If you’ve read any of the previous entries you’ve learned of my new friend from England, James. He mentioned to me about a week-and-a-half ago that he’d like to do some hiking. My friend Jesse had just told me about this amazing backpacking trip in the Trinity Alps, less than two hours from Redding. Lassen National Park is also very close and offers spectacular hiking attractions. I referenced these destinations as being great hiking options but James simply pointed North to the snow-covered volcano towering above the skyline and said in his classic English accent, “What about that mountain, I reckon I’d like to have a crack at it.”
We talked to the National Forest Rangers, as well as a few locals and figured we could do it. The following Sunday (Aug 28th) I picked up James from his house at 10:30pm and drove an hour-and-a-half north to the Clear Lake trail-head located at the South slope of the mountain, situated at 6,400 feet in elevation, nine miles from the asphalt highway at the end of a maze of dust-covered, jeep roads (I was surprised we actually found it in the middle of the night by the directions we printed off the internet). We started hiking through the black forest under the direction of our head-lights at 1:07am. I can’t remember the last time I’ve pulled an “all-nighter,” never for a hiking trip, that’s for sure.
By 3:00am we had cleared the alpine and found the Clear Springs where we refreshed our water and continued climbing. We were indebted to the GPS “App” I downloaded for the handsome prince of $9.99 to my iPhone the night before which showed our climbing route and current location continually throughout the night.
The night sky held no moon and brought forth the most brilliant stars I have ever before seen in my life – truly amazing. We had the entire mountain to ourselves and praised the Lord, prayed for our sleeping families resting in the valley below and prayed for each other intermittently as we shared with each other.
By 5:00am the first dull, red haze appeared on the on the Western skyline and over the next hour we watched the most spectacular sunrise – the full spectrum of colors scrolling up from the horizon until the sun pierced the darkness and started the day.
The climb that ensued was the most difficult physical challenge I have ever endured, including the marathon I ran last spring, which was absolutely brutal. Hiking up loose volcanic rock is almost equivalent to trudging up a sand dune. I’m unsure if it was the 14,000 foot elevation at summit that messed with my head or simply my “lack of” current physical conditioning at the time being, but up and down that mountain in one day was a tall order. We reached the top by 11:30am, snapped a couple pics and started our descent.
Downhill’s better than uphill by a long-shot but still incredibly abusive to the body. I could not believe how far it seemed going down being that we hiked up so far in the dark we lost perspective of the enormity of the mountain. Stopping at the springs I had the bright idea to slide down an fifty-foot snow drift on my back-side using my trekking poles as a make-shift braking system. Let’s just say the “braking system” failed and the rocks below did the stopping of the gravitational pull on my body. I was grateful to only end up with a boo-boo on my knee and shin which didn’t do any major damage for my stupidity.
We were a bit too delirious hiking back downhill to enjoy the incredible view along the wooded ridge into the tree line, but it was wonderfully beautiful. The Creator sure is masterful in His handiwork. We made it back to my pick-up by 3:07pm, 14 hours from the time we started, and ready for a break.
Two thoughts I’ve taken from this experience:
1. I’m sure if we were able to see just how big that mountain really is up close, as we did when driving away in the daylight, we would second guessed our attempt to tackle that beast as a day hike. However, we were not intimidated because we could not see anything until we were halfway up the mountain that morning. Sometimes I think the Lord conceals the magnitude of some obstacles He wants to have us go through in order to reveal more of His greatness that we would have otherwise missed by succumbing to our fears.
2. Partnership is required to undertake great challenges and genuine camaraderie is the outcome. I’m looking forward to building more friendships this year by climbing more mountains. I just hope the size of the mountains don’t limit my faith – not faith in what I can do, but what my God can accomplish through me.
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