My training for the Mt Everest base camp trek has been taken up a notch — going from 15% incline treadmill walks to a hill climb that drained me well before its ‘starting point’ 200m from the carpark.
I questioned my commitment and intentions continuously. Why do we seek to struggle and experience discomfort? Holidays are about relaxing and rejuvenation, yet I’m going to a place that doesn’t even have oxygen in readily supply. Of course, everything was clearer at the top.
While I was enjoying the same view as another group who had driven an alternative route up — now with cigarettes, coffee and McDonalds in hand — I knew we were feeling drastically different. A journey is also taken inwards. Through such physical challenges, we are also going in search of the extent of our capabilities. And what we discover within ourselves only makes the experience of our surroundings even more amazing…
“It is important in life not to be strong, but to feel strong, to measure yourself at least once. If you want something in life, reach out and grab it.” – Christopher McCandless
