Every morning we wake up to the gorgeous view below. In December, Michael and Bryce hiked to the top of the Green Arrow and traversed to the Red Arrow and descended from there. The rest of us wanted to do the same, so last weekend we attempted the hike. As the crow flies from our bedroom window, there is a valley that one would need to hike down and up to get to the base of the mountain. This would add about 2 hours to an already tough hike, so we drove to the base of this mountain.
The first half of the hike up was fairly easy going with a few moans and groans along the way, but several water and snack stops helped keep the mood up. Little bits of snow that had remained from the previous weeks' snowfall came as a blessing to the dogs along the way. Charlie and Calli especially enjoyed rolling around and cooling themselves off at every opportunity. One can never resist a good snowball fight and a few of those helped to cool off the happy hikers as well.
The first half of the hike up was fairly easy going with a few moans and groans along the way, but several water and snack stops helped keep the mood up. Little bits of snow that had remained from the previous weeks' snowfall came as a blessing to the dogs along the way. Charlie and Calli especially enjoyed rolling around and cooling themselves off at every opportunity. One can never resist a good snowball fight and a few of those helped to cool off the happy hikers as well.
Below is a picture of our first snack break. Malealea Lodge can be seen in the magnified area - the lodge lies within the boundaries of the clump of trees. The valley that one would have to cross can also be seen in this picture. As I mentioned in my previous blog regarding the remoteness of the Malealea valley, from this angle the remoteness can clearly be seen.
We were all looking forward to having our lunch break on the summit, as Bryce continued to explain how beautiful the views were from the top. When we got to the base of the cliff, there was far more snow than we expected. Bryce and Michael had contoured the base of the cliff to the left and found a path leading up to the summit, the time before. This time however, probably because of the snow, things looked a lot different, and there was no such path to be seen. We ended up at the centre of the cliff, roughly where the arrow head is. At this stage, Thabo was getting cold and he was quite frightened. Bryce was leading the way, and he acknowledged that this was not the same way. The snow was making things far more slippery as well. On his own, he probably would have attempted climbing straight up, but knowing that he was putting all of us in danger he refused to let anybody go ahead. This was a very proud moment for me as a mom, knowing that my son would choose safety over being a hero.
I would say that I have a moderate fear of heights. Climbing up this cliff face was fine, but when we made the call to go back down was a completely different sensation. I had never before experienced a nervousness as I did in that moment looking down. I had to remain calm as Thabo was by my side. Michael took on the responsibility of making sure Gemma and Bryce were fine getting back down, and I sat on my bum with Thabo next to me. We practically slid down slowly in the snow, together.
That whole scene probably only took 30 minutes or so, but felt like a lifetime. Once we were out of the danger zone and warm in the sunny area, all was almost instantly forgotten, and everyone was back to their cheerful selves. We were all a bit disappointed that we didn't get to the top, but there is always next time. I believe a very valuable lesson of safety first was learnt by all of us that day. My Dad and Grandfather (My Mom's Dad), who were both avid hikers were either shaking their heads at us saying "amateurs!", or maybe they were the ones who secretly whispered words of wisdom to Bryce in that moment that he made the decision.
I would say that I have a moderate fear of heights. Climbing up this cliff face was fine, but when we made the call to go back down was a completely different sensation. I had never before experienced a nervousness as I did in that moment looking down. I had to remain calm as Thabo was by my side. Michael took on the responsibility of making sure Gemma and Bryce were fine getting back down, and I sat on my bum with Thabo next to me. We practically slid down slowly in the snow, together.
That whole scene probably only took 30 minutes or so, but felt like a lifetime. Once we were out of the danger zone and warm in the sunny area, all was almost instantly forgotten, and everyone was back to their cheerful selves. We were all a bit disappointed that we didn't get to the top, but there is always next time. I believe a very valuable lesson of safety first was learnt by all of us that day. My Dad and Grandfather (My Mom's Dad), who were both avid hikers were either shaking their heads at us saying "amateurs!", or maybe they were the ones who secretly whispered words of wisdom to Bryce in that moment that he made the decision.
There are moments when everything happening in the world seems so surreal. It's really hard sometimes. I truly miss my friends and family and occasionally go into a slump thinking what are we doing here. I've somehow been led to some inspiring teachers on YouTube, and I would like to share them with you. One of them being Dr. Wayne Dyer, I have been listening to his 101 ways to Transform your Life, and Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning. Dr Dyer has numerous books on YouTube and I am thankful for these teachings, sadly neither of these teachers are with us anymore.
The last thing I wanted to share is this. For those of you that know have followed Gemma's story, you will know she was in hospital last year for severe, unexplained stomach pain. The pain was so severe that she had every test done, including a gastroscopy and MRI scan done. She was hospitalised for 10 days, and although the pain was milder when she came out, there were never really any results. My gut feeling was always that her pain is stress and anxiety related.
The pains came again the other day, and with no doctors to go to this time, we had to use what we have here. I follow Yoga with Adriene on YouTube, and looked up some yoga for stomach pain. Gemma and I did a session together. With thanx to Google, we gave her some lemon water for a few days and cinnamon milk at night, and played her a meditation by Michael Sealey. All this has really seemed to help, and by sharing I hope that it may be helpful to somebody who needs it.
One of Viktor Frankl's quotes that has resonated deep within me and I feel is relevant to the Covid situation we are all in at the moment, that I would like to leave you with, is this:
"Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."
Viktor E. Frankl
The last thing I wanted to share is this. For those of you that know have followed Gemma's story, you will know she was in hospital last year for severe, unexplained stomach pain. The pain was so severe that she had every test done, including a gastroscopy and MRI scan done. She was hospitalised for 10 days, and although the pain was milder when she came out, there were never really any results. My gut feeling was always that her pain is stress and anxiety related.
The pains came again the other day, and with no doctors to go to this time, we had to use what we have here. I follow Yoga with Adriene on YouTube, and looked up some yoga for stomach pain. Gemma and I did a session together. With thanx to Google, we gave her some lemon water for a few days and cinnamon milk at night, and played her a meditation by Michael Sealey. All this has really seemed to help, and by sharing I hope that it may be helpful to somebody who needs it.
One of Viktor Frankl's quotes that has resonated deep within me and I feel is relevant to the Covid situation we are all in at the moment, that I would like to leave you with, is this:
"Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."
Viktor E. Frankl