Narrative Essay

Parker Zerilli
January 19, 2010
Mr. Gadway, English 10

There I was standing up to my knees in white powder; the same white stuff was

billowing around me and covering the landscape with a soft fluffy coat. I stood on the ridge of

Castle Peak and observed the magnificent picturesque panorama that unfolded before my eyes.

The scene was truly awe inspiring. To my left and to my right I saw multitudes of white trees

standing tall and proud almost as if they were the sentries guarding a kingdom completely

obscured by the snow. I felt as though the group that I was accompanied by and I were walking

through the gates of that very kingdom. So far the trip has been a killer, but would prove to be

a wonderful tool in my life.

Our trip began on a cold, snowy Monday morning. The expedition team was beginning

to arrive at the church where we met. Twenty-five young men, 6 leaders, my uncle and I loaded

up our packs and embarked on a journey that we all knew would be full of adventure. Once we

reached our “base camp”, we geared up and headed out into the treacherous terrain of the

North West. It was a long and grueling hike to the trailhead where I waited impatiently for the

inexperienced half of the group to catch up. There were many hills on the path that made the

trail exceptionally difficult.

My group and I had to take breaks every ten minutes or so to allow everybody to catch

their breath, take in some water and snacks, and take pictures. The leaders said that we would

only stop for about five minutes but with the amount of poorly packed, out of shape youth in

the group it was hard to stay on schedule. Poorly packed is a much nicer word for the image
that I beheld. These boys carried backpacks that contained many items strewn about,

equipment dangling off the pack, and inadequate clothing. On the other hand, I was well

prepared with my belongings neatly folded up and placed into the bag, everything strapped

down, and well fitting clothing.

As we continued on our outing, the trail that we had been following gradually began to

ascend up the ridge of Castle Peak. By this point, despite the freezing temperature I was

dripping with sweat and burning up. I proceeded to peel off the layers to air myself out a little

bit. Once I removed the inner liner of my jacket and took the beanie from my head I could feel

the nice cool air. The brisk air felt so good on my skin, almost like a glass of ice cold lemonade

on a hot summer’s day. The only setback with removing my bulky clothing was that as I

ascended towards the ridge, the temperature dropped to where I was no longer sweltering, but

I was rather turning different shades of red due to the extreme change from hot to cold. Luckily

the group rested at the top of the ridge so I was able to don the heavy layers that kept me

warm. As I stood on top of that ridge, I gazed down at the trail below me in amazement. I

couldn’t believe that I had been able to hike all the way up, to what seemed like at the

moment, the top of the world. It felt like a short while ago, I was complaining about how steep

and strenuous the path had seemed.

In the end, the trek turned out to much more beneficial than I thought it would be. I had

such a wonderful time and I learned so much about myself. I learned that as I encounter trials in

my life, I can look back on the experience and realize that, although the route was difficult, I

kept moving was able to surmount the problem or in this case the mountain.