Bonjour mes amis. This is the third week of QOM/KOM.
For this one we ask you to punish the body to perfect that soul of yours. These next 7 days we give you the arena to test how hard you want to push; or are capable of pushing. This go around we’re putting you on Ha Ling.
Don’t love it?
Tough. We are the game masters.
Maybe we need to set the mood here further though? Dim the lights and set the stage, as it were. So:
Life moves on, whether we act as cowards or heroes.
Life has no other discipline to impose, if we would but realize it, than to accept life unquestioningly.
Everything we shut our eyes to, everything we run away from, everything we deny, denigrate or despise, serves to defeat us in the end.
What seems nasty, painful, evil, can become a source of beauty, joy, and strength, if faced with an open mind.
Every moment is a golden one for him who has the vision to recognize it as such.
// Henry Miller
And so, think of your seconds and minutes on Ha Ling over the next week as golden ones. Ones in which to see the beauty, joy and strength in facing this challenge with dignity and willingness.
A straightforward route finding affair for Ha Ling.
Segment starts at the signage at the bottom of the trail and ends at the top, where the bolts are for Sisyphus (also a sign there warning of the cliff). Please don’t fall off the cliff because of hypoxic delirium. That would be stupendously bad vibes. Also, for the love of all that is Holy, please no trail/switchback cutting on this one.
What more do you want to know? It’s Ha Ling, just go and tease those inner demons out off their cage and smash them against the real(ness) of lactic acid.
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Distance: 3.5 km to the summit
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Difficulty: Pretty runnable, so pretty damn hard if you’re pushin it bud
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Elevation Gain: 650 metres
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Where to Park: At Goat Creek trailhead
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Surface: Uber runnable trail for first 2/3s, kinda gritty slab trail for last bit