last break before attempting to climb into the carriage	2012 - A Highline Adventure, Cloquet, MN Climbing into the carriage Climbing into the carriage	2012 - A Highline Adventure, Cloquet, MN Climbing into the carriage Climbing into the carriage
2012 - A Highline Adventure, Cloquet, MN My heart is racing.. I made it My heart is racing.. I made it	2012 - A Highline Adventure, Cloquet, MN Connecting the line to the carriage Connecting the line to the carriage	2012 - A Highline Adventure, Cloquet, MN The crowd is pulling me back The crowd is pulling me back
2012 - A Highline Adventure, Cloquet, MN I am being pulled back by our geocaching friends I am being pulled back by our geocaching friends	2012 - A Highline Adventure, Cloquet, MN Almost back to the launch platform Almost back to the launch platform	2012 - A Highline Adventure, Cloquet, MN Still anxious but I am almost there Still anxious but I am almost there
2012 - A Highline Adventure, Cloquet, MN Mission accomplished Mission accomplished	2012 - A Highline Adventure, Cloquet, MN Geocaching mom was relieved that I survived Geocaching mom was relieved that I survived	2012 - A Highline Adventure, Cloquet, MN Now mom wants to go for a ride Now mom wants to go for a ride
2012 - A Highline Adventure, Cloquet, MN Mom and Barb (Two of Hearts) getting shoved off Mom and Barb (Two of Hearts) getting shoved off	2012 - A Highline Adventure, Cloquet, MN Mom and Barb (Two of Hearts) going for a ride Mom and Barb (Two of Hearts) going for a ride	2012 - A Highline Adventure, Cloquet, MN Mom made it back to safety too Mom made it back to safety too
2012 - A Highline Adventure, Cloquet, MN I decided I wanted a ride I decided I wanted a ride	2012 - A Highline Adventure, Cloquet, MN On my way out riding the carriage On my way out riding the carriage	2012 - A Highline Adventure, Cloquet, MN On my way out riding the carriage On my way out riding the carriage
2012 - A Highline Adventure, Cloquet, MN On my way out riding the carriage On my way out riding the carriage	2012 - A Highline Adventure, Cloquet, MN A view of the St. Louis River looking east A view of the St. Louis River looking east	2012 - A Highline Adventure, Cloquet, MN A view of the St. Louis River looking west A view of the St. Louis River looking west
2012 - A Highline Adventure, Cloquet, MN A view from the carriage looking back A view from the carriage looking back	2012 - A Highline Adventure, Cloquet, MN Being pulled in by the crowd Being pulled in by the crowd	2012 - A Highline Adventure, Cloquet, MN Being pulled in by the crowd Being pulled in by the crowd
2012 - A Highline Adventure, Cloquet, MN That's all she wrote That's all she wrote	2012 - A Highline Adventure, Cloquet, MN The carriage heading back to its resting place The carriage heading back to its resting place	2012 - A Highline Adventure, Cloquet, MN The carriage in its resting place The carriage in its resting place