It was 5am when they picked me up. My eyes could barely see through the dark of the early morning. I threw my pack into the bed of the truck and we left. Conversations. Music. Window views that made me want to stop the car, get out, and sit on the side of the road. Good questions. Nap times. Birthday songs over cinnamon rolls. The time flew by and our adrenaline started to pump at the thought of beginning the trek.
“Lord, be with us. Take away our fears. Protect us. Grow and push us. Surprise us. May we be left utterly speechless at the view of your creation. Amen.”
That was the last time I saw our cars. We were off. Living out of what was strapped to our backs.
DAY ONE: Saturday 2pm. We hiked 2 miles. Our minds were fresh and so were our legs. We started on the hardest part of Eagle Rock Loop in Arkansas. Once the sun started to set, the temperature dropped dramatically and the rain began to seep deeper into our clothes. I forgot what hands felt like and could only ball mine into fists in front of my mouth as I blew warm gusts of air into them. Pushing through the incline, we hiked to our 1st campsite. It was a flat area between two hills. A makeshift fire pit gave us an idea of warmth, but the rain had other plans. Even still, we laughed and shed a few tears of joy as we set up our tents. We pulled out our first dehydrated meal bag: chicken and rice. Probably the best thing I’ve tasted (considering how delicious things are when you live in the wilderness).
DAY TWO: Sunday 9am. We hiked 6 miles. The mountains were unfathomably beautiful. The kind of beautiful that makes definitions impossible. We had a lot more ground to cover and so our pace was faster than the day before. I had to dig deep. I would’ve slowed down to a crawl if it weren’t for the people by my side. Our conversations really became necessary in the moments when I wanted to quit. It was cool to hear people’s stories and learn more about them. The moment we stop focusing on our ourselves, we become aware of what God is doing. I could see Him. He was working. He gave me strength through the people beside me. That night we had our “spag bags” (dehydrated spaghetti) and we agreed that Olive Garden had nothing on our spaghetti.
DAY THREE: Monday 10am. We hiked 10 miles. This was the day we crossed the Little Missouri. The trails had evened out and inclines were more sporadic. I loved the flat areas, not only because they were easier, but because they slowed my heart rate and allowed me to look up. I remember all of us lifting our caps up and gazing into the sun. Oh how we ached for the sun! It was refreshing to feel its warmth. Throughout the majority of the trip, we had to cross small streams. It became less and less of a hang-up when we would cross water. We would assess whether Chacos were necessary and if not we would rock hop. When we got to the Little Missouri, it was a completely different story. We had to strip down into shorts and unbuckle our packs in case the current became too strong and took us with it. Our entire group was nervous. None of us said much. The water was arctic. I could barely feel below my waist. But the feeling of making it across was epic. It turned into the most refreshing part of our trip. That morning we had prayed for safety as we crossed the river and that is exactly what God provided. The current wasn’t as forceful as we anticipated and it was pleasant to get in something close to a shower… a real distant close. That night we found the driest camp area yet. I felt so small, like I was being watched over by the towering trees. They made it my favorite. The trees did. They made me feel safe and cheered me up. This site was my favorite. At this point, we had become “pros” at setting up our tent. I think it was the first night we finished setting up our campsite before the sun went down. Pretty crazy. Later, in the dark of the night, a crackling fire lit up our faces as we talked and shared our last dehydrated meal together: Teriyaki Chicken.
DAY FOUR: Tuesday 10am. We hiked 9 miles. We could really feel things on this day. Muscles were strained. Bones were achy. We felt pretty worn. Yet, I almost never heard a complaint come out of anyone’s mouth. And if I did, it was immediately followed with encouragement. At one point, I wondered if the people I was with were real. How could they encourage so much? It’s crazy how uplifting God calls us to be. And it’s in hard moments when uplifting each other matters the most. This was our last hiking day. We could taste the finish. Half of our group stayed at a resting point where the other half of us would pick them up after we finished the loop and made it to the cars. At this point, everyone took off their packs, even the people finishing the loop. I couldn’t do it though. I wanted to say so badly that I had made it from the car to the car with my pack. So Annie and I kept our packs on and started the final leg. This was the hardest part of the entire trip for me. We were a few steps in and my determination was attacked with questions. Why am I still wearing my pack? Why didn’t I sit and stay with everyone else? Why do my feet hurt? Why is there less encouragement now? Why are we walking so fast? Don’t the people without packs know how heavy mine is? I was dying. In life, when we have people by our sides, carrying the same weight, walking the same pace, and encouraging us constantly, things are smooth. But…life is never this way. There will always be differences in the burdens we carry. Our direction will cause us to walk on different paths with different people. We won’t be walking the same pace. We will forget to encourage. Life is rarely smooth. God showed me these things in those last 4 miles. I realized that my determination needed to be rooted in God in order to keep it from weighing me down. The moment determination is selfish–it becomes a burden. So I pushed forward with my focus on eternity and Christ and…those beautiful, comfy-seats in the car.
When I saw the cars, I felt like a foreigner. Is that a real car? We crossed the last stream and smiled so big it hurt…or maybe it was the rest of our body begging us to sit down. We did it! We finished the loop from the car to the car just like I had hoped.
DAY FIVE: Wednesday 2am. We arrived in Austin after a long night’s drive. All of us were smelly, stiff, and tired. It was in this state that we managed to shower and sleep for a few hours at Amanda’s apartment. 7am and we were on our way to breakfast at Amaya’s Taco Village. It was there that everything hit me. We just lived in the wilderness for 4 days. We just hiked over 26 miles. What?! Around the breakfast table, we shared our last moments together and took it all in.
I am in awe of the God we serve. There is no one like Him. And if it weren’t for His creativity I would’ve never experienced such breath-taking views with such awe-inspiring people.
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