“As I think about the walk in Chicago now my heart starts to beat faster. I start to get nervous. If I’m getting nervous, I know that it’s the real deal.”

23-Oct-14 – He will turn the main branch of the Chicago River into a circus and serve as both its main event and its ringmaster.

A preview by Nik Wallenda on a Discovery Channel website of his upcoming high-wire walk is peppered with hyperbole but the November 2 event is nothing short of historic.

From the top of Marina City’s west tower he will walk to the roof of Leo Burnett Building and then from Marina City’s east tower he will walk back to the west tower. He will do this at night and for the second part of the stunt he will be blindfolded.

Whether he starts the walk from the 61st floor observation deck or the mechanical penthouse three stories above has not been confirmed but Wallenda briefly refers to the latter option in a recent video produced for his website.

(Left) Marina City’s east tower mechanical penthouse, seen from the west tower observation deck.

The penthouse is an extension of the tower’s core, topping out at 588 feet above ground. Its roof is packed with equipment, including small satellite dishes and heating and air conditioning for the tower. The wall of the core, 30 inches thick at the base, is only 12 inches thick at the top. If the walk starts here, it is 47.5 feet to the outer edge of the tower.

Sunset on Sunday, November 2, will be at 4:43 p.m. and by any definition of “twilight,” it will be dark at 7 p.m., about the time Wallenda begins his walk. Tweaked during a lighting rehearsal the Friday night before the stunt, Musco lighting, like what you see at large sports events, will artificially illuminate the space between Marina City and Leo Burnett Building. The lighting gear will be located in the north lane of Wacker Drive between LaSalle and Clark Streets to the west and between Wabash and Michigan Avenue to the east.

Weather forecasts cooperating so far

Extended forecasts for November 2 are not predicting extreme weather. AccuWeather.com, for example, says it will be cloudy and 57 degrees in the evening, with 14 mph winds from the southeast and no precipitation, although there is a chance of showers later that night.

It may not be wet and sloppy, but one of the many challenges of the walk, says Wallenda, is that he does not know exactly what the wire will feel like on November 2 until he steps onto it.

“Every single walk I do, the wire is completely different. It moves different under my feet. I don’t know what to expect once I get out there. And with that comes a lot of anxiety.”

(Right) From the roof of Leo Burnett Building, Wallenda points to one of Marina City’s mechanical penthouses on September 16, the day the stunt was officially announced.

As he begins his walk, carrying a 45-pound balancing pole, Wallenda expects his muscles to be tense. When he has walked uphill at a 15-degree angle for 170 feet, he will only be about halfway across.

“My calves are going to be burning, my arms are going to be strained,” he says. “I’m going to be completely drained. Muscles are going to want to start giving up. They’re going to want to start relaxing.”

On the roof of Leo Burnett Building, he will be 635 feet above ground.

“This is the point where I normally celebrate. I relax and I’m excited to celebrate with my family, now that I’ve completed another amazing walk over a beautiful city. But I can’t celebrate yet. I have got to stay in that zone – although I’ve done a walk like I’ve never done before.”

(Above) Map of Chicago River between Marina City and Leo Burnett Building. The area in red will be closed to all traffic during the stunt. Areas in green have been designated by the city for public viewing. More info on viewing areas

Second walk will be done blindfolded

At Leo Burnett Building, Wallenda will take an elevator down to the ground floor, walk across Wacker Drive and, most likely, across the State Street Bridge, back to Marina City but to its east tower.

“This is something I’ve never done before, completed one treacherous walk and gone on to one that’s even more challenging.”

From the top of the east tower, Wallenda will walk about 100 feet to the west tower and he will do this blindfolded.

It will be, says Wallenda, “extremely stressful.”

Using his feet as his guide, Wallenda will slide across the wire, feeling for vertical cables connected to the wire that keep it from swaying. They will tell Wallenda how far he has walked.

“When it’s dark out, there’s something 100 times more eerie about the fact that I’m taking away the most important sense that a wire-walker will ever have or ever use, and that’s vision. I’m losing that sense, so now I have to focus on my equilibrium and my hearing. That’s how I’m going to make it across this walk.”

If there is a gust of wind, he can lower himself to the relative safety of the wire but, he says, “I’m not going to be able to see what I’m grabbing for.”

Once on the west tower, Wallenda says his body is going to want to sleep.

“My muscles are going to be burning and fatigued. I’m going to be excited. I’m going to hug my wife. I’m going to hug my three kids, my mother, my father, and spend time with them. But also, my mind starts to think about the next challenge.”