Chapin you seemed like nothing when I looked up at your peak from the dirt road below. I knew that I would make it there in under an hour. Mountains can be deceiving. I hiked for an hour and I was still only halfway up to the top of the first mountain. The rocks were slippery with ice and it was slow going. At one point I even lost the path and had to scramble up the side. It was difficult going on slippery rock. Finally when I made it to the top I could see what lied ahead, Mt. Chiquita. However, I didn't realize that I had to descend 500 feet down the other side before starting the climb up Mt. Chiquita.
Mt. Chiquita you seemed somewhat more daunting than Chapin, but nothing I couldn't handle. (This is what I thought as I stared up 1000 more feet to the top.) I looked up and saw a bird, maybe an eagle, riding the currents over the peak of Mt. Chiquita. I wanted to be up there now more than anything! I thought it might take me half an hour to make it to the top. It really didn't look that far... I think it ended up taking me another hour to the top. When I made it to the top of Mt. Chiquita (definitely tired by this point), I could see what lied ahead, Ypsilon Mountain. I had to go down the other side of Mt. Chiquita some 800 ft. before attempting Ypsilon, which was the highest mountain in the area.
Ypsilon you looked challenging and difficult from the ridge below. Almost 1500 ft. of steep terrain lied ahead. I looked up and up and decided that I would not underestimate you as I had with the first two lower mountains. I had already learned something that day. Don't underestimate a mountain under any circumstances! I started to climb upwards and every few cairns I had to stop to catch my breath. The going was tough. Up until this point, this was the highest I had been with my feet still on the Earth. (13,500 ft.) I learned to measure a mountain this day in terms of terrain difficulty, hours, and elevation. The miles didn't matter much to me. When I finally made it to the top, I looked over and saw another mountain, I looked down and saw other mountains and I looked back and saw still other mountains.
I had asked myself that day, "What lies over the next mountain?", and I had learned that many times it is another higher mountain. This may not always be the case, as it might be a low peaceful valley that lies below. The challenges that we face in life seem to just get tougher and tougher like those mountains. After a while though, sooner or later, you will come to a peaceful valley far below.
