The majestic Grosse Mountain - highest peak of Vancouver. How many people have came to you and admired your magnificence? How many people have sank their foot into your side and made it all the way to the top? Today, like the other determined and courageous people before me, I will conquer you.
The sky rides were just starting to disappear in the dense fog above us when my mother and I arrived at the park on that day. The Guest Service employees informed us that the rainy sky should clear up in the afternoon, so we made our way to the entrance of the trail, took a deep breath, and started our climb.
There were trees all around us, endless and endless rows of pines and cedars. For a long time we climbed with nothing ahead of us but a sea of green trees and rocky trails that seemed to stretch on forever. .
A gloomy dampness hung low in the air, filling our lungs with cold vapor that burned our throats with each breath we took. The wetness seeped through our clothes mingling with streams of sweat like an invisible water snake until all we could feel was the cloth sticking to our bodies.
The slope of the mountain headed so steeply up that we had to keeps our hands on the ground almost the whole time. Once in a while, a nearby rock would come loose and roll over the edge of the trail. I"d stick my face out over the cliff-like edge of the path and watch as the rock fell towards impending doom. It"d fall straight down close to the acceleration of gravity for a while, then bounced up violently with a crisp sound as it hits the ground below. .
Our tired, labored, breathing could barely keep up with the demand for oxygen from our lungs. .
We climbed and walked, then climbed some more and ever tried running. Finally, the summit of Grosse materialized slowly in front of us. At last, the two and one-half hours of hard work paid off.
The air was misty; our hearts beat faster.
