Don't stop 'till you reach the top!

In hiking, what is the point if you don't reach the top?

I was shattered, overwhelmed and feeling defeated. During the decent, the internal chatter in my head told me I was unfit and a failure for not completing the entire hike, a measly 3.6kms. But with each step back towards the camping grounds, my legs wobbling, the voices faded. The positive self-talk overtook the negative and I came to appreciate what I had accomplished. So is it okay to NOT reach the top?

Girraween National Park is located on the Queensland-New South Wales border; not too far from Stanthorpe. Along with its NSW counterpart, Bald Rock National Park, they cover a combined total of over 200 square kilometres. I know the word can be over used in the hiking world, but Girraween really is a unique landscape. It has a magical way of allowing a hiker/camper/day tripper to surround themselves with gigantic granite boulders and immerse themselves in the stunning flora and fauna that inhabit the park. It is simply breathtaking.

There is something special about Girraween; it's really the first place that tested me as a bushwalker, both physically and mentally and it allowed me to discover my love of being outdoors.

Always returning

I had visited Girraween before our trip. Mr T had never been there and was excited to experience one of my favourite camping and bushwalking spots together. I wanted him to love it just as much as I did because I truly think there is something special about the place. However, we nearly didn't make it. As many of you will know, sometimes, life just gets in the way. Children are always the priority, plans change and on the morning of our first camping adventure together, I had a whopper of an allergic reaction. Not a great way to start the day (#damnallergies) and so our planned departure time was postponed significantly. But I am stubborn so once I had recovered, we left, determined to enjoy our last chance at some child-free time before we both went back to work.

On this particular day, I was far too stubborn.

After arriving and setting up camp, we decided to get straight into it and hike The Pyramids track. I was pumped! I had recovered (or so I thought) and decided that we needed to catch up (so much to see and we had so little time). The Pyramids track is only 2km. I'm pretty sure that Mr T thought I'd been exaggerating about how tough the track was. And to be honest, he was right, for perhaps the first kilometre. It was a cool walk...the native bushland, the fact that we were the only people on the track, checking out Granite Arch. Then we hit THE STAIRS! This is where the Class 4 grading came in. There were many. They were horrible. They hurt. But we climbed, and climbed and climbed. Then everything disappeared. The grass was gone, the trees thinned and the shade became non-existent. By this stage I was buggered. And before us was the sheer granite incline to the top.

Sooo...did we reach the top?

I pushed on, all the while thinking, 'I've done this before!' I questioned why was I struggling so much. I mean, what's the point if I didn't get to show Mr T all the cool stuff at the top (i.e. Balancing Rock, the endless views)? I was determined that we would make it but I was spent. There was nothing left so Mr T called it. He stepped up and told me that I couldn't keep pushing myself. I was guttered. I wanted to cry. We did not reach the top and I felt like a failure. With every step back down those bloody stairs I kept wondering what I could've done differently to have made it to the top.

Processing time

While I was exhausted and frustrated, I guess there is something about being outdoors, surrounded by the trees, taking in the scent of the bush, that is intrinsically calming. After some processing time, I could think about all the great moments that I enjoyed on the way to the top. I walked through ancient monoliths; climbed what seemed like 1000 stairs; hiked despite not having been well that morning; broke in my new hiking shoes and spent time in the bush with my love. It took a while, but in the end I concluded that I did not need to reach the top to have been successful.

All I needed was to enjoy the journey and focus on what I did achieve, rather than what I didn't achieve.

The Pyramids have been there for millions of years (an estimated 225 million in case you were wondering*) and they are going to remain there for many more years to come. I will continue to return to Girraween to enjoy its beauty and worn granite boulders. Maybe next time I will reach the top of The Pyramids; maybe I won't. Either outcome will be just fine with me!

REFERENCES:

*The State of Queensland (Department of National Parks, Sport and Racing) 2012–2018 <https://www.npsr.qld.gov.au/parks/girraween/culture.html>

LINKS:

Girraween National Park website (trial) - https://findapark.npsr.qld.gov.au/parks/girraween?_ga=2.17334009.1591966586.1518350626-2018914981.1500260913