Getting on the top of a mountain

People say that mountains change a man. I never understood what exactly they could change until I got to the Carpathians. Before this trip I imagined that the mountains can make a person physically stronger, more resilient… But this did not happen to me. What happened was completely different.

Climbing on top of Hoverla Mountain and going down turned out to be more difficult than I expected. Besides, because of the storm and fog we had to go back. That’s why in two days we had to climb to the top of this mountain twice. Did we really manage to fulfill our goal?

Because of fatigue I did not see the beauty and majesty around. Hoverla neither let us conquer her nor showed her treasures to us. At least, that’s what it felt like at that time. Overwhelmed and tired, I trudged with friends to the place of our last dwelling site, which was near the summer residence of shepherds. While my friends were assembling tents, shepherds invited me to their dwelling. I sat down to rest and fell into a half sleep. It was getting dark. Damp misty light shone through the open door. But inside it was dark and warm. And then in my half-sleep I heard the music, I opened my eyes and saw that one of the shepherds stood in the doorway, on the borderline between light and shadow, and played the flute. At that moment I changed irrevocably. All the beauty and rebelliousness of the mountains seized me in its majesty. Landscapes, air, rocks, blueberries, and wet grass – it all in front of me was solid all-embracing beauty. My eyes just opened.