Flashback Friday

Lake City, Colorado Summer 1997

I was so excited, I was going to summit Mt. Red Cloud my first 14ner . My friend Kristy and I were both summer missionaries in Gunnison, CO. She met Chester , a pastor at Mt. Heights Baptist Church (where I later served the 2 subsequent summers) at the orientation in Colorado Springs. He was an avid climber, and invited us along with another student missionary to go climbing one morning.

The drive to Lake City was AMAZING!! It was so beautiful. After arriving at the trailhead, we hiked for several miles and then began climbing. it didn't take long for the mt to become incredibly steep, and all of a sudden I got paranoid and anxious, because I kept slipping down the edge. I got too scared to continue. I blamed it on my boots. So...I found the ledge (look at the 2nd picture on the right, this is the actual spot where I stopped). I sat down for several hours by myself and ended up falling asleep/I don't know for how long/until the others got back.
There wasn't a cloud in the sky. The only thing I could hear was the wind, it was so serene and peaceful. The sky was a brilliant blue and I could see for what looked like a 1,000 miles. Talk about being in the presence of God. So what turned out to be scary and disappointing was actually really God sent. Maybe if I had better boots I would have summited, but wouldn't have had that time by myself to be with God in that way. I wouldn't trade it. Truely, oh Lord, You guide each step I take.

PS. I finally made my first summit in the summer of 1998 on Mt. Gray.