The Climb

03.03.19

Rising at the crack of dawn, you begin your journey. With the sun creeping out, you huddled yourself and your supplies into the car. And set your sights on the Blue Mountains. After two hours of driving and a short rest break, you convened with the rest of the walking group. And from Evans Lookout, you began the walk.

The beginning of a trail is always deceptively easy. You look down the road and convince yourself it’s easy. You have high expectations and are convinced you can do it. But after the first step, there’s no turning back now. You have committed to this path. It’s a steep descent from the mountain top to valley with small narrow steps twisting and turning. About 500 metres in, you still take ever step with zest and look around in bewilderment. You can feel your body being immersed in the greenery.

At the halfway point, you reach a beautiful creek bed surrounded on both sides by sheer cliff faces. Transfixed by the beauty of nature, you can’t help but stare. This is what you came here for.

Now you you must forge on : across the riverbed, through the rainforest and into the caves. But the wonder is lost and everything seems the same. Step after Step after Step. You wonder why you even started in the first place. You start to feel alone, so alone. Lost in the vastness of nature with no compass to guide you. Do not dismay, for there are plenty of travellers accompanying you and experiencing such natural beauty with you. You walk alongside an elderly couple struggling, but taking everything one step at a time. If they can do it, you can too. 

You turn and the road is now reduced to a stone-face staircase. Up and up it goes, onto eternity. Your body has started to fatigue: your calves burn, your thighs are heavy and you run out of breath. But you are so close to the end. You mustn’t give up hope. 

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You’re on the last step towards completion. Two fists in the air a wave of triumph overcomes you with a great sense of accomplishment. Even if it took you 4 hours, even if there wasn’t a view, you have finished the trail. Just as Miley Cyrus said: “ain’t about how fast I get there, ain’t about what’s waiting on the other side, it’s the climb”.