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Post date: Oct 02, 2016 8:14:23 PM
While I was traveling, my great Stric Tina died. For those of you without a big Slovenian family, Stic is the word for uncle, and Tina was one of the greats. He always had an amazing story, was well educated and a great father. He loved the mountains of Slovenia, and walked in them up until the day he died.
So the second day I was in Japan visiting my mother we set out to climb Mount Fuji. And dedicated the climb to my Stic Tina.
We both have “fuji sticks” climbing sticks you can buy and mark along the way. At each station on the way to the summit you can pay a few yen (the equivalent of $1) to have them mark your stick. So you can demonstrate how far you climbed before giving up.
As I kept climbing, the clouds closed in below me. So I spent most of the day above the clouds. Mom and I almost immediately separated, and I walked ahead. But boy, let me tell you I was sucking down air. Hard. Note to self, don't climb a 12,000+ ft mountain without training. It hurst a lot.
As I was climbing I saw this flag. It was a little big longer than me, and could only be described as swimming above the clouds.
I finally made it to the top. I envisioned that with the wind, my hair being down would blow seductively in the wind. I didn’t factor sweat and dirt into my mental image. Still pretty triumphant though.
The climb down took almost as long as it took to come up. But eventually I crossed the finish line.
I will never forget you Stric Tina. This mountain was for you.
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