Granbury HS Finishes up Visit to MMA

Granbury High School Cadets completed their annual visit to Marine Military Academy on 28 February.  This was a four day whirlwind of activity as they attempted to take on all the events available on our campus.  Fifty five cadets were accompanied by the Granbury MCJROTC staff and as they left they all were indeed worn out by their activities.  Each day saw the cadets up before sunrise and off for a full day of adventure.  Cadets took on all of the courses on the LEAD Complex and actually finished the last event late on Wednesday evening.  Arriving at the academy on Sunday the cadets got themselves settled into the barracks and were ready to take on their first challenge early Monday morning.

Granbury Takes on the Tower

Bright and early Monday morning the Granbury cadets marched to the tower for a morning of rappelling and zipline action.  Cadets first had to receive instruction on wearing of harnesses and helmets and then were given a safety brief and demonstration.  All cadets were required to undergo ground training prior to climbing the tower for the real thing.  At this point each cadet had to face their own fear of heights and conquer them.  Although some were nervous, all completed the rappel portion of their training and moved on to the fun.  The 350′ zipline is always a high point for cadets as they race above the ground at a height of 30′ suspended by a small lanyard.  The OOHRAHs could be heard for miles!  This is one event that every cadets enjoys and remembers forever.  The scheduled afternoon event was to be High Ropes which had to be postponed due to winds gusting up to 50 mph.  Instead the cadets took on some of the low ropes course elements.

Granbury Takes on Low Elements

Weather was not going to stop the fun for Granbury so the cadets took on several of the Low Ropes Course elements and showed that they have the right stuff.  First on the agenda was the new Cable Traverse.  Two cadets take on the element at the same time, walking along a 3/8″ cable toward each other.  Each cadets has a rope to help balance however their rope is only long enough to reach halfway.  At midpoint the cadets must exchange ropes, pass each other without falling off the cable and continue on to the far end.  Balance and teamwork are essential to succeed and the Granbury cadets quickly demonstrated they had an abundance of both.

Next up was the ever popular Nitro Crossing followed by the Tire Swing.  The Nitro Crossing proved to be a real challenge as the gusting wind made the event extremely difficult.  At time the action came to a complete halt to let the wind die down a bit but the cadets pressed on and finished it well.  The Tire Swing which appears simple proved to be a real challenge at first.  Cadets again figured out how to negotiate the event and the action picked up speed quickly.  By the end of the session all cadets had mastered both events and had a lot of fun in the process.  Late in the day the High Ropes course was rigged for the cadets to take on first thing in the morning.  These cadets were not going to be denied their chance to take on fun and games at high altitude!

Granbury Assaults the High Ropes

The next morning saw the winds gone and weather cooler and the cadets were ready to take on the High Ropes.  Four events were ready for them to tackle and again following a demonstration and safety brief, the cadets jumped right into the fun.  A High Cable Traverse, Pipe Dreams and Raider Bridge started off the action which culminated on the famous Power Pole.  Cadets moved quickly from one event to the next to try and get as many completed in the time allowed as they were next heading to Paintball.  Again the cadets showed little or no fear of the heights and successfully completed all the events.  Paintball, Obstacle Course, Confidence Course, Leadership Reaction Course and a myriad of other activities still awaited the cadets in the final day of activity.  By the time the cadets loaded up for the return trip home they were indeed worn out but happy with this year’s trip.  We enjoyed their visit this year and look forward to their return again next year.