Go tell it on the (pointy) mountain

The view from the point of the Pointy Mountain

The landmark of my present place of residence is a pointy mountain. It was shrouded in mist and rain for most of my first month here, but now that it's sunny it's very visible in all its pointy, greenery-covered glory. The Pointy Mountain has convenient steps (two hundred of them, I believe, going up it felt more like two thousand), which make it uninteresting to some people, for some reason. Ok, it's not something to endeavour if you have knee issues, but otherwise? I'd say it was worth it.

Yesterday I made my  ascent of the Pointy Mountain, along with about one million Chinese people. The weather was great and it definitely felt like exercise. To get to the foot of the mountain you need to take walk in the Chinese countryside. As in, really countryside. Think goat herds and chickens wondering about, and people washing clothes and vegetables in ponds. Villages that feel like they're cut away from the world.

I remember reading a sentence about Mt. Fuji, that a wise man climbs it once, a fool twice. I have the impression the same applies to the Pointy Mountain, for those who land in this particular neck of the wood. It feels like I've ticked a case. I'm a wise woman now, and I'll try to keep it that way.