Mountains and Me
Kamertap Hurmali
This is a story of how hiking up the mountains helped me to be aware of
my strengths and my weaknesses and take more initiative in my life. This
is my second quarter at LWTech. After working as a software engineer
about 10 years in Turkey, I moved to the US in 2002 and discovered my
passion for hiking and outdoor. I have twin sons and hiked with them
many places in the Pacific Northwest.
I was in a sound sleep in my cozy sleeping bag when the porter called
my name from outside of my tent. “Good Morning, Kamertap! It is 4
am. Would you like to have tea or coffee?” After drinking my coffee and
putting my hiking clothes and boots on, I stepped out from my warm
tent into the crispy and fresh weather of the Andes mountains. I was at
10,000 feet and hiking the 26-mile Inca Trail to Machu Picchu for four
days in the April of 2017. A few years ago, I had only dreamed about
this place while training on the treadmill in Redmond. Now I was living
the dream and walking on the ancient trail where chasquis, who were
known as the runners of the empire, used to run 150 miles per day to
deliver important messages to their ruler about 1,000 years ago. I was
walking with a group of 12 hikers, 2 guides, and some local porters, who
were carrying our tents and food. The first day, we started climbing up
and down the ancient stairs, which indicated the whole trail would be
tough; however, passing through a cloud forest, ancient tunnels, and