Brian's Solitude - Part 3 - Saturday, May 15

Today was both frustrating and exhilarating, and I’m glad it’s over. It started fine until I realized I had left the ham and cheese (and chicken and hot dogs) at home! Breakfast was okay, just no ham or cheese. But dinner was slated to be chicken parmesan! So I grumpily organized my campsite and drove to the grocery store for chicken and hot dogs (note this is equivalent to a drive to Fresno from Reedley!). On the way back with my prized chicken, I get a traffic ticket for doing a “California stop,” totaling $171. I told the officer this was the most expensive chicken I’ve ever bought!

My plan for today was to hike up to Junipero Serra (the tallest mountain in the Los Padres mountains). It seemed like a good opportunity for exercise and time alone with God, experiencing His creation. I wanted to be on the move between 7 and 8 - I got back to camp with my chicken (and traffic ticket) at 10am. Not a good start to the hike.

I put together my lunch (PB&J, apple and string cheese), then put together dinner. I had planned to cook it during my hike with the solar oven, so that’s what I did. When I started the actual hike I unknowingly followed the wrong tracks. There were several times I was guessing as to where the trail was, and somehow found brush that had been stepped on and/or pushed aside by somebody (or some thing!). There were several moments I thought, “maybe these are mountain lion tracks” and started to get very nervous. Some fervent prayer led me to the true trail (I found some hikers on the trail and asked them. I told them it was hard to follow the trail and they looked at me quizzically. This made sense on the hike back when I followed the true trail all the way back to camp!).

The hike was beautiful! And very pleasant. That is until I got so high there were no more trees. Then the switchbacks started, and I was convinced for the longest time I wouldn’t make it to the summit because it was getting late and I was getting tired. But there were other people hiking still, so I persisted. I was so excited when I emerged onto the summit – what a reward! It was sunny with a nice cool breeze so I crawled up on a rock, took my socks and shoes off (much to the chagrin of anybody downwind of me) and relished in the accomplishment! It was great! (this is the exhilarating part of the day).

Then the hike down. Hiking downhill isn’t as easy as you think. There are two things that make it difficult: 1) with each step your foot slides forward inside your shoe and your toes cram against the front of it, and 2) you’re using leg muscles you don’t normally use, and your legs are just plain tired from the hike up, so they complain and get wobbly the further you progress. A third thing that made the hike down difficult was caused by my own poor planning. The hike was more demanding than I expected, and I was very low on water and needing more than I had. It was awful! I tried to ration it, but before I even reached the tree line I emptied my Camelpak – no more water for the next 2+ hours. I was very dehydrated – I could tell. I could hardly swallow my trail mix because there wasn’t enough saliva, and if I’d try to sit and rest, my legs would start cramping something fierce! There was one moment I slipped a little and whatever I did made my left calf cramp painfully, and it took quite a bit of stretching and walking to get it to relax! It was truly a miserable hike back. I had my head down and my eyes on the path, and didn’t care at all to look around. I don’t think I verbalized it, but I know God knew I would have welcomed a miraculous transport back to camp! No such luck. I was desperate for relief, so much so I was terribly tempted to drink from the stream as I crossed it (over an hour after running out of water). I didn’t, but *did* dunk my hat in the cold water and slap it on my head, letting the cold water run down my neck and soak my hair. So refreshing, but not exactly what I really needed. I tried stopping occasionally but the mosquitoes were out and were relentless unless I was constantly moving. In all honesty, had there been any other alternative to walking all the way back to camp, I would have welcomed it. But I had no choice.

I got back to camp just after the sun set over the mountains (around 7pm would be my guess). I went right for the water! Unfortunately, I had gotten to the point of dehydration that I was mildly nauseous and couldn’t drink much at a time. That was frustrating! After a brief rest I went and got my chicken parmesan, which was well cooked but had cooled off. That was okay, because I had no appetite! I ended up heating it up again on the propane stove and forcing myself to eat one piece of chicken, but that’s all I could take. Water was what I really needed.

And so the evening progressed. I ended up making a fire, then went and filled my kettle with stream water and boiled it, then used it to wash the dishes. I made a smore and had a soda and just starred at the fire, reflecting on the day. I was also feeling dirty from the hike and all the sunscreen and bug repellant, so washed up a bit by the fire. It felt so good to get clean, man it felt good! Then I sat and reminisced about the day and pondered what God may have taught me today. Here’s a few things:

1. It must have felt SO good in Jesus’ time to enter a home after a long travel and have your feet washed! I now have a new appreciate for the value of that custom!
    
2. Never before have I been so aware of my human weakness. Here God made this 6,000 ft. mountain with little effort, and it takes all I have to climb up and down it (and not even all of it, since I started at 2,000 ft). I am weak! So weak!!! Yet God is strong.
    
3. I don’t thirst for God like I thirsted for water today. My thirst for God is negligible at best. When David said in Psalm 65 that his thirst is for God, he was feeling thirsty to some degree like I was. I didn’t once tell God that I thirsted for Him; I was far more focused on worldly water. I want this to change!
    
4. I haven’t yet determined if this is true as a general personal trait or if it’s somewhat isolated, but I’ve noticed in myself a bride-to-be wedding preoccupation. What I mean is, I live in the future putting great weight and value on a particular event. I know that was my mindset in preparation for camping, and I know it is my mindset in other things, too. I just need to remember to keep perspective.

I didn’t open my Bible once today nor did I read from a spiritual book, yet the lessons I learned during this hike were profound to me! So God was working in me all along. Tomorrow I’m not going anywhere – just spending time at camp and doing some study, meditation and prayer.

Incidentally, in hindsight I should have prepared a bit more for this hike. It was far more than a computer programmer of over 9 years with little more exercise than taking the stairs to the 2nd floor and keeping his yard in order. This was the first time I’ve felt my physical limitations as a result of my lifestyle. It will be a goal of mine from this point forward to stay in better physical shape.

So that was my day. I’m pooped! Goodnight!