Hiking Capitán

Brandon invited me to join him for a hiking/camping trip before he deploys in a few weeks.

This past Thursday, we packed in food, water, and basic shelter and then hiked in the rain a few hours before setting up camp. We started at an elevation of about 6000 feet, and Brandon was probably carrying three times as much weight as I was.   That morning, I read about Jesus's transfiguration on the mountain with Peter, James, and John, and I asked him to reveal Himself to us on this hike.

Friday morning, there was a trail for the first hour or two, but we were hiking through brush and tall grass (or over rockslides) most of the rest of the way.  At around 8500 feet, I started getting dizzy and light headed.  I had to stop every couple hundred yards to catch my breath, but Brandon was very patient with me.  He noticed that I was taking large strides, and he encouraged me to take smaller steps, which helped a lot.  The sky was mostly clear until we got to the summit (10083 ft), and then clouds rolled in.

And then I realized that I had been so focused on making it to the summit that I had forgotten about making it back down the mountain to the truck. 

After about 30 minutes of descent, the skies cleared up again.  Thank God, He gave me strength and protection to make it back down.  It was about a 10 mile round trip.

As I was reflecting on the experience, I saw God in a few ways.  I think Brandon was an example of Jesus or the Holy Spirit (not sure which, or maybe both): eager for me to go on to new heights, more confident in my ability than I was, and patient with me the whole time.  Furthermore, I don't think it was a coincidence that the clouds came in when we summited.  I think God answered my prayer by surrounding us with clouds the way Moses experienced God on the mountain and the way that Peter, James, and John experienced God on the mountain.

Father, thank you for giving me what I asked for.  Thank you for revealing yourself to me.  And thank you for a good friend who pushes me beyond what I think my limits are.  I love you.