Brookfield, WI Outdoor Activities

Equal parts running, pedaling, and paddling, The Tribal Challenge sends teams of two or more huffing and puffing across a 15-mile gauntlet rife with mental and physical challenges. Designed to replicate the tribulations of pre-industrial tribesmen, the route intersects three 5-mile legs with hunting and gathering missions. The fibers of endurance and camaraderie stretch to their limits as partners demonstrate specific survival skills that were essential before humans could simply buy meat from a butcher or trade dusty VHS tapes with monkeys in exchange for fruit. After completing the course, tribes can bask in the euphoria of accomplishment at a post-challenge powwow, where complimentary beers squelch thirst and live music from the Fire Water Festival helps cast a celebratory tone across the finish line.

Skydive Milwaukee's tandem jump eschews lengthy ground tutorials by condensing them into an instructional video and a briefing from an experienced instructor—allowing adrenaline junkies to quickly get their weekend fix after five straight days of working customer service at the bunk-bed factory. Once the subtle complexities of jumping out of a plane into 14,500 feet of vertiginous void have been dispensed with, you'll be ready for your dual-person dive into glory. After an initial burst of terror, you'll find yourself hovering in what Wilbur Wright called a "perfect peace mingled with an excitement that strains every nerve to the utmost" for about 50 seconds of freefall. It feels like you're moving down a cushion of air. And since you're in front of the instructor with your own altimeter and ripcord, it feels like you're skydiving on your own. After the plunge awakens the sleeping lion deep in your heart and gets it roaring through your mouth, you'll have five minutes of gentle parachute-assisted descent to take in the majesty and beauty of the skies—or, if you'd rather, crack snarky jokes about the nearby flock of pudgy seagulls.