Climbing Mt. Tai

                Mt. Tai rises nearly a mile above sea level in Shandong Province. Confucius came here to think, and emperors made the ascent to prepare for their reigns.  Taoist temples and ancient inscriptions flank the ancient stone steps. The climb is considered very difficult—far more so than the Great Wall—and several people cautioned me not to attempt it.

            The Chinese take special care with the elderly, and I’m afraid I now qualify. As we proceeded to climb, a 45 year old colleague appeared at elbow and began to divert my attention to the historical aspects of Mt. Tai.  The man kept encouraging me to rest and take pictures— clearly he thought I should focus on something other than arriving at the top. 

                  He carried my backpack-- a great help-- but when he continually grabbed me by the elbow, I found it annoying; however I didn't want to offend this erudite gentleman.  He kept telling me to slow down-- claiming we weren't far from the top and there'd be adequate time to meet up with the others before they descended. He was lying.  As we neared the peak, we ran into my young female students, who are very pretty. They’d already been to the top. Our party was descending. The girls distracted him briefly, and I made my getaway. 

                When my guide caught up with me, he tried to make me take pictures of Taoist shrines and historic inscriptions, but I grabbed my hiking pole and persevered.         

                The day was foggy, but the view from the top was magnificent. We took a cable car down.