Training and preparing for this trip actually helped to keep my mind
off of the emotional pain. You see, I also lost my mother to cancer. Although I stayed hopeful
throughout their radiation and chemotherapy treatments, in the end I had to watch them suffer and succumb to
their illnesses. It broke my heart.
I agreed to go on this trip as a way to distract myself from the grief. When
I reached the top of the dome, I felt this sense of great calm and peace in my heart. Was it because
we were so high that I felt closer to heaven or did the energy exerted by the climb help me to let go
of the pain, I don't really know. I just felt like everything was going to be okay! And that I shouldn't
be so sad.
This only illustrates to me how this great natural
treasure can be a lot of things to the people who climb it. And it doesn't always have to be about the climb
or the challenge to reach the top.
