At 55, I climbed my first ... and most probably last mountain in my life. 15 hours of putting one foot over the other, in a seemingly never-ending ordeal of maneuvering through everything from rocks, inclines, mud, slosh, down to waterfall crossings. Never, I repeat, never has this old aunty body been put to such an endurance test. 
Heck, the only sweat I work up these days is a very brief early morning 20 minute jog/walk on a nice flat grassy playground field near my house about 4 times weekly, 5 if I am feeling not too lazy. My last foray into climbing was back in 2011 when I huffed and puffed my way up and down 700 steps on the 'small' little hill of Sg Lembing, an adventure I swore (then) I would never repeat, since I honestly don't fancy 'torturing' myself with such heart-bursting muscle-tearing exertion. It's a pain, no matter how nice or fantastic the view from the top. So what craziness possessed me to agree to climb Gunung Nuang, not just a little hill, but apparently one of the highest mountains in Selangor, peaking at 1493m, trailing 19 over km? 
Well, I guess this mama got rather gung-ho in her 'old age'. I had just passed my 55th birthday some weeks ago. And I felt there were some things in my life I wanted to do on earth before I go to my mansion in the sky. We had booked for a family holiday in August to Lombok, Indonesia. My eldest princess, the avid researcher, was extolling the beauty of its volcanic Mt Rinjani. My mind had long been mulling over whether to attempt it. So when my no.2 suggested we 'train'/test ourselves out on Gunung Nuang, I was game. At
least it would give me an indication whether or not to try Rinjani. Gunung Nuang is reputedly classified as a tough climb, even by experts. One that should take about 5 hours for a 'relatively fit' person. Well, old aunty isn't that relatively fit, obviously. My 2 daughters and myself took about 7 hours just to get to the peak. And contrary to expectations, downhill was even worse. Starting at 630 am, we reached bottom only about 9.30 pm . Needless to say, we all had no legs left by that time.
In fact if God hadn't answered my silent prayer for an angel, I think we would have had major problems completing the last return leg of 2 km. The forest was already pitch-dark by that time. Our legs were really giving out. I was pulling an overstretched muscle in the hip. All of us were gritting our teeth in pain and exhaustion. But spending the nite in the forest was simply not an option. We had nothing on us except our back-packs. Then in the midst of the darkness, there came a light.... and the sound of a motorcycle. Our angel had appeared. Truly this local guide must have been God-sent, because it was only on a call from some sick girl who was encamped near the waterfalls that he had chanced to ride in to transport her out. In the end he transported not one, but 3 other very very weary souls out back into civilization.
Looking back, I can only say I climbed that mountain held by God's hand, literally. Both on the way up and down, I was spelling out J-E-S-U-S with every excruciating step I took. And never before have I repeated so often and appreciated so much, (and that in a very physical, non-spiritual context) the bible verse from Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me". So, how about the next mountain? Rinjani which stands at 3700 m ie more than double Nuang, apparently takes 7 hours to climb. At the rate I did Nuang, I figure I would have to multiply that by 2. So for the moment, let's forget it. Like I said, I have climbed my first and last mountain.
Well, I guess I can pat myself on my back. Yes, it's good to know I can climb a mountain at 55. But honestly, it was Jesus who got me up and down. I know because that was my prayer on that last leg - God, please bear us up all the way home. And He did.
For pix, check out here
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