{"id":344,"date":"2013-05-01T11:36:13","date_gmt":"2013-05-01T09:36:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/brianberkman.com\/?p=344"},"modified":"2013-05-01T11:36:13","modified_gmt":"2013-05-01T09:36:13","slug":"to-the-top-of-lions-head-a-journey-of-firsts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brianberkman.com\/?p=344","title":{"rendered":"To the top of Lion’s Head – a journey of firsts."},"content":{"rendered":"
\"P4270899\"<\/a>
Table Mountain from Lion’s Head<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

They say you can\u2019t teach an old dog new tricks but I am proof that you can. I have set myself the challenge of doing as many things as I possibly can for the first time. The reward is great but the effort to achieve it is great too.<\/p>\n

For my first ascent of Lion\u2019s Head I just kept looking ahead. I\u2019m pretty frightened of heights but I just focussed on taking the next step ahead of me and followed as closely as possible in the footsteps of Andrew and Jenna-Sue who are Lion\u2019s Head mavens.<\/p>\n

At times it was very, very difficult for me climbing up but the fear of getting down again or worse, being scared stiff and needing an airlift off the mountain, was always at the back of my mind. My focus on getting to the top did mean, and there\u2019s a life\u2019s lesson in this, that I didn\u2019t enjoy the journey \u2013 I consciously decided not to look out and about in case I freaked out so just kept climbing.<\/p>\n

It was great to get to the top but then I was antsy about getting down again. When I\u2019m anxious I manage my anxiety by doing things and sitting around on top, chatting, eating the lunch we\u2019d carried of chicken salad with broccoli and fabulous coffee was less enjoyable than it might have been on account of my worry about how to get down.<\/p>\n

So, instead of keeping my anxiety to myself \u2013 I shared it and asked the experts how best to get down. \u201cKeep your back against the rocks\u201d, Andrew said, \u201cand make sure that your centre of gravity is back and not forward so if you do topple, you topple backwards against the rock face.” Jen chimed in: \u201cHave three points that are solid\u201d, which Andrew further explained as having one hand and two legs to secure yourself or two hands and one foot.\u201d I ought to have worn my bikers’ gloves as the palms of my hands got a little sore supporting myself on the rocks as I came down.<\/p>\n

\"Andrew<\/a>
Andrew and Jenna-Sue Fulton with Brian Berkman (centre)on top of Lion’s Head.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I found coming down harder on my knees and those muscles between the hip and the knee but also psychologically. It was only once we were on the level that I began to enjoy the view \u2013 the bay with its lines of blue sea, white sand and green trees that looked like a country\u2019s flag and the vibrant puce of the flowers.<\/p>\n

We then came to an avenue of silver-leaf trees which glittered in the light as the breeze moved the peach-fuzz of their leaves into the sun. We had a hedge of silver-leaf trees in the front garden of the house we grew up in and I thought about my mom and how proud she\u2019d be of the way I have transformed my life.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cHere\u2019s where most people slip and fall,\u201d Andrew warned, describing the gravel\u00a0near the bottom of Lion\u2019s Head akin to walking on ball bearings . \u201cBest is to tread lightly,\u201d he said. \u00a0The traffic boom at the foot of Lion\u2019s Head felt like the finishing line of a race against myself that I\u2019d won.<\/p>\n

It was great to be done \u2013 I was tired, very tired and my feet and muscles were sore, but I felt that I had achieved something new.<\/p>\n

I look forward to the next Lion\u2019s Head climb and I\u2019m sure I will enjoy it more \u2013 secure in the knowledge that I can do it.<\/p>\n

\"JP<\/a>
JP Fluckiger (right) and Brian Berkman munching chicken salad with\u00a0broccoli\u00a0and great coffee carried all the way to the top of Lion’s Head.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

They say you can\u2019t teach an old dog new tricks but I am proof that you can. I have set myself the challenge of doing as many things as I possibly can for the first time. The reward is great but the effort to achieve …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[13,21,40,49,59,63,73,76,134],"class_list":["post-344","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-travel_writing","tag-anxiety","tag-brian-berkman","tag-diet","tag-exercise","tag-healthy-dining","tag-high-protein","tag-lions-head","tag-low-carb","tag-table-mountain"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brianberkman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brianberkman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brianberkman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brianberkman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brianberkman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=344"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/brianberkman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brianberkman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=344"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brianberkman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=344"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brianberkman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=344"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}