Mighty Chimborazo! If you have never heard of it, Chimborazo is a dormant volcano, the highest mountain in Ecuador, and the highest peak near the equator. At 20,548 ft., its summit is the farthest point on the Earth’s surface from the Earth’s center. The indigenous in Ecuador have dubbed Chimborazo “Taita”, meaning father.

Chimborazo takes my breath away

Last year I was fortunate to visit Chimborazo National Park. A guide drove our little group about three-quarters of the way up the mountain to a rest station, at about 16,000 ft. We got out of the van to walk around, and we all experienced dizziness and shortness of breath with very little exertion. I was quite frankly in awe. That is, of the power and majesty of this mountain, and also the fact that a friend had climbed from base to summit some years ago. What an accomplishment! Our guide told us that this is one of the most dangerous mountains in the world, and other climbers have perished attempting to conquer it.

The feeling of freedom

As I stood at our rest point and gazed upward to the summit, my spirit soared. I have experienced this at other spectacular nature spots in my travels. I was lost in the magnitude and grandeur of the space. In that moment, I was simply a human being connected to the Earth, unencumbered by what I am required to be in our civilization.

It was just the sky, the mountain, and me.

And I was free.

Pinnacle | Soaring spirit © Susan L Hart 2019 | Hart Haiku