Have you ever stood atop one of the world’s roofs? Standing on the summit after long and grueling hours of climbing a mountain is one of the most rewarding things I have ever done. When you stand on the top with your arms stretched out wide, you feel as if you are on top of the world. The first time I felt this feeling was about one year ago when three  of my friends invited me to hike Mount Katahdin which is also called ‘The Greatest Mountain’ by the Penobscot Indian tribe. After a period of hesitation I ended up accepting their invitation. On this particular weekend I was not working and there was not much to do for me so I figured why not go?

Mt. Katahdin proved to be more of a challenge than I originally thought as it stood at a staggering 5,269 feet. I was not a novice when I went on this journey, but I had never faced a peak of such astonishing height. My friends Cat, Kyrstyn and Marc all set off to the mountain starting at the base where a sloping hillside began our journey. Trees soared high above me and their aroma of Christmas and woods gave off a calming and welcoming feeling. Their knotted and gangly roots protruded from the forest floor which looked like something was clawing its way up from the depths of the ground. My lungs were filled with fresh and clean air; leaving a crisp taste in my mouth.

After a long time of walking the trees started to grow sparse and a steep plateau could be seen in the distance. The slope leading up to the plateau gradually began to get steeper and soon we were climbing rather than walking. Stones and fallen leaves from the few trees still around littered the ground. Once we emerged, bushes of wild strawberries and blueberries filled the landscape that offered a delicious snack for energy. Feathery, dark-grey clouds started to roll in overhead causing a sense of panic because if it started to rain, the trail would be slippery. Water droplets then began to sprinkle on our way down the hike. If it continued like this, our trek would turn from hard to dangerous in only a matter of a couple minutes. Alas we checked the weather forcast again and it read that there was not going to be rain, so we collectively decided to keep going. Soon enough nature's scent of pine and brush had tangled with the nose scrunching scent of sweat.

About two or three more hours of a grueling fast paced walking and my calves feeling as if they were on fire, we had finally reached the summit; we just had not realized it.

As we walked up onto the mountaintop the picturesque view had completely stolen the breath from my lungs. My eyes were solely locked onto the scene in front of me; the clouds had began to roll away, leaving the painting-like scene to be opened up. The November sun was ablaze with streams of yellow and orange that shone so brightly that there were no words that described the shade of amber it blended into. Green and misty valleys, a shining blue serpent of a river miles away, and rocky plateaus filled my vision every which way I looked. The shades of earthly green below me exuded a scene like no other. Puffy clouds of grey and white soons hid the sun from us. The chill of a breeze along my back brought me back to reality and soon enough it was time to start the taxing journey back down the monster of a mountain. I tripped once scrapping my leg against a bush of thorns which left the right side of my leg bleeding.

In the following year I have journeyed to the peaks of other mountains, although I have never had that same feeling of rewardment. Every time I climb there is always a challenge, and yet I continue to do them because the feeling of standing on the summit after hours of long and hard

work will never cease to amaze me. I would have never discovered this if I had chosen not to do something I was fearful of.