The mountains reveal who you are. I always focused on the ascent, the grit of climbing and the escape of summits. Except, this time it was the peak that I had not anticipated at all being a real high.
We only had a few hints of an ever so slightly pink and orange sky from the sun that was yet to touch it when we woke in the Blue Mountains. The air was crisp with the end of summer and adventure rolled on my throat. Accompanied by a few experienced hiker friends – each one a bundle of intuition and unease.
We wanted to hike Mt Solitude, which has a notoriously hard approach but an outstanding view. Beginning the trail, it welcomed us with its rough arms. The climb was a lung buster, and the legs were burning; in that way, only steep climbs could affect them. We were ready for this.
By the edge of where treefall collapsed unbroken dead leaves down to stones at untanned bark- we made it up about halfway. until there was no path any longer just shattered rubble against a cliff face, I spotted her: an elderly lady, sitting on the boulder with eyes cast upwards and expression fractured between resolve and hesitation.
“Need a hand?” Do you mean back up that hill?
That smile, a welcome scarred grin. “Just catching my breath. This is quite the challenge.”
We rested and shared stories She was Grace, a schoolteacher who had only begun hiking in her later years. She talked about the mountains, how much she loved them and how they kept her feet on the ground; made sure she never lost perspective. However, it was also her first major vertical and she didn’t know if she could reach the summit.
This is the journey,” I reminded her. The rest is one foot in front of the other.
Grace nodded, her eyes old beyond years. “It’s funny, isn’t it? “People are frantically chasing the top that they forget to respect and admire the bottom; we spend so much time trying out hard to achieve a summit, that we fail to appreciate how good the climb is.
I felt her words, and they meant something to me, but I shook them off. The summit, the vista and victory – I had come for these.
Grace began to fall behind as we kept moving forward and the trail became more precarious. My friends were up ahead, pushing toward the summit I hung back and helped Grace as we navigated our way along some of the tricky sections. Her pace was slow, and the rocks seemed to be in league with one another. But there was a calm against her, an unstoppable spirit that I admired.
At the home stretch I saw my friends at the top, clapping and waving. It was beautiful, a vast view of the mountains and sky I stopped immediately and turned to Grace. She could hardly breathe; she was so tired- but there it shone in the eyes of her weary face.
Then, more loudly; — You did it, I was glad when she arrived beside me.
She took it, her grip firm. Correction, “We made it,” she smiles.
As I stood there, it dawned on me that this wasn’t just about making it to the top. It was for the people we encounter over there, all the stories that are told and lessons to be shared. You can reach the highest mountain of generosity by being kind to and connecting with others. Grace reminded me of this during my first-day hike, which is also already a peak!
As we scanned the valley before us, it occurred to me that mountains do not show you who are; they make you what can be. Sometimes, the greatest adventure of all is found in those unexpected detours – and strangers who become friends.
That peak was where Grace and I finally met on the eve of last summer, both laughing as we learned that she had hit them all with her buggy. By the time we truly started crisscrossing down, shadows slanted long on the trail. But my heart was still filled with the mood for an insight. The ascent was less an act of reaching a summit and more one of finding our peaks–what we can do when we embrace becoming part of it all.
As I made my way down, it became clear that this story of ours was a tale worth telling—not because our journey warranted applause — but rather for the simple message within now and then, the most extraordinary adventures can be found in places you never thought to look.
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