Climbing The Path of Repentance: My Biggest Challenge
This story, like several others, comes from my vacation this summer in the Middle East. Toward the end of the group tour, we found ourselves in Egypt, on the Sinai peninsula, at the monastery of St. Catherine, home of the burning bush (which burned but was not consumed by the flame) where God spoke to Moses (Exodus 3:1-6, 14).
Our group was about to climb to the top of Mt. Sinai. The group was given two options of how to summit this mountain:
Ride a camel- Walk along the camel path
“Captain” and I had been doing our research, and had heard of an alternate route up the mountain along the path of repentance 3700 stairs (and I use that term loosely) up the mountain. “Captain” We decided that since this is the one time that we’d be climbing this mountain, we should do it the right way and take the stairs. We had hoped that this would allow us the chance to take our time, and enjoy the experience, rather than lurching up a path on a stinky camel or perhaps worse, walking behind the stinky camel. To our surprise, half of the tour group decided to go with us.
To set the stage: it was hot, temperatures were above 30 C. We were unsure of where we were going, or what pace we would travel at. We had eaten a big lunch, which was not sitting so well in my stomach, and we were climbing up a mountain. I have some difficulties with doing strenuous exercise at altitude (I am such a “sea-level” kid!). Although we had been walking a lot every day, and I been training on the treadmill before the vacation, that did little to help with my “stair” climbing ability.
looking down at St. Catherine's monastery
The journey up the mountain started mid afternoon. We walked, scrambled, and climbed up rough hewn steps and rocks (do you see steps in that picture??), following our mountain guide, appropriately named Moses. He has climbed up and down this mountain three times a week for ten years, leading tourists and religious pilgrims up and down the treacherous slope.
Did I tell you that it was over 30 C when we were climbing? Anyway, these steps seemed to go for ever. We’d climb over a rise, and there’d be more waiting for us. Moses would tell us that we were half way there, we’d keep walking, and after another 20 minutes, we’d still be half way there! I took many breaks for water, air and photo opportunities. I began to question why we had chosen this route. I began to understand why the path was called the path of repentance. For me, it was a grueling climb.
My legs and lungs burned as we kept walking. Thank goodness for “Captain” who kept me going forward, telling me that the next part is pretty flat, or that we must be more than half way now, or that the view from the top at sunset will be amazing. I really wanted to reach the top, I really wanted to see the view, but it took all the determination that I could muster, to make me keep going. The monumental task of climbing the mountain became one of putting one foot in front of the other. The task became a matter of “take that next step”, “take that next breath”–a useful mantra in any challenging situation!
success!
We made it to the top, in good time too, arriving just as the stinky camels did. The view from the top was outstanding. Have a look at this movie that Captain took. (I’d share mine, but all you can hear is me sounding like a scuba diver gasping for air)
We sat at the top, glad to be finally done climbing, and feeling surprisingly chilly. Our group made up 15 of the 20 people at the top of the mountain as the sun set. We sat awestruck by the view, giddy from the climb, and happy for the company of our group.
Our descent started soon after the sun set. We all walked together along the camel path, as the “stairs” would be impossible to use in the dark. If you’ve been reading my other posts, you’ll realize that all it takes are a few glowsticks to start a party. I had brought 15 glowsticks with me up the mountain, and handed them out on the way back down to each of our group members…
Our group with glowsticks
…and to Moses, who had never seen anything like that before. He was so excited to bring them home to show his children. Unfortunately the tourist police men were also interested in the glowsticks, and confiscated several so they could play too.
Moses getting his first glowstick
That night, I slept very soundly. I had conquered my challenge, rising 2285 meters above sea level, in the scorching heat, up 3700 steps. The experience was made all that much better by knowing that we didn’t cheat–we climbed the mountain the tough right way. I am grateful to Moses, for his patience, and to all of my group members for their encouragement. Thanks also to “Captain”, I couldn’t have done it without you!
Tags: best of 2009, travel
