Life Realizations From Climbing a Mountain

Fresh from my first ever climb, I was surprised to find the amount of introspection the mountain afforded me. In retrospect, it was a relatively easy climb, but then again I have nothing else to compare it to. I can now say that I can understand the lure warriors of old felt when they chose to train on mountains. You really get to step back from your everyday life and see the bigger picture.

This entry is a little lengthy. You have been warned. Here are some of the things that I have come to realize from the departure from the city to the climb itself to the destination home (in some particular order):

Pack only the necessities

There is a thin line between over-packing and under-packing, both with their respective pros and cons. Over-packing allows you to prepare for whatever life throws at you but then you would have to carry a lot of weight along a rocky, inclined path. Under-packing provides you with a lighter carry load but you would have to make do with what you have or be dependent on the supplies that the people you are with carried. Under-packing is a tempting option especially for those people who are highly innovative, I’m talking near-MacGyver levels, or survivalists who are trained to live off the land, but for the standard climber over-packing could be a pitfall one would fall in.

Much like in life, a certain balance in every aspect of one’s life is a highly desirable goal that one does not easily achieve. You have to work hard to find that balance. Once you achieve it, you have to work doubly hard to maintain it. Whether it is financially, functionally or technically, a good balance is a key aspect to living a healthy life. One can never have “too much” in life but then again it was always said that excess can do you harm. This is a wide encompassing realization that spans from one’s degree of preparedness to one’s amount of resources. Don’t be too greedy, but avoid being underprepared.

Plan carefully

This realization somehow intersects from the previous one in the sense that careful planning is integral to achieving a desired goal. Never discount the power of over-planning, though; the pitfall of which is that it would take a long time to plan and most of which would not be utilized. A delicate balance between too much and too little would once again seem to be the conflict.

In the case of our climb, everything went according to plan except maybe when we got lost for about 30 minutes during a detour. It seemed as if we couldn’t have accounted for that but then again if we had planned every single, minute detail, we might have discovered the ongoing road construction and have planned the detour route ahead.

Retire to the fact that you cannot control everything

When our trip was planned, nature gave us a green light to proceed; clear skies, relatively good humidity. As our trip neared, a typhoon suddenly approached the country at record speeds and was about to hit landfall days before our trip. I was a little… okay, I admit it; I was extremely worried that the trip would be postponed due to inclement weather. Due to whatever invisible force, the storm left the country a day before but hurtled back a day after. Suffice to say, the day of the trip had clear skies all the way.

Sometimes in life, there are just some things you have no control over; the sooner you accept that fact, the better. I have some control issues so this was a rather bitter pill to swallow. You catch little lucky breaks here and there but you can’t always count on them. That’s life, as Sinatra so eloquently put it.

##You don’t have to, rather can’t go through life alone

Part of the fun in climbing a mountain is that you have people to share the experience with. I was fortunate enough to have been accompanied by two college friends whom I have not seen in a long while – like years long.

In life, you have to choose your friends carefully. As the saying goes, there are a million fish in the sea; it originally was meant to signify a potential mate but it can also be attributed to friends. You don’t just cast a wide net and settle for those you catch; you have to weed out the entire ocean. As an introvert, I am not too keen to be in the company of huge groups, that’s why over the years I have learned to segregate people into smaller partitions. You have to choose the people you can depend on, people you can trust with your life otherwise what’s the point, right?

Everyone is a stranger but not everyone is strange

In the course of the climb, we managed to come across all sorts of people and groups. As we crossed paths the common courtesy extended to each other was a greeting that went like this: Good [time of the day (i.e. morning, afternoon)]! Take care on your way to the [top or bottom, depending on the orientation]. Without fail, without any guidance or instruction, that was the same greeting everyone exchanged. I’m not fond of social interaction but whenever I came across someone, I didn’t feel like we were strangers. It’s as if we had a shared purpose and that’s all that mattered.

Nowadays, people usually are wary of other people they don’t know. Gone are the days when you can let your guard down and just relax when other people pass by. Everyone always thinks that everyone else has a hidden agenda, which is not always the case. There’s nothing wrong with being on your guard just don’t be afraid to open up. I wish that I could live in a world where everyone greets everyone they come across, even just for a day. This is one realization that I took away from the experience that I hold close to my heart.

Always think of the peak

Originally this was 5 realizations but I have managed to narrow it down to one encompassing realization.

Climbing a mountain posed a lot of challenges physically, mentally and emotionally. Sure, there weren’t falling borders or hungry cannibals chasing you or even bottomless pitfalls that you need a dangling vine to swing through to pass but a different more intimate type of challenge. The path to the top is long and winding, sometimes you get winded and you would want to quit but then you realize that you’re already on the halfway point. You lose your motivation even if there are people there that share your plight and that’s perfectly fine. Just remember: always think of the peak, the finish line, the light at the end of the tunnel. Sure, the feeling of finishing doesn’t always equate to the effort exerted to get there but then again how would you compare the two if you wouldn’t allow yourself to experience both? Even I questioned my motivations a couple of times on the way to the summit, but let me tell you, to those who haven’t experienced the feeling, I have only one word to describe the feeling: magical. It’s a feeling comparable only to a few. Imagine, all your hard work, sweat, muscle aches and doubts all quelled by one sweeping, majestic panorama at the pinnacle of a mountain. When you reach the top, you are with companions but you are alone. Nobody else but you would recognize the accomplishment. There wouldn’t be any parade in your honor, no grand fiesta to commemorate your achievement – just a feeling of accomplishment that you scaled a mountain. It doesn’t matter if it’s the world’s tallest or shortest mountain, it’s your mountain, and that’s all that matters. You conquered that mountain.

Life is full of ups and downs, and there are times when you question why you even try. During those times, always think of the peak. I find it difficult to stomach when I hear stories about suicides. There is so much that life has to offer, it would be such a waste if you just give your life away. You’ve already started on your journey; why not stick it out to the end? I know I have no right to judge, and I’m not. All I’m saying is that, as Hervey Voge put it, the mountains will always be there, the trick is to make sure you are too.

Never be ashamed to crawl

Some people have it easy; we can’t expect it to be the same for all of us. Most of us have to be willing to get down and dirty if we want to make our way to the top, and you shouldn’t be ashamed. On the final stage to the top, there was nothing but a steep incline of rocky, slippery soil. There was nothing to cling to, nothing to fall back on. One of my friends had immense core strength, and she cleared the track, albeit slowly, standing up. On the other hand, I didn’t share the same attribute; I crawled my way, scrambling towards the top. Sure, there are merits to her technique, patiently assessing where she would step, but of course not everyone has the capability to achieve that feat, and it was okay. I felt no shame in what I did; I was even the first one to make it to the top. It wasn’t pretty but I worked with what I had.

Watch where you step

The terrain was extremely uneven, it was very fortunate that it didn’t rain or else it would be muddy and slippery too. Moss gathered on rocks which made it slippery and some rocks are loose that stepping on it would be extremely hazardous. Bamboo shoots were present to help as leverage during steep inclines but not all of them were firmly planted to the soil. In terms of scaling the solid rock face, you have to be wary of where you position your hands and feet. The aforementioned hazards don’t even come close to what life throws at you at a daily basis.

You have to be careful of where you step in life, what path you decide to undertake. You don’t want to be constantly stepping on loose rock, slippery surfaces or even excrement. You don’t want to be stepping on other people’s toes as well. Be careful of what you say and what you do. Always remember that your decisions affect other people as well.

Learn to follow directions

It’s easy to get lost out there in the wild. The trees and shrubbery often pose as walls of a labyrinth that lures travellers in to a gyre of increasingly intricate obstacles. Fortunately, those who have passed before have marked their trail to the top with ribbons tied around trees and vines.

Even though we would like to think so, unfortunately we aren’t exactly blazing a new trail. Well, not most of us, at least. It’s easy to fall into the trappings of grandeur, get lost on our way, run around in circles. It would be wise to heed the path of those who came before us and maybe from there forge a trail of our own when the time comes. I guess this realization could also be attributed to patience.

Take in the fresh air, enjoy the view

It’s easy to get caught up in the moment, what with everything happening in your life. Most people trace their stress from their over occupation to their work. If you are currently reading this, obviously you are not in such a sorry state – you have the free time to read random musings, after all. But whenever you feel like the whole world is starting to collapse on you, like a pile of paperwork just waiting for that slight yodel so that it could avalanche on you, just stop what you’re doing and take in the fresh air. You might be surprised; you might find humor in the things you were just stressing about.

Even before I reached the top, my breath was slowly taken away by the sight and sounds of the forest and in that moment, I felt that everything was going to be okay, like all my troubles and worries just flowed down the slow, steady stream the cut through the mountain. It was amazing, a much welcomed break that I didn’t know I needed at the time.

Relax whenever you can

On top of everything, remember this: you’re only human. No amount of multivitamins or steroids or mythical vials from the fountain of youth can discount that fact. Take regular breaks especially when you feel that whatever effort you exert you always end up in the same dismal outcome. You should feel no shame to say that you are exhausted.

During our climb, there was a portion where the incline was almost 80 degrees and we took more than our average breaks. My two companions were better conditioned than I was but even they had a hard time in that portion. We decided that it was best to take frequent breaks so that we would have enough strength to finish our ascent and to last us until our descent. It was a decision that I do not regret up to this day.

Know your limits, and then strive to push beyond them

I am not ashamed to say that to some degree I am deathly afraid of falling. I thought I have gotten past that but apparently this climb proved to me otherwise. The mountain had a ~30 feet rock face that protruded a little ways away from the summit. It has been said that few only dare to trek the “Parrot’s Beak,” as it was affectionately called. It looked extremely imposing, even as I viewed it from the peak of the mountain.

“I’ve reached the peak,” I said. “What else do I have to prove?”

The “Parrot’s Beak” was nearer to the sea level than where I currently stood. I’ve conquered the mountain! All that remained was my way down, or so I thought. At the urging of my comrade, we went down to the base of the “Parrot’s Beak” to try our luck. I suck at rock climbing; I can’t even do a pull up to save my life. I knew I couldn’t accomplish such a feat but I was already there might as well try. On the way there I was panicking hysterically inside. There wasn’t any railing, no harness to save me from a fall. I was literally on the edge of what seemed like a bottomless pit, and that was just on the way from the peak to the “Beak.” I scrambled as hard as I can toward the base of the rock face; turning back wasn’t an option, Physics-wise. When I got to the base of the “Parrot’s Beak,” the setting didn’t give me repose; the knotted rope that was placed there as a support was flimsy and the rocks you can cling on to climb were few and far between. My companions scaled the rock face with relative ease, and that left me at the bottom to fend for myself. Onlookers began to gather, so I pursed my lips, gritted my teeth and I climbed. If I was going to die, at least I went down swinging (or climbing). There were no cheers, no motivating screams; just the longest silence and struggle you could ever experience on that day. If I let go of the rope or the rock, I had essentially killed myself and I wasn’t going to leave that kind of legacy – a legacy of quitting. Rung by rung, crevice by crevice I made my way up. I was at another pinnacle, just roughly 20 minutes after I was on one. I smile broke out from my face and I raised both my arms in victory. It was a feeling unlike I’ve felt a pinnacle before, this was more of relief than success. As my hands fell and my breath steadied, I felt my fear wash away along with my sweat. I felt indestructible. I felt fearless.

You shouldn’t let fear get in the way of achieving what you want – this is in direct contrast with over-packing. Overachieve, I say! You shouldn’t let society decide what you can’t or cannot do either. And I quote the line from my favourite poem, Invictus by William Ernest Henley: I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul.

Leave everything on the mountain

When I started the climb, my pack weighed about 6 lbs – yes, I suffered from over-packing. When I alighted from the mountain, it weighed almost less than a pound. I had consumed my food and water, all that was left was my wallet, phone, Swiss knife, cantina, change of clothes and towel. Much like my baggage, all my worries, all my stray thoughts had all but faded. I felt like a new man. I was a new man with a renewed appreciation of life. My slate wasn’t cleaned but at least I had renewed energy to tackle everything. I should have been tired, my muscles should have ached, and I shouldn’t have been able to walk. But no, there was a brisk in my step, renewed vigor. I came to the mountain filled with worries and fears but I came out absent negative thought.

You don’t have to climb a mountain to achieve the same results, just leave your work worries at work, home worries at home, you get the picture. Everything shall pass; every moment fleeting. Don’t spend your days worrying about everything.