The joys of hiking in mountainous areas and the perversion of human experience

Yesterday we hiked to top of the Puy de Sancy, the highest summit of the Auvergne in France. We walked from Village des Longes and that meant a climb of around 600 metres. As we like to have a nice lunch when we arrive at the goal of our hikes, I carried a backpack of some 15 kilos. That contained not only lunch, but enough to drink for four people as well, plus camera gear and clothing in case the weather turns bad. It's a heavy lift, but well worth the trouble.

Carrying such a weight up a steep path means you have to find a breathing rythm and a walking pace you can maintain for a long period. The world becomes just you, the mountain and your walking company. In essence, it is almost like meditation.

Besides the spiritual aspect, there is of course the physical aspect. Climbing 600 metres is quite an accomplishment. Especially for our children, 9 and 11 years old. And it is not just the difference in height that poses a difficulty, some of the paths are a challenge as well. And every challenge conquered is of course a reason to be proud.

High up in the mountains you lose all the sounds of the 'normal world. No hubbub of the cities, or car sounds in the distance. Just the natural sounds of the wind, the birds and the occasional animal. And once you reach the top there is of course a magnificent view to enjoy and admire. The perfect place therefore to enjoy a lunch in the quite of nature.

Unless....

Somebody builds a cable car to just beneath the summit and a easy path for the last part of the climb. Then what you get is this:

Hundreds and hundreds of people that really shouldn't be there. The quite and natural beauty of the spot are destroyed in a mass of people like this.

A cable car is of course a great opportunity for people who are otherwise physically unable to reach a spot like the summit of the Puy de Sancy. They can enjoy the view, though you need a lot of imagination to picture the place without all those people and the artificially build path to and platform on the top of the mountain.
But is also too easy in my opinion. You buy a ticket, take the 3 minute drive in the cable car, climb the last 50 meters, take some pictures and leave again. Up and down in less then an hour.

It is easy consumption of a beautiful view. But is it a real experience? The cable car people hardly put in any effort to reach the top of the Puy de Sancy. And I dare ask: have they really been there? How much will they remember of it a few years from now?

The real experience is not just the view. It is the view, combined with the effort you put into it to get there, the beauty and quite of having just nature around you, and being there with your loved ones. The real experience is as much getting there as it is being there.
Making it easy to get there is not giving that experience to people who otherwise wouldn't be able to enjoy it. Making it easy is denying that effort is as much part of human experience as is the result of that effort. Making it easy takes away from the real human experience and perverts it.

And this is just climbing a mountain. I am fairly certain though that by extension the same holds for most of human experience...

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