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Canopy Tour: Four Corners' Style

Soar Through Tall Timber

story and photos by Shawna Long

Found in: | Outside | Sailing | Where to Go |

" There was a girl who met up with a wolf, back in Distant Time, when wolves were human. The wolf wanted her for his wife, even though he had two wives already. When he took her home, his two wives smelled her and knew she was human. After a while, she had a child - a boy - and the wolf decided to kill his other two wives. He did that, but afterward the spirits of those two wolf wives killed his human wife and ate up her insides. Since then, women are never supposed to kill wolves, and they should not work with wolf hides until the animal has been dead for a while. They must follow these rules until they are too old to have children. - A Koyukon tale "

Getting Started

userfiles/images//CANOPYwebmap.jpgWhen: Soaring Tree Top Adventures operate from May through October. Reservations are required. Restrictions: Participants must weigh between 50 and 250 pounds. Children must be comfortable performing activities independent of parents. Long pants, close-toed shoes, long-sleeve shirt or T-shirt and jacket combo are strongly recommended. This all-day adventure operates rain or shine. Information: (970) 769-2357 for rates and reservations. Or visit soaringcolorado.com. For those wanting to stay at Tall Timber Resort, packages start at a 3-day, 2-night minimum.

Located in a remote mountain valley between the historic Southwest Colorado towns of Durango and Silverton, Tall Timber Resort is in its first year of offering an unforgettable high-flying excursion through Ponderosa pine and aspen forest - an arboreal canopy experience, Four Corners' style.

Access to the resort and Soaring Tree Top Adventures is limited to either helicopter or the Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, a steam-powered, antique train into the San Juan Mountain Wilderness. Tall Timber, a remote five-star resort known for its peaceful beauty, normally caters to clients and their families for retreats while enjoying such pastimes as fishing, hiking and relaxing in a pristine setting. However, the canopy tour is available to the general public.

Soaring Tree Top Adventures is the brainchild of Denny Beggrow and his son Johnroy, owners of Tall Timber, who decided to incorporate extreme adventure into their resort, bowing to the trend of eco-tourism that has captured the nation's attention. Similar in concept to the zip-line canopy tours offered in the rain forests of Costa Rica, Soaring Tree Top Adventures has developed a state-of-the-art, aesthetically designed tour, described by one writer as "evocating the woodsy elfin settlement of Lothlorain in 'Lord of the Rings'" The Beggrows's system puts a soft touch to the term "zip line," which refers to the loud noise made by "zipping" down a line on more primitive systems. Using coated helicopter cable, the soaring client hears only a soft humming sound during the flight.

Our canopy tour was met at the resort by the Beggrow family, including Dionne, Johnroy's wife, a former Floridian and Disney executive who has taken to the trees with enthusiasm. From the meet and greet, each participant is fitted with a secure full-body harness. Clients are then given a brief orientation and led to the first tree platform up a ramp extending directly from the second story of the Soaring Learning Center. Stainless steel platforms, large enough for 12 adults to stand on comfortably, are attached to each centuries-old Ponderosa pine with tree-friendly, steel collars. An amazing feat of engineering, the system has received a nod from arborist David Temple, who said, "These old girls won't even know you're here." Assisted by a Sky Ranger, in our case the Beggrows themselves and a staff member, our harness was equipped with a pulley and hooked onto the overhead cable. Instructed to "step off when you're ready," the client takes the first exhilarating flight to a tree, landing gently on a platform. The slight downward angle of each cable allows gravity to take its course and deliver the participant safely to each platform, gradually descending from tree to tree.

There are 27 trees in all, 32 platforms and over a mile of cable to create a 4 �?½-hour wonderland of flight. One memorable stretch was 500 feet through a beautiful aspen grove, which would be breathtaking in fall colors.

Our group was fed a gourmet lunch in the lodge, only because the tour's lunch platform had yet to be placed. Lunch is now being served in the trees. After lunch, eager to get back into the harnesses, we soared through the remaining trees reluctant for the adventure to end. Rappelling to the ground, we headed to the riverbank for yet another flight, this time over the wild, blue-green waters of the Animas River; close enough to see the fish jump. As our adventure came to a close, my thoughts remained in the trees and were warmed by the beauty of soaring through them.