What mountain top?

Bridge of Orchy to Kinlochhleven. 

Monday September 5, 2016

Today was my longest day. 34km according to my maps. 39km once you add in the distances to and from my accommodation to the trail. This was a long long day. That included beautiful scenery across the moors, the devil's staircase (seriously that's what it's called, not what I named it), mountain top vistas and mountain pass views. 

It was by far my favorite day for scenery. 

And so so long. The first part (22km) it rained. And was misty or foggy. So not a lot of pictures of the stunning scenery - some of which I could see. 

 

After a quick lunch break and a visit with some deer came the climb. The climb that seemed to never end. 

 

As I was climbing what is known as the devil's staircase (because it is so steep) all those mountain top stories kept coming back to me. 

Moses up on a mountain talking to God. 

Jesus and the sermon on the mount. 

And especially the transfiguration. 

When we talk about these stories we talk about what happens at the top. Somehow we never seem to talk about the climb. As I was climbing and climbing and climbing I kept asking myself if it was worth it? And I began to wonder what the disciples had been saying to each other as they climbed. "Where are we going?" "Why are we still climbing?" "What, exactly is the point of climbing this giant hill?"

I could imagine them expecting something important and life transforming once they reached the top. And perhaps, even answers. Clarity. So they climbed on. 

When I finally reached the top. The view was indeed stunning (despite the fact that it was still raining). But the clarity and clear concise answers I had hoped for did not magically appear.  Mostly I was wet and tired. 

And suddenly I had way more sympathy for those disciples at the transfiguration.  It was a hard climb and then they got there and experienced the transfiguration. A powerful moment.  But one with more questions than answers.  The climb, so long. So hard. Get to the top. Now what? This is it? 

Just as the climb surely takes longer than we want - so to do answers. And clarity. They're never as quick in coming as we want. And it seems, they rarely arrive in the big grand mountain top moments we want. Instead we find ourselves at the top of the mountain going "ok, so now I just go back down?" 

But the view sure is amazing.