"Hazardous Journeys" Mountain Rendezvous, continued

~posted by Ben

 

Day 4

 

My alarm went off at 4:50 a.m. I slowly got out of my bunk and climbed down the ladder, nudging my Dad to wake him up. “Wake up dad; we’ve got that early morning hike soon.” “See ya later” my dad jokingly said. We both got up and dressed warmly for the 5:30 am hike. We emerged from the cozy cabin into the dark, cold morning. A large group of gentlemen were out in the courtyard waiting to depart.

 

The pre-dawn sky on the morning of the hike.

Five thirty am turned into 5:45, and still we haven’t left because our trek leader hadn’t showed up yet. Now it’s 5:50, 20 minutes late, and still nothing. Some of the men went back to bed…others, like my dad and I, sought warmth in the shelter of the main building, while still others went on their own hikes. We waited…and waited…it was now 6:30 am, one whole hour after the hike was scheduled to begin. Now the leader shows up looking rather embarrassed. After a Psalm of apology, he explained that his iphone slid off behind his bed and he didn’t hear it go off. The crowd that once consisted of almost 70 men has now shrunk to about 20-25. We disembark on the hike through rough terrain. As we walk, I am so thankful that we had the patience and perseverance to wait it out for the leader to show up. The views are spectacular!

 

 

We finally reach our destination, the summit of Sheep Mountain.

 

 

 

Do you see that “body of water” that keeps showing up in the pictures? That’s not actually a lake as it appears. It is what the morning fog looks like at that altitude.

 

After a hearty breakfast, my dad and I attended the morning service. Doug Phillips gave a great sermon on the Providence of God. He also preached on what it takes to be a godly man in the 21^st century.

 

After that, my dad and I polished our tomahawk throwing skills for awhile. It was really fun!

 

Then came one of the great highlights of the trip. A HUGE tug-of-war tournament was held. It was done by cabins. If your team lost twice, you were eliminated. As the teams were eliminated they were then sent to complete a large military-style obstacle course. Our team lost the first game, and then won the second game. We hadn’t lost twice yet and were still in; we then lost the third game, which was our second loss so we split up into father/son teams for the obstacle course. My dad and I registered and got a participation number, team 129.

 

Unfortunately, since I was a participant in the festivities, I did not take any pictures, but I will try to explain it the best way I can.

 

My dad and started out at station #1. The man told us to run around three vertical poles in an open field. At this high altitude (8500 ft.) that alone was enough to get my Dad and me breathing hard (we come from only 700 ft. altitude in Michigan). This is NOT to say that my dad and I are not fit (we ran an 8k this summer) but no matter how often a Michigander works out, he is no match for the high altitudes in Colorado.

 

We reached the next station where the guide said; “40 pushups total between the two of you…however you wish to divide it.” My dad and I looked at each other and said “20/20” at the same time. We both dropped and did 20 which was no challenge. We then moved to the sit ups station where the man said, “40 sit ups total however you want to divide it.” 20/20 again. Next, we went to a station with two slingshots, a pile of stones and two buckets off in the distance. We were instructed that we had to hit a bucket twice for the both of us. We began shooting stones. I hit both for the team in 3 shots. Then we were told to cross a running river, run around a pole and run back. We received an unwanted surprise when we got there; there was no bridge to cross the small river! My dad frolicked from stone to stone across the river with ease. I stepped on one stone, then the next, and then slid in, soaking my shoe. I gathered my composure and then we ran around the post and ran back across.

 

We then ran about 100 yards to a station where I was blindfolded and Dad had to guide me around a small course without touching me, only by verbal instruction. He did an excellent job leading me through safely. We then crawled through a sand pit under some nets, then went across a no-railing bridge…but we had to do it with my dad holding my ankles while I hand walked. We then made it to perhaps the most challenging part of the course. There was a rope tied between two trees and we both had to go across by swinging our ankles over the rope and using our hands to pull ourselves across as we were hanging upside-down. We then went over and under some posts, ran through tires without touching them, and then ran through marshland on planks of wood. We struggled to combine speed with balance, trying not to twist our ankles and fall. We then crossed a knotted rope bridge over a running river and then sprinted back to the finish line. Our total time: 22 minutes. We didn’t win but we still had a blast! There is nothing more fun than a father and son overcoming a challenge together.

 

After that we walked back to our dorm (while I was wincing at the pain of rope burn), showered, and ate dinner. Then we attended the evening service. At this service I heard the greatest sermon I have ever heard! Doug Phillips gave an inspiring message on Honor and Respect. My dad and I had much to talk about that evening looking back on the sermon. We then turned in for the night. It was a fun-filled day, and would be the last day of the conference.

 

To learn more about Vision Forum Ministries and the Hazardous Journey’s Society visit www.visionforum.com and www.hazardousjourneys.org