Backpacking, Go Through.

Ah, imagine a roaring fire, overlooking a sapphire blue lake with the reflection of a mountain boucning off it. Imagine snow, blanketing the tips of nearby mountains. A couple of good friends, a warm meal, oh a splendid time! As the day progresses to be darker, and the crickets chirp with the night owls and nightlife coming alive. Only then, do you realize how peaceful and simple life is, along with Mother Nature itself. The stars come out with no light pollution, and leaves you feeling so, so small. But to get to that outlook, to get to that view was the journey. Sitting in a chair drinking a warm cup of hot chocolate, you recount how difficult it was. You recall the steep elevation along with hundreds of thousands of steps. With each step, you remember your breath getting heavier and the rest of your body bucking under the weight of your backpacking gear. Everytime a person wanted to quit, everytime a person complained, instead of joining in, you saw the end goal, the outlook, the view. As the journey got closer and closer, you sang songs, you screamed encouragements, and you powered through.

Backpacking was one of the many skills and experiences I took away from my limited time in Boy Scouts. After remniscing on backpacking trips where we got rained on, where the sun was blistering, and the food wasn’t cooked well, it was not only character-building, but friendship forming FInishing those trips and heading back into civilization, makes one think that sometimes, we just need to slow down. We need to slow down and enjoy life the way its supposed to be lived. John Muir once said,”Oh, these vast, calm, measureless mountain days, days in whose light everything seems equally divine, opening a thousand windows to show us God. ” Although life may seem overwhelming at times, let’s take a step back, let’s take a moment to remember why we live it. The journey may be difficult, but the end view is worth it. No matter how painful it gets, God will sustain us. If He provides for each wild animal and if He created Mother Nature itself? Who are we to complain when life get hard, He will care for us. The journey is hard, but the success and the end will be worth it.