Ever since I went abroad, I began to challenge myself physically, from ice skating for 9 hrs in Sweden, to hiking on a wild mountain to get to a beach in Portugal. I did a lot of things that I would not have done before. It sounded crazy to me before I did it; that is why I decided to do it. After I did all of these things, I said to myself that anything is possible. It might be hard, but I can do it.
So here comes my most recent adventure. I have always complained to myself and my parents that I haven not traveled enough in China. I have been to lots of other countries, but I really have not traveled around in my home country. What a shame! There are a lot of famous mountains in China. I have always loved the idea of watching the sunrise on top of a mountain. So this weekend, my parents and I went on a two day trip to hike Mount Tai, one of the most famous mountains in China.
Mount Tai is 1545 meters high and I chose to hike at night so I could get to the top on time to see the sunrise. We started hiking at 10:30 p.m. At first, it was not hard. There were a lot of young people hiking at night as well, so we were not lonely or tired. But as time went on, it became increasingly difficult. Every step I took, I felt the gravity holding me back. My legs were sore, my knees hurt, the steps seemed like they were never going to end. By the time I was close to the top, I was figuratively 'the walking dead.' I was so tired I, I could only focus on keeping my balance and hoping that I would not fall. I was so fatigued, it took all the strength in me to hike up the stairs. I finally got to the very top of the mountain at 4 a.m. the next morning. I waited an hour for the sunrise.
It was a beautiful sunrise. But frankly, I have seen more beautiful. The sun rise was only a minute. More than 5 hours of hiking at night, the only reward was a one minute sunrise. Was it worth it? Probably not. But I think I would still do it again, not because of the sunrise, but because I would want to know if I could do it. The only lesson I learned is that I would never have known unless I did it. So, whatever your mountain is, just do it.
