One of my first adventures post-high school graduation was an overnight hike in the Presidential Mountains of New Hampshire. The planning for this trip began in early Spring, and on almost every front, our small group of hikers was completely prepared.
We would begin our day hiking to the breathtaking Lakes of the Clouds Hut on a Friday Morning and then trek up to the Mount Washington Observatory in the afternoon. After a night in the hut, we would start the next morning with several summits including Clay, Jefferson, and Adams. Our plans were simple but the unforeseen weather had an entirely different experience in store.
Anticipating the fog, we were aware of the fact that the views from the top of Mt. Washington wouldn't be superb. Nonetheless, our ascent was enjoyable and we did make it to the top- thanks to laughter, trail mix, and excellent company.
Our night at the hut was slightly reminiscent of a time I watched Stephen King's The Mist, or at least the 30 minutes of the movie I could tolerate before shutting it off. We were entirely surrounded by fog and the windowed walls provided us with no visibility for most of the afternoon and night. Still, the company made the trip so worthwhile and I wouldn't have changed a thing.
The potential for a great day of hiking was strong the next morning, and we began the day by applying generous amounts of sunscreen- evidence of our confidence that the sun would be shining all day.
By about 11 we made it to the junction just below Mt. Jefferson and could spot some thunder and lightning in the distance. The leaders in our group made the decision to head down the mountain and below the tree line before the weather turned really foul, and we all complied enthusiastically as the threat of being caught on the top of a mountain in a lightning storm was all but appealing.
Hiking around Jefferson on the Cornice trail, I experienced stress like I had never felt before. In my head, with my past hiking experience in mind, I anticipated the .7 miles would take us an hour at most, but it ended up being closer to three hours before we completed the hands-and-knees crawl across the jagged rocks.
Any hikers out there will recognize a cairn- a mound of rocks that guides hikers along the trail- as helpful but sometimes unnecessary when the trail is an obvious path through the woods. Our group is now convinced that this Cornice trail was actually not a trail, but a cruel joke some super-human hiker decided to play on the rest of humanity by constructing cairns along a path that was by no means fit to hike.
With rain beating down on us and the threat of thunder and lighting constantly looming above our heads (quite literally), we didn't stop to rest until we had made it to the Castle trail. This trail brought us in and out of tree covering, and my fear was growing steadily with the increase in the loudness of the thunder above us. The descent from here took us until about 7 pm, and was only possible because of the fearless men in our group who stopped at every rock face and slippery slope to ensure the rest of us made it down safely.
Our clothes and boots were soaked to the core, but we had reached the sign that promised we were only a mile from the road. "Thank you Lord!" echoed from the mouths of the relieved and exhausted hikers, but perhaps a little too soon. Just as we were beginning to anticipate the ending to our entrapment in the woods, we encountered a river. Our spirits dropped when we saw a sign reading "trail", pointing directly across it.
You've got to be kidding.
It took another hour of searching for a safe way to cross and planning the attack against the raging waters before we made it across. Using an old tree as a handle, which was set in place thanks to, once again, our heroic guys, we cautiously waded across the river.
The remainder of our descent felt like a walk in the park, and we once again thanked God for delivering us from what could have been a scary story with a much different ending. All in all, this experience reminded me that many sudden challenges can and will show up- whether that is in a hiking experience, a challenging class, or just a stretching life situation.
I'm so thankful for the way the mountains show me my own inability to control the world. Even though our group was prepared, we had no control of the weather and that reminded me that I will face unexpected storms and need to be ready to face them with courage.
I now have a deeper appreciation for Creation and its Creator, the difficulty of a strenuous hike, and the simplicity of a slice of hot pizza at 10 pm after a nearly twelve hour day of hiking.
It was definitely worth it.
