Two weekends ago I spent some time backpacking out in the Three Ridges Wilderness Area in western Virginia and had a fantastic time exploring the woods and mountains out there. I always enjoy getting out into nature and am happy pretty much anywhere I am if I am outside, but this past trip was absolutely amazing. I began my trip at sunset that Friday and spent my first hour hiking the trail along the ridge tops bathed in the beautiful orange light of the setting sun. The second day was clear and cold and I hiked along the ridge line again, experiencing beautiful views to the west and to the south. Finally, my last day on the trail took me through a dark and lush valley next to a fairly deep creek. The trail led me through a valley where the trees once had deep, dark green leaves, but they were then fiery yellow, giving the entire valley the look and feel of having a warm glow, even though it was a chilly thirty degrees in the area. All the scenery on my trip was absolutely fantastic!
The other part of the trip that I enjoyed was my eclectic companionship. Most of the route that I followed through the area was on the Appalachian Trail and I was able to talk to and hike with many of the folks who were hiking the entire trail. Most of them were coming from Maine and were on their way south, and they were more than happy to tell me some of the adventures that they had experienced on the trail and also were willing to listen to some of the outdoor adventure stories that I had to tell as well. As I spent time with these folks, I noticed a certain type of "trail culture" that all of them had. They were always willing to share their supplies with me, always willing to listen and talk about our experiences, and they were always willing to help or give advice to anyone coming down the trail. It was as if all of us had a small understanding of one another, that we knew that we shared similar experiences. We all knew that we had persevered through cold nights, eaten stale food, and hiked for many miles in driving rain. We knew that we had experienced intense thirst, twisted worn out bones, and fallen into knee-deep mud. And we also knew that we would do it all over again because of the peace, beauty, and tranquility that we have experienced in the wilderness. This type of "wilderness comradeship" was very interesting to experience and I enjoyed it immensely.
After I experienced this feeling of wilderness comradeship, I began to think about how we have something similar within the Christian community and how sometimes we do not. I believe that many Christians understand that one of the most basic aspects of our faith is to take care of one another and connect to one another in times of need. Often times, however, we fall short of this ideal and become extremely absorbed in ourselves. To some degree, I wonder if we also need to adopt some wilderness comradeship and try to remember that we as members of a Christian community also have similar hardships, have similar experiences, and have similar passions. We love and care for one another not only because we have to, but because we know that we have experienced the same hardships and joys, that don't understand many of the same things, and that we ultimately have the same passion of desiring to experience and to seek out God. I know that it really isn't completely that simple, but I wonder what would happen if we initially tried to connect with people by sharing our lives, our struggles, our passions, and our stories.
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