Mountains I Have Climbed

You may think I am crazy,  or perhaps living in a make-believe world:  a bona fide Jewish princess who admits to her age --- admits she may be a wee bit over-weight --- and who tells us she has climbed mountains?  No way.  I am not speaking of the many "symbolic or rhetorical" mountains that have challenged my life.  Those particular kind of "mountains" will certainly be subjects of other blogs to come.

I am actually referring to real mountains.  Well, they looked like real mountains to me.  Admittedly, my closet contains no mountain climbing gear, no crampons, no ice axes.  I will never be climbing Mt. Everest or K2.  But I have been known to meet the challenge of various mini peaks that have appeared before me, either while traveling or trying to prove to someone --- most likely to myself --- that I could really do it! 

Climbing to the top of Saddle Mountain in Oregon's Coast Range, is my first memory of reaching the top of a peak by actually trekking to the top via switchbacks and through forests, and, at the apex, finding an incredible 360 degree view.  The view was from Mt. Hood in the east, to the Pacific Ocean in the west.  Now, to be perfectly honest, my new husband at the time, had to persuade me to do this, telling me he had hiked to the top before with his elderly aunt, AND a woman who was six months pregnant!  He led me to believe it was an easy romp.  Well, at an elevation of 1,603 ft. -- 3 miles up and 3 miles down  -- it didn't seem like a piece of cake to me.  But, I did it! And not for one moment after that did I believe the story of his elderly aunt and the pregnant woman. (who later told me she never did that climb while pregnant). Humph!

In 1990, on a trip to the Middle East, we were traveling through the Sinai Peninsula, where arguably one of the highest peaks in that part of the world loomed:  Jebel Musa, (Moses Mountain in Arabic) more commonly known to us as Mt. Sinai.  Now, this is the mountain believed to be where God delivered the Ten Commandments to Moses, and, for thousands of years, monks, pilgrims and tourists have made the trek up the 7,497 ft. mountain.  If all those centuries of people could do this, so could I! 

With a small group we rose at 3 AM to begin the climb in the dark of night.  Many others were doing the same, and as we very slowly ascended through cold and dark, occasionally we encountered a bedouin man in front of a small hut selling tea.  Smelly camels climbed ahead of us, leaving us their deposits, and carrying those who could afford a ride up or those unable to climb.  The last part of the climb was through some icy terrain, but in my sneakers, I very gingerly made it to the top with the others.  I was breathless getting there, and even more so when the sun rose creating a landscape never to be forgotten!  Perhaps, surrounded by all that magnificence, Moses really did speak with God!   I vividly recall the climb down was as exhausting as the climb up.  Centuries ago devout monks carved 3,750 steps from the St. Katherine's monastery at the base of the mountain, to the top.  To this day, my knees feel the effect of taking those almost 4,000 steps down.  But, I am proud that I pushed myself to climb the Mountain of Moses --- and succeeded!

Another continent and another memorable mountain climb was in South America. We were attending the wedding of our young friend, Kari Loya, in San Juan, Argentina.  San Juan sits at the foot of the Argentine Andes and is home to some of Argentina's great wine growing areas.  Kari had included this favorite climb of his as an activity for the (much younger) wedding party.  But his Dad, my husband and I joined the younger set and took off --- up a little known peak Kari called "Tres Marias".   Located outside of San Juan and the village of Riva Davia, on the leeward (dry) side of the first Cordillera of the Andes, with a huge lake called Dique de Ullum (Dike of Ullum) beneath us, we ascended switchback after switchback in the dry, parched desert-scape of the Tres Marias.  Leading us to the top was the guiding presence of a Christian cross.  I was the last one to reach the views at the top --- of cordillera after cordillera (mountain range after mountain range), but took some great pride in knowing most of the climbers I trailed behind were significantly younger than I!  Again, I did it!

What prompted this blog was an unexpected rainy day in Oahu, Hawaii.  With time to spare on a dismal afternoon in paradise, I felt the urge to share the feelings I had earlier this week:  we had joined hundreds of tourists in a fairly rough switchback climb and 104 steps to the top of Diamond Head.  Though not a difficult climb, it was a very hot that day with little wind.  Once at the top, the magnificent 360 degree views had me recalling other breathtaking climbs which though were difficult for me, have continued as bright lights in my memory.  I think they remain fresh because they provided me (a non- athlete, non-competitor type person) a significant pride of taking on a physical challenge and the subsequent sense of achievement and accomplishment. 

If you are interested in further information:

https://www.google.com/#q=saddle+mountain
https://www.google.com/search?q=Mount+Sinai&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g312784-d553115-Reviews-El_Dique_de_Ullum-Province_of_San_Juan_Cuyo.html