Alone Excerpt: The Mountain and I Are One

NOTE:

I will not be blogging about my experience on the Camino de Santiago during the months of September and October. You can follow me on Facebook where I will be posting occasional pictures and comments. To follow either “friend” me on Facebook or use this link: https://www.facebook.com/brian.heron.73/

Every Monday during this period I will post an excerpt from my book, Alone: A 4,000 Mile Search for Belonging—excerpts that I believe reflect many of the assumptions and experiences that have become the basis for this current Pedal Pilgrim work.

Alone Excerpt: The Mountain and I Are One

Page 151 at the top of Trail Ridge Road, Rocky Mountain National Park

At the summit of Trail Ridge Road, 12,183 feet.

I neared the top and was overcome with relief and raw emotion. It is one thing to see the rugged and stunning beauty of these Rockies after driving up in a gas-propelled vehicle. But there is something about experiencing it with your body. To feel the burn in your lungs as you cycle up beyond timberline, to fight the persistent cramps telling you that you’ve gone one pedal stroke too far, to listen to your body as it demands more water and more food, magnifies the experience. It’s as if the physical exertion the terrain requires is an invitation to be part of the terrain and the beauty. The line between observer and observed dissolves. I was no longer looking at a mountain: I was part of the mountain.