So we all woke up in the morning (some later than the others) and gathered at the hotel's lobby for a simple breakfast.
Then we took a one-hour bus ride up to a point in 武当山 to ready ourselves for the ultimate climb.
Group D trying to hide from the cold.
And here we goooooo!
Not too many photos of the climb itself, since I really wasn't as fit as I thought I was, and I was spending all my energy just trying not to drag my team behind.
After about three hours and much cursing, we finally, finally, finally reach the final flight of stairs before the summit.
Group D + Houngsheng + Eliza.
Hanhui the Bossman on the final flight of stairs.
Steeper and more uneven than the steps we've encountered thus far.
Good-hearted folks (Edward and Yuchuan) of MDE helping the elderly up the mountain. Apparently this old lady was only one of the people they helped up the mountain. Somebody give these people a standing ovation!
Didn't spend too much time at the top either since we were drenched from head to toe from the rain and it was really, really cold at the summit. Other than a few temples and many devout Taoists, there wasn't too much else and we started our descend after taking a few photos and videos.
After a good hour down the mountain, we finally reunited with rest of the batch for lunch, and immediately after, made our way home by yet another six-hour bus ride.
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Personal Reflection
I really took a lot for me to actually climb up that mountain and all the way to the summit. On the way down, I came to realise two things.
I probably wouldn't have made it if it wasn't for my A-Team cheering me on and reminding me to watch my step. I'm pretty much a huge klutz so I would've returned from the mountain with bruises and/or a sprained ankle if Liangxun hadn't looked out for me. Sometimes I feel that when things aren't going according to plan, it's because the A-Team has a lack of teamwork and we're still not working together well enough. But after today, I realise teamwork actually takes a lot before you can see it emerge from its hiding place.
Like today, while trying to distract ourselves from the pain and the horror of the number of steps, we actually sang mountain songs (or tried to) and did camp cheers. That very moment when we literally cheered ourselves up (the mountain) made the A-Team really feel like a team to me. The Golden Summit itself wasn't actually what I expected, in fact I was pretty much painfully underwhelmed. Yet as the saying goes, it's not the end that matters, it's the process, and climbing 武当山 with the A-Team made the process really worth it.
The amount of people, elderly, to be specific climbing up the mountain today was astounding too. We met so many, some carry goods, some carrying offerings, some just trying to climb to the summit. I really didn't expect there to be so many people hiking up, especially elderly, and definitely not if they're carrying a load of more than 100kg up. Their determination was really commendable and very, very inspiring.
So today, I managed to climb to the very summit of 武当山, which I previously thought was an impossible feat. Let me quote Adidas on this, when I say, Impossible is Nothing!
