Story 88: Climb every mountain, follow your dream.

 
       few years ago I went hiking with some co-workers. Our destination was Mt. Washington,  New Hampshire, the highest peak in the northeast.  I would like to say it was fantastic, but it was a mixed bag. In retrospect, I probably should have been in better shape.  Fortunately, I had three very conditioned athletes to assist me with the process.  Scott, a star at college crew, Steve, a hard-core cyclist, and Neal, an older but lifetime athlete and nutrition buff.  I was the weak link, but was determined to reach the summit.

 
    Mt. Washington has some of the highest recorded wind velocities on the planet, possibly faster than even Mt. Everest, and many people have died or gotten into trouble underestimating this mountain.  We went to New Hampshire on a Thursday, Brooklyn Queens day.  A holiday we used to get off from work, and took Friday off as well to give us a long weekend.  The night before our climb, we ate a healthy fish meal in a local restaurant.   Before bed,  I was surprised to see my roommate Neal blow-drying his hair in the nude.  Neal, is a former professional athlete and nudist.  So he had no problem walking around in the buff.

In fact, one time at my school he got changed in the Phys. Ed. office with the door open during regents week.  Our co-worker Ron walked in saw Neal half naked with nothing on below the waist, and just stared slack-jawed.  There were still some students in the building, but not that many, but even one student would have been too many.

“What’s the matter you never saw a dick before in your life?” Neal said with amusement.

Ron continued to stare, but still couldn’t talk.  What do you say in that situation? “How’s it hanging?” would have seemed right to me.

Another time, Neal related that he went to some nude beaches on the islands of Greece in his youth.  He visited many, and after enjoying himself immensely continued with his former girlfriend to Cypress, thinking it would be similar, considering it was so close to Greece.  When Neal got to the beach, he and his girlfriend undressed and ran into the water to skinny dip. However, when he got out of the water they got the surprise of a lifetime.

As he walked to shore,  a group of soldiers were facing them with their guns out, Saying “Get dressed and get off the island.” 

    Neal couldn’t understand what the problem was.  What he didn’t realize was that Cypress was under communist rule, and had very strict rules regarding many social issues including it’s beaches and nudity.  Fortunately for Neal, New Hampshire was known for being much more liberal.

Our hike began well, but Mt. Washington is five miles straight up, and after we got to the 1/2 way mark by Pickerman’s Notch, I was growing more and more fatigued.   We spent time near the bowl.  An area where some hikers rest, sometimes even a day or two, before going to the top.  They have cabins their also, and some people like to ski the bowl even through the month of June.

My crew however was committed to finish climbing as soon as possible.  Scott really saved me because he ended up carrying my bag in addition to carrying his own, and on each cairn, a pile of stones along the path, he placed a peanut M&M as a mini goal for me. At every cairn, I ate an M&M.  It was great motivation.  Neal would look down and exclaim, “Come on boy,” or sometimes whistle like he was calling his former dog Teddy.

After five to six hours of effort we summited.  I was exhausted.  We had a well deserved meal of chili and New England clam chowder soup at the top.  Nothing like a hot meal after an arduous journey. 

 After eating, my friends told me they were going to descend.  They hiked down the mountain, while I opted to take a van down.   It’s amazing that you can take a train or car to the top of the mountain, because they have a weather station and museum for tourists.  

    We would attempt to climb the mountain again the following year, but we got lost fording a stream on a different path, and my whole body got torn up by the local branches.  I also got into a huge fight with Steve after I made a few disparaging remarks about his coffee consumption.  I apologized, but he was slow to forgive.  Since then, we have reconnected, but we have never climbed the mountain ever again.

Life Lesson 88:  It's important in life to face obstacles even big ones, but to tackle them slowly.  As they say “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” How do you overcome a big challenge?  One step at at time, and for me it didn’t hurt to have the proper reinforcements to motivate me one M&M at time.  Also, when friends lend their encouragement and support literally and figuratively we can climb to great heights.  Just remember, in words and deeds, to do the same for others, and show respect for all especially nature in it's beauty and fury.