Climb Every Mountain

        More Letters From Paradise
          Climb Every Mountain
     Well, not really, but how about one?   Here in Hawaii on the Big Island is the mountain known as Mauna Kea.   Its altitude is 3,730 ft. And, it is the home for several large telescopes, operated by scientists from many nations. Tours are given to visitors outfitted with heavy clothing etc.  Short busses with four-wheel drive are used.
       My friend, Gary Owen, had attempted to get to the summit, but was forced back.  He was determined to reach the top, but not in a tour bus.   He formed a two-man team expedition.  Gary, as director, photographer, and transportation and I would be responsible for picture composition, and expedition recorder.
      Our first task was to gather supplies for our expedition. We filled a small cooler with two beers, four bottles of water, a chunk of Swiss cheese, and some soda crackers.
     Our climbing attire was shorts, tee shirts,walking shoes and sandals.  Gary chose a sweat shirt, and I an unlined light nylon jacket.
      Now, feeling fully prepared, we left our base camp Kona, and  began our assault in our light weight Ford pick-up, with its stick shift. No four wheel drive.  As we began our climb we came  across two very dead mongoose, and also a goat that didn't make it across either.
      The paved road gave out and turned into a corduroy dirt road, with a sign telling us to stop for information, so we didn't, we pushed on and up.  The road was nothing but a series of bumps.  Gary shifted from second gear down into low.  The air began to grow thinner and I hung on for dear life.  As we continued to climb, I saw on my left a drop of thousands of feet below, and on my right, great piles of stone. Gary steered with one hand and fought the shaking gear shift lever with the other. The truck sometimes moved across the road and back again.
      At long last we met pavement, and saw before us the dome-shapes housing  the telescopes.  We had arrived!!!  I felt as if we had reached to top of the world at almost 14,000 ft.  My thought turned to the film "Titanic," where the couple on the bow of the ship felt as if they were on top of the world.
     There were only three or four cars present.  I spoke to a fellow who had a walking stick and a back pack.  He said it was his plan to climb some thirty mountains, and he had already climbed twenty.  We felt bad that we failed to get his name.  I saw him dark against the sky for a moment, and we were too late for a picture.
     The wind was blowing and the sun was bright as we looked down upon the clouds. The air was thin, and somewhat difficult to breathe.  I seemed to remember that you should have oxygen at 11,000 ft.   Gary made a snowball.  I put it in my hand, and he photographed it.   Then I gave it a toss.  He gathered more snow for our cooler.  I composed, and Gary took more pictures. We discovered that the Keck Observatory was only open during the week.  It was a good thing too, I thought. It was time to begin our descent.
      Our way down was in low gear, and we rode the road easily. You all remember that you should use the same gear going down, as you did going up.  While basking in our glory, we ate our lunch, and visited the visitor center and gift shop.  The expedition was a complete success.
      In closing this report, I should mention that I have some things in common with Sir Edmund Hillary, who first climbed Mt. Everest.  I climbed Mauna Kea.  He was a bee keeper, and so was I.  
             Aloha
             Grant