alpharaposa | On Mountains

Mountains can be scary. Look at any given mountain, and odds are, it makes its own weather. There might be fog, or daily thunderstorms. It might be covered in dense forest or be a craggy pinnacle above a waste of scree.

It will always be huge. That's what a mountain is- a huge thing of earth and rock.

I've been over a few mountains in my time. As a hiker and backpacker, I've challenged them as day hikes and sometimes as the only way to get to the next place where I'm allowed to camp. I've even camped on top of a mountain. I've beaten mountains, and I've had a few of them beat me.

It can take a whole day to struggle up a mountain on foot. Sometimes two days, if the weather is bad or you start closer to the bottom. It's hard work. And those of us who've been on a mountain know that getting to the top is only half the trouble. Once you're up there, the only way to get home is to go back down.

So, it's scary. And it doesn't really get less scary when you've done it a few times. YOu look at yourself and think, "But I was younger then," or "I had more people to help me."

But if you want to see what the world looks like from the top of a mountain, you're going to have to make the hike. And if you do, you're going to have to accept that it's going to be a hard, long hike.

Have you ever been to the top of a mountain? Yes, it's hard, but it's amazing, too.

So, here's to the mountain. And here's to the trail. And here's to the staff and the old boots that will get me over it all.

Do you want to come?