Facing My Fear – My TreeUmph! Adventure Course Experience

Posted on May 20, 2017 | 0 comments

I have always had a fear of heights, even as a young child. I would close my eyes as we crossed bridges, silently sing or count to myself as I rode the chair lift up the ski slope, and stayed as far from the edge as possible when hiking… but I would never let it hold me back from doing and trying new things.

Now, as a mama, I want my children to experience as much as they can without any restrictions. I refuse to pass on my silly fear of heights!! So when we were on a recent amazing trip to Sarasota, FL, I had heard about TreeUmph! Adventure Course through the Visit Sarasota website featuring 5 different level courses, I knew this would be a great adventure for the kids, my parents and I to have and I would get to face my fear of heights!

What is TreeUmph! Adventure Course?

TreeUmph Adventure Course opened in 2013 on about 10 acres of wooded, breezy property in Bradenton, Fl, just outside Sarasota. It is a fantastic rope, treetop adventure with 5 levels of courses to choose from.

Their levels range from children (perfect for kids age 7 and up) to the scramble, ascend, lead and summit courses (perfect for age 9 and up). Here are a few shots of them.

Children’s Adventure Course:

Junior & Adult Courses:

What To Wear To TreeUmph! Adventure Course

Given that it is warm and sunny and you will be getting a good workout, I recommend wearing a tank top or t-shirt and shorts. Good, breathable socks and comfortable sport shoes. Wear sunscreen and if you want to wear a hat or sunglasses, make sure you bring something to secure them to your head with.

Bring a sweater for before and after as well as it can get a bit chilly!

My TreeUmph! Adventure Course Experience

We arrived when they opened right at 10. It was sunny and warm out and there was a nice breeze. TreeUmph! Adventure Course is all underneath the trees and very shaded, which was really nice.

We checked in at the window and were given our harnesses, gloves, water wristband and adventure wristband. It is a little extra for the water wristband, but totally worth it as you will get very thirsty, it is hard to carry your own water and there are coolers everywhere filled with little waters perfect for you to drink and recycle.

I was really nervous, until I saw the gear. And a very nice staff member helped us into it and I felt very secure. Their gear is in perfect condition and seriously strong. Once the staff goes over you to make sure you are properly in, you move to the first training section where you learn to use their safe clamp system. One can not be removed without the other first being attached so that you are never not attached to something. This was making me feel better! My kids were totally excited and had no trouble mastering this (I’m ashamed to say faster than I did…).

We moved to the next training section where we watched a movie on various emergency procedures and then were taken to the final training course which is only a few feet off the ground, but lets you get a feel for what it will be like. It was fun!

Now we were ready. Of course, I had to let my kids go first… The Children’s Adventure Course is really fantastic! It starts with a long climb up a rock wall and then a rope bridge. Both of mine shot right up and across and were laughing and having a blast!

It took them about 25 minutes to complete the course and the zipline at the end was one of their favorite parts – they also loved crawling through the tunnel! At one point, one of my littles got stuck and an awesome staff member climbed right up and helped them.

After they completed it the first time, I knew I had to mama up and try my own course – which of course was the next level junior course, scramble! I walked over and literally began to shake. I knew my kids were going to watch me go up before they started their second round, so I was not going to stop. My dad was laughing at me, knowing full well how I felt!!

There was another staff member there who was very kind and reminded me that there was no way for me to fall to the ground and that they could be up to help me in seconds if I needed. So up I went! I quickly clamped myself in and hugged that post for dear life! I had to laugh at myself and remind myself that I was safe and nothing was going to happen.

I heard the people behind me encouraging me and that was very cool. I loved the friendly vibe this place has. I laughed when it was a 12 year old kid behind me who shimmied right up the pole like it was nothing!!

There was no turning back so I went forward. My goal was to get across 4 bridges and then take the ladder down! I’m not going to lie, I had to talk myself through it. The staff on the ground and the kids behind me encouraging me along helped too!

But I DID IT!! Take that fear…!!!

I was shaking pretty hard when I got to the ground, but that was quickly replaced by a good feeling of accomplishment and pride! And it was pretty fun! Though I may not have completely overcome my fear of heights, I gave it a good kick in the pants that day!!

I walked the rest of the course to check it out and was totally impressed with how intricate some of the course was and the huge zipline was super fun too – some people reach up to 40 miles per hour on it!!!

The kids did their course 2 more times and finally we were hungry. We had brought a picnic, they have a lovely picnic area there in the shade so after we had turned in our harnesses, we had a nice lunch and headed home to the beach.

The day was a complete success. We had such a good day here, if you are in the area and with a big group or small, you will definitely want to spend some time here.

Click to easily book your tickets on TreeUmph! Adventure Course and on Visit Sarasota to start planning your next family vacation!

I heard they are opening another course this summer in Hernando, click here to learn about that – we already can’t wait to try it!

Cheers and safe travels!

Malibu Mama Loves Xx

Thank you to the awesome people at TreeUmph! Adventure Course for sponsoring this post and taking such great care of us!