YOU COULD BUY A DINKY, READY-MADE this once the supplies arrived.
kit with a short zip line for kids, but why not You’ll need a buffer between the cable and the tree
make your own industrial-strength zip line that it is attached to — otherwise, the tree will actually
will support the heaviest of neighbors? It’s a fun grow around the cable and, over time, completely
project you can tackle in a weekend. You can order engulf it. For this purpose, I bought three 1x6 boards
all the parts on the web for less than $300. of pressure-treated deck flooring and cut them into
First, you’ll need to find a suitable location for several 1-foot lengths. I went ahead and drove the
your zip line. Depending on the lay of the land, you’ll nails partway into the boards so I wouldn’t have to
be choosing between two basic types of zip line. do so once I was at the top of the ladder. I nailed
If you would like to put your zip line on a steep the boards into the tree vertically so that they
hill, you’ll need to use a
braked zip line, which has
a brake block attached
to bungee cords that Instead of risking life and limb,
^{slow you down as you} _{approach the end of} I took the cable halfway around the
^{the line. If your site has} tree and then chose the base of
^{a more gradual incline,} _{you can use a grav-} another tree to secure the cable.
ity-stop zip line that
simply uses gravity to slow you down. I knew small encircled the trunk with small gaps in between them.
children would be riding mine, so I chose a gravity This allows the cable to attach securely to the
stop because it is tamer, and our property layout tree without actually touching it. On a couple of
made this option ideal. the boards, I drove a nail about halfway in so the
cable would be supported by it and wouldn’t slide
down the tree.

FIRST STEPS

Photography by Terri Bennett

I surveyed my property and identified two large
oak trees that were far enough apart and only had LAYING CABLE
a few very small trees between them. I measured When the cable arrived, I unwound some from the
the distance between the trees and ordered the spool, climbed the ladder and circled the tree one
following parts from Starlight Outdoor Education full time, and then secured it with two cable clamps.
( starlightoutdoored.com). Depending on the diameter of the tree, you may need
For a permanent zip line, you’ll need long eye- a second person and ladder to help, as the cable
bolts, drilled through the entire tree trunk, to attach tends to be unwieldy, especially on top of a ladder.
the cable to. I knew I might move the zip line in the I unwound the rest of the cable toward the other
future, so I chose a more temporary technique to tree and nailed the boards to the second tree.
attach the cable. Because the cable on the second tree is so high,
Depending on the run you’ve selected, you’ll need I knew it would be difficult and dangerous to tighten
to determine how much cable to purchase. The cable the cable and clamp it at that height. Instead of
comes in a spool in multiples of 250 feet. You should risking life and limb, I took the cable halfway around
get more than you need because you’ll need a bit of the tree and then chose the base of another tree
play on both ends. to secure and tighten the cable to. This allowed me
While I was waiting for the supplies to ship, I to use the come-along (a.k.a. the hand winch) to
started preparing the site. I had to clear some small tighten the cable standing on the ground rather
trees and underbrush to create a path between the than at the top of an extension ladder.
two trees. I also started visualizing how far up each To tighten the cable, I took it around the tree and
tree I was going to need to attach the cable and put two clamps on the cable without tightening
how steep the slope should be. I knew there would them. I then clamped a loop on the end of the cable
probably be some trial and error, but taking some so I could attach the come-along to it. Because
time to plan ahead of time definitely minimized there was so much tightening that needed to occur