“Do we get a prize for hiking this trail?”
I was exhausted. We were approaching the crest of the ridge and the trail was beyond steep. It didn’t help of course that this was my first foray into the wilderness in a long, long time.
The last few years my wife and I had been climbing another mountain, steeper still. By far.
Cancer.
This past February 13, the eve of Valentine’s Day, we had our appointment with the oncologist for the last time. “You’ve reached the end of the journey,” the doctor said.
Fifty years of married life came to an end one month later.
They say that Mt. Rainier is beautiful in the autumn season, “perfect for couple getaways.”
My exploration of course was solo.
As streaks of sunlight began penetrating the quiet gloom of the forest – daring me not to break the magical spell by even a breath let alone a whisper – dew drops like tears lay along leaves where the sun had only begun to herald the warmth of the day at hand.
Above Paradise I wandered aimlessly along the trails. Without purpose or direction, but because the path was there, I climbed.
It was my breathless attempt at humor to ask the fellow hiker ahead of me if we were to be rewarded for having come so far?
“The view.”
That’s all he said.
Words fail to describe the majesty that awaited me upon cresting the ridge.
So, I won’t. I won’t attempt to put to paper what that moment and the many moments that stretched into minutes that followed meant.
Except to say this.
From the quietness of the forest, to the silence commanded by being in the presence of such majesty, keep going.
It will be worth it all.
Postscript:
For all readers of this article – and viewers of the mountain – a highly recommended musical interlude if you will indulge me and, in the process, treat you!
My cousin, Robert Brant Taylor, read this that I wrote. He is from the flatlands of Texas but traveled to Washington to stand where I stood. Imagine what it must have been like for him to live among endless waves of grain but now to be in the shadow of such majesty!
So overwhelmed was he that, as an accomplished musician (French Horn), what rang through his mind was an absolutely thrilling orchestration of Richard Strauss’ Eine Alpensinfonie, hopefully the link for which you’ll find here.
“The program of An Alpine Symphony depicts the experience of eleven hours (from daybreak just before dawn to the following nightfall) spent climbing an Alpine mountain.”
When words fail, what befitting accompaniment to our imagination of taking in such a breathtaking view of such splendor!
Strauss: Eine Alpensinfonie / Bychkov · Berliner Philharmoniker – YouTube
… and finding it. Thank you, David.
The majesty of Mt Rainier has always been my center point. Even now from 2000 miles away I revisit it in memory and pictures. Many a Winter or Fall day I sat on a snow bank or snow covered log just feeling the hand of God with nothing around but a Gray Jay now and then. It’s peace and solitude gives renewed energy and focus.
Return now and then for renewal and peace.