View from the top: change of perspective

Trekking the hills can be perhaps more educating than a mere adventure of quellnig nature's multitudinous challenges. As one starts the climb from the bottom, the initial inquisitive trepiditions give way to more measured steps in the middle stages where one starts reaching for the reserve stamina until one starts living off one's tenacity in the last quarter till the peak is conquered. The exhiliration at the top rejuvinates the the mind and body to keep it going in the long trudge downhill.

Nature provides metaphor for life in all forms of its physical manifestation. Climbing a hill is a very direct of such manifestations, which teaches one the evolution of the path in the journey of life. As the climb gets higher, the trajectory gets steeper (although there are exceptions to this, as there are exceptions to every rule of nature), the path narrower, and the view more majestic. The inter-relationships of objects in the vast scheme of things get clearer with every step up. The climber discovers one's own inner self in the journey, that is a reason perhaps why people who discover the innate joys of mountaineering get addicted to it. But, as in life, different people react differently to the same situation encountered in the path. It is while climbing a difficult stretch one realises how intricately difficult it might be when it comes to a single step, for there can be occasions that the single step decides your fate, and hence one needs to employ all the planning and execution skills that experience might've taught you, but more often than not one has to improvise and gather new experience in the process, and this contunues on and on for the whole journey, more so while climbing down! Also, it teaches the person to go beyond one's perceived limit to realise that humans' capabilities are indeed limitless, yet extremely limited. It is this dichotomy that every climber learns to appreciate, especially one who has ever led an expedition. A trekking expedition forces the individual to realise the truth of what Plato said; "Man is a social animal", at the same time one learns how to lead oneself through the dire stress that may disillusion the mind into believing that one can't go on, but if you are among good friends you will be able to push yourself through, no matter how difficult the situation may appear to be.

The peak gives the best possible picture, the nearly complete perspective, depending on how many other peaks are there nearby! Stand at the top, look around, get your fill of wonder and awe and accomplishment of reaching there, learn of the local geography around, gather the experience in the bag of wisdom you are carrying, and then chart your path of the future ventures. The journey never comes to an end. First you have to find the best way to go downhill. What determines the best depends on the individual (or rather the particular group that is travelling). Keep an account of all the slips that you made in the journey so far and try not to repeat the mis-steps. Come down to the plane, look around at the features that you had failed to observe before but had discovered in the view from the top. And then make the journey to a newer peak.