Framing Rainier w Sail Boat.
I have been exploring a little more with my bike recently in the Seattle area. What a wild [meaning GREAT] place when it is nice out. I should mention that the days like the one above depicted in this photo are few when looking at the span of the entire year, but when it is nice I can’t think of another place on earth as golden and enchanted as this. Might be exaggerating a little bit. Maybe not though.
This photo is from two weekends ago and it was probably 10 miles or so from home along the path I took. Great conditioning for Rainier this summer. Great refreshment for the soul as well.
Did I mention we climbed to Camp Muir earlier in May? Don’t think I did. Now that was truly wild [meaning CRAZY]. For starters, Camp Muir is just above 10,000 feet on Mt. Rainier and is the base camp for most who make the summit attempt on Washington’s greatest mountain. We are training with a group of folks who have the goal of climbing Rainier this August [including the 3 Larsen boys]. Our fearless leader has us all on a training routine that is pushing us to be in condition and mentally ready for a climb. Our trip to Muir was a test.
We hit a day that was “inclement” to say the least with white-out conditions for a good part of the assent. Even lost our trail for about an hour. We also had strong winds and precipitation. I guess the wind chill was below freezing and the winds, which blew horizontal for most of the climb, were hitting over 30 mph.
Rainier beckons to many people in the Puget Sound region. Growing up in its shadow as a kid, I always heard tales of intrepid climbers who climbed this peak and others who trained on this mountain in preparation for climbing Everest. Some of this was legend, but then every once in a while you would read a story of someone who slipped to their death or was caught in white out conditions and lost orientation. One sad story from a few years ago was about an uncle/nephew team who were found frozen to death about 50 feet apart. They had all the correct gear in their packs but somehow lost orientation and hope, failing to rely on their equipment and each other.
In the journey of life, sometimes discouragement hits us, like the 30 mph horizontal winds that intimidated us on the mountain. The storms of life and “white-out” conditions make us lose the trail. The temptation is to just sit down, failing to utilize the resources at hand or find help from others. Don’t do that. Let the words of the Psalmist direct how we navigate these hard times: “From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe. I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings.” Psalm 61:2-4. Let this be your heart’s yearning and may God direct your steps to the right resources. May his comfort sustain and strengthen you. Have a great weekend.
