Highline walkers face fears at Gatlinburg SkyLift Park

GATLINBURG, Tenn. (WVLT) - It’s not for the faint of heart. A group is walking a 75-yard-long line of webbing beside Gatlinburg’s SkyBride and they’re doing it 150 feet in the air!

The daredevil highline walkers are capturing the attention of crowds at SkylLft Park.

“It’s probably about 75% mental, you know, we’re a couple 100 feet in the air and what we’re trying to do is essentially push that fear to the side, focus on our breath work focus on the line and our balance and it’s almost like a moving meditation,” said Daniel Wilcox with Rucksack Circus.

Wilcox said you have to trust your support system. There is a backup in case something fails. Otherwise, it’s not something you’ll be successful with on your first try.

“So, really it just takes practice just getting out there each time. You know a lot of people do. Battle the fear of being up so high and on such a wobbly little bridge,” said Wilcox.

This is not a brisk walk and takes concentration, unlike its larger competitor just feet away. Some are scared to cross the 5-foot wide SkyBridge, the smaller version is only an inch wide.

“We’ve had this at SkyLift Park for three years now. It’s our third year in a row. We do it just about every March to go along with our St. Patrick’s day festivities,” said John McKay with SkyLift Park. “The SkyBridge itself you can’t see anywhere but here and this event tied in with the SkyBridge you can’t get anywhere else right in the middle of Gatlinburg in the heart of the Smoky Mountains. That’s what makes it so fun for us and some of our guests really enjoy it as well.”

For Rucksack Circus, this is a bonding event with friends and they love getting to share it with others.

The event for Wednesday, March 22 has been canceled. They do plan on being at the SkyBridge on Thursday from open until 4 p.m.

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