Inspired by my latest trip up a 12,000ft Mountain

Up with the stars

Illuminate, appreciate, breathe deeply

This is why I climb

Smell of strong coffee wafting

Silent contemplation, sipping cool air and hot liquid

This is why I climb

Trailhead beckons

Time stays timeless, one foot in front of another

This is why I climb

Ascend

White Aspen cut the Black Darkness, standing sentinel

This is why I climb

Dawn breaks

pink, purple, blue streaks painted by the unseen sun as the stars give way

This is why I climb

Air thinning

Mind sharpening, senses dulling, come back

This is why I climb

Purity

Isolation

Calm

This is why I climb

Jagged rocks, dampening socks, ropes through belays

Fear is my companion, Adrenaline is my mistress

This is why I climb

Summit push

False, always another, always over the horizon

PUSH

This is why I climb

Summit

Listen, look, sun above me, clouds below me, a vast canvas stretching

This is why I climb

Descend

Muscles aching, mind longing, heart pounding, feet never stop

This is why I climb

Looking back to see the beast

Something accomplished, to say the least

Every day will now feel sweeter

Every moment will pass completer

Do not relent, Do not give in

Until the mountain calls from within

This is Why I Climb

-G

This poem was  constructed as the crew and a few of our beloved guests climbed Humphrey’s Peak, the high point in the state of Arizona at 12,635ft above sea level.  As a former volcano, it is one of the more strenuous, rewarding climbs one can do in our beautiful state.  We hope you enjoyed The Goat’s original work, and we hope that it inspires you to climb your own mountain!

May The Goat be always with you

For The Goat’s Geologic Musings visit his Personal Blog

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