It’s not as intense as yesterday, but this steep climb is taking us almost as high as the Cone. It’s another breathtaking view at the top. We hike along a snowy ridge, looking for a way down the back side. Could it be that we’ve hiked all this way only to turn back? Please no. We’re all so tired. Rob finds a way down. “You’re kidding, right?” No, he’s not kidding. We’re going on an angle down the face of this mountain, then across a sheet of snow that falls away steeply right into a freezing cold lake. How do I know its freezing cold? The chunks of ice floating in it are a sure sign.
An hour later we’re down off the mountain and setting up camp at Lost Lake. Just when the guys think the day is over, Rob and Adam announce solo time. The plan is to send all the guys out into the wilderness to spend the rest of the day and night alone. After a quick lesson in how to face down a mountain lion or bear they head out to their sites.
All alone.
One of the guys is not too fond of the dark and hates to be by himself. He spends the rest of the afternoon singing “Search me O God and know my heart…” while building his shelter. I bring him his dinner and give him a few scriptures. After singing, “Search Me”, all afternoon he opens his Bible to the verse I had given him and reads the exact same words. Wow! What a gift from God. He now faces the night ahead of him with confidence, knowing that God has spoken to him so clearly.
Little miracles like this are becoming a common occurrence out here. Why is that? Is there something special about the mountains? Does God speak more clearly here? Maybe when we break away from all the clutter and distractions of everyday life, and put ourselves in a place where we can shut out the noise, maybe this allows us to hear God’s voice. Maybe God is always speaking, it just doesn’t seem like it back home because we are so busy being busy. The mountains help us pause.
But I can still pause when I am no longer in these mountains.
Posted on
Tue, July 21, 2009
by Chris Spitters