New River Gorge Bridgewalk

 Wow! How do I even express the emotions felt on this walk? Originally, Scotty looked online and the slots were filled. I later found that they would book a few people that called in that day. So I called and booked a 3:00 slot. Immediately afterwards, I began to think, ‘What the hell did I just do?’ But, we showed up and apparently, my anxiety showed as another young lady named Alison began talking to me. She was on her 1 year anniversary trip and her husband convinced her to go. We decided to walk beside each other - wimps unite! The guide showed us how to pit on our harnesses. The trans-fastener that attached our harness to the steel cable cost $900 and that somehow gave me some relief. If it costs that much, it has to be good, right? (Just don’t think about it’s purpose!!) The walk is a 2 foot steel walkway with 2 railings on each side. It is underneath the bridge - a 4 lane highway so you’d be protected from precipitation. And they do tours all year long! The guide was great, she asked a couple of times at the beginning how we were feeling. All were good so we proceeded. Of course at the beginning, we walked above the trees. I couldnt help but think, would I be safer falling into a tree, or the river farther out! Not good thinking, I know. One of our first views below was a white truck parked below and a few people. They looked as small as ants, okay, as small as gnats!! I couldn’t believe I wasn't more scared. As we walked along, our fastener would sometimes get stuck on the safety cable intersections. We were instructed to give it a tug. More than anything, that was annoying. We could also feel the walkway shake some and definitely could hear the larger vehicles passing overhead. I thought that might bother me, but it didn’t. As usual, when I travel with my engineer, he’s looking at the structure and pointing things out to me. He noticed the trap doors we walked over before the guide had even pointed them out and the numbers on the 70 cable supports. We learned that the steel weighed 44 million pounds and the cement pillar bases also weighed 44 million pounds. That was by design to act as a counter-balance. The bridge cost 37 million dollars and was completed in 1977. The more we walked, the more I appreciated this engineering marvel and enjoyed the views around us. It was a fantastic experience and I’m really glad we did it!