The High Path

More about The High Path

Access logs refer to this route simply as the high path, a designation that
understates both its purpose and its cost. The ascent was not engineered for
efficiency. It winds deliberately, passing through older stonework, living growth, and
viewpoints that slow the traveler long before altitude does. Early surveyors argued
for a direct approach. The path remained unchanged. Records note that those who
arrived by easier routes reached the structure faster—but seldom arrived ready.

From this elevation, the installation reveals itself gradually, never all at once. Its
scale becomes apparent only after the climb has imposed silence, alignment, and a
shared pace among those ascending. The women pause here not because the path
demands it, but because experience has taught them to look before proceeding.
Later analyses would suggest that the structure was less a destination than a test,
and that the path’s true function was preparatory rather than ceremonial. Those who
walked it learned restraint. Those who understood it learned why the structure still
stands.