Caradhras

I feel like I haven't written anything substantial in here in a little while. The last few posts have been riddled with meaning but they have been easy to write and gave away little, mostly song lyrics or lists or very brief bits of analysis. My last attempt to write something more concrete ended with a post called Flashes Before Your Eyes, which I thought was a good post, but was too revealing about certain things for me to throw it out there. Therefore, it went back on the shelf for a while. That may end up happening to this post as well, but i'll try my best to write something that is both meaningful and discrete.
Probably the preeminent issue on my mind lately spurs from a couple conversations I recently had about the future. I knew I was going to have to think about the issue that these conversations were concerned with, but that doesn't make it any easier to attack. I am reminded of a post I wrote last summer called The Long Road. Then, the issue was abstract. It is a little bit more multifaceted now that it is real. As opposed to my summer post, which was primarily about the perils of the Long Road and the fortitude that one requires to make that journey, this discussion is going to be a little more specific. Just for fun, I thought a little allegory would be in order.
As I see it, I have left Rivendell, and am taking the road southeast. The nature of my quest has become quite clear, but the nature of the enemy is still hidden and the road ahead is still long. I have left the valley well equipped but by no means invunerable. Following in the footsteps of the Fellowship, I have come to the foot of the Misty Mountains, and am left with a choice of two paths if I wish to continue going forward. There are other paths, but they lead away from the quest that I have undertaken, and that, for me, is not a choice I will make willingly.
To the casual observer, there seems to be only one path across the mountains. This is over the top of the great peak Caradhras, through the High Pass. This path has been taken by many travellers, and is most similar to the generic Long Road that I have previously mapped out. Scaling the peak will certainly require admirable fortitude, courage and strength of will, and it has claimed no shortage of victims. Still, it remains the common path and has been done successsfully many times. The main perils of Caradhras are three. The first is loneliness. The trek takes you through the lonely peaks, and each time you think of how far you are from home you tend to cringe, especially since looking back on a clear day you can see the green fields and quiet streams from which you came and yet the mountain blocks the view of any similar oases on the far side. The second challenge is temptation. Like the ring of power, the mountain can make you forget who you really are. High in the thin air you can see things that arn't really there, and the memories of the past tend to fade amidst the snow. The third challenge is commitment. There are times during the ascent of the mountain where one feels helpless, feels like the mountain can never be conquered. The peak does its best to thwart you, and even if you can overcome the first two challenges, sometimes the sheer veracity of the task can cause your resolve to wither away, and even if you do conquer the mountain, once on the other side you have nothing left to give.
Facing these challenges, there is certainly incentive to find another way. But only one more acceptable path is open, and it may be fraught with even fiercer perils. The path taken by the fellowship is a dangerous one, deep underground through the mines of Moria. This path also has three challenges,but they are different than the ones above on Caradhras. The first is the darkness. In the mines it is difficult to see anything. The lack of light, the lack of ability to see , can wreak havoc with the mind. It is a feeling of being completely alone, similar but distinct from the loneliness of the peak. The difference lies in the inability to see off in the distance. It eases the ache at times, but at other times it is harder. It depends on the person. The second challenge is the challenge of corruption. The mines seeth evil, and there are people that have simply forsaken their old lives and let themselves be lost in the deep. The risk of never emerging from the mines is not substantial, but it is there. The final threat is that the mines change people. The long time to reflect in the dark makes them think that just because the mines black everything out, they can as well. They forget the feelings that make them human, and forget the good in their past. They think they feel nothing, when really they've only forgotten.
The two paths are both fraught with danger, and the choice in the end must be a personal one. I don't know which path is mine, but I am reminded of a quote from George Mallory, the man who in 1924 was ever so close to being the first man to summit Everest. He may have even made it to the top, but he died on the way down so barring new evidence, we will never know whether or not he made it. When Mallory was asked why he wanted to climb Everest, he replied with the immortal words that will forever be associated with the mountain. "Because it is there."