Central Maryland

And now, cinched to a safety line atop a three-story platform, I’m about to find out what it feels like.

I’m at Go Ape!, a treetop-adventure course at Rock Creek Regional Park in Derwood, and I can’t help but notice that the ground is very, very far away.

“Try to jump up and out instead of straight down,” says the perky onsite instructor, as I stare at the giant rope swing and wonder whether my affairs are in order.

“And when you get to the other side, just grab the netting and hang on.”

Sounds simple enough.

Until I actually jump.

“Aaaahhhh!”

After a short freefall that feels way longer than it really is, I’m suddenly rocketing toward a wall of netting stretched between enormous trees. “Just grab it and hang on” is easy in theory. But when you’re hurtling toward it at a million miles an hour?

Not so much.

Instead of grabbing the netting, I bounce off once, then twice. On the third go-round, I manage to catch a handful (and avoid a face-plant). I’m also laughing so hard that I can barely scramble up toward the exit platform.

This place rocks.

“Lots of people love the course and come off raving about it,” says Go Ape! CEO Dan D’Agostino, who runs the year-old operation with wife Jenny.

“We don’t have anyone complaining that it wasn’t fun or exciting.”

Any why would they?

With five increasingly challenging sections boasting zip lines, bridges, swings, and platforms soaring as high as 40 feet, an afternoon at Go Ape! isn’t exactly same-old, same-old.

But as awesome as it is for the up to 500 thrill-seekers who conquer the course on a typical weekend, Go Ape! is even more special to D’Agostino.

“I went from kindergarten through high school at the Candlewood/Magruder cluster of schools, and it’s kind of neat that the course was built about a mile-and-a-half away from my parents’ home,” says the Montgomery County native.

“It’s an area I know very well, and it means a lot to me.”

What means a lot to me right now is that I’m moving pretty smoothly through the treetops without completely wussing out (not that there’s anything wrong with that).

I paid close attention during the mandatory 30-minute pre-course tutorial, I’ve become one with my safety harness, and I know not to make a move up a rope ladder or across a foot bridge without first securely “clicking in.”

I also learn something new during an unfortunate zip-line landing: My hair can hold a lot of mulch.

Injured pride aside, the crash-landing is painless (and hilarious, judging by my friends’ reactions). Because as white-knuckle exciting as Go Ape! can be, it’s also exceedingly safe and accessible.

“The course is built for everybody,” says D’Agostino, who plans to open other installations around the country soon. “It’s not an extreme adventure. There are hard routes and easy routes throughout the course.”

And every last one of them is a blast.

So the next time you’re in the Lake Needwood area and hear someone whooping like Tarzan, look up. It’s probably just a fellow Free Stater going ape.

Embrace your inner vine-swinger at Go Ape!, located at 6129 Needwood Lake Drive (at the intersection of Needwood Lake Drive and Beach Drive) in Rock Creek Regional Park in Derwood. Hours vary seasonally. For more information, call 1-888-520-7322 or visit  www.goape.com.