My hike up Wheeler Peak
By Rick McClatchy
My hike up Wheeler Peak with my son and nephew brought back many memories. As we inched our way up the mountain trail, we passed scenic vistas overlooking lush valleys, majestic distant mountain peaks, and pristine alpine lakes, all of which brought back dim memories of 35 years ago when I was last in the area. We saw a variety of wild life during our time there, but one of our most exciting was big horn sheep.
On the first day, we started at the trail head which was about 9600 feet elevation and took our gear up to Horseshoe Lake which is 11,950 feet elevation where we set up camp, and with the remaining afternoon light we made our way up Wheeler peak, which at 13,167 feet is the tallest peak in New Mexico. We reached the crest about 5:30 p.m. The day was clear and temperate allowing us to see for miles in every direction. My son counted ten layers of mountain ranges as we looked south. To the north, we could see mountains on the Colorado border about 30 miles away. The time on top of Wheeler was a captivating moment which makes one want to just stay there on the mountain soaking it all in, knowing that our pictures and mental images will fail to capture the present experience of what we were seeing.
Then we came back down and camped out for the night at Horseshoe Lake where we had a freeze-dried dinner, which tasted pretty good considering how many calories we had burned that day. The night was pretty cool, getting down to near freezing.
The next morning after a freeze-dried breakfast and bowl of oatmeal, we packed up and headed back down. It was considerably quicker going down, and by 1:00 p.m. we were back at the trail head. The whole trip was estimated to be about 16-17 miles, but we actually went closer to 20 miles according to my nephew's high tech satellite phone with a state-of-the-art hiking app. By the time we got back, this old body of mine would argue that it was closer to 40 miles.
The hike reminded me of several important things about life. First, we need each other. I would have never made this trip without the support of my son and nephew. They carried the heaviest gear in their backpacks and gave me the confidence to attempt to do this. I joked that they teamed up to get me up the mountain--my son walking at a quick pace in front of me (the carrot approach) and my nephew behind me keeping me moving (the stick approach). Our success as a species has been our capacity to cooperate and care for each other. The heart of our Christian faith centers around love, compassion, and fellowship. We need each other.
Second, life is short, so learn to awe and love. As I walked among mountains that seemed virtually unchanged in 35 years, I was reminded how much I had changed physically in 35 years. Our life is nothing but vapor when compared to age of our 13.8 billion year old universe. With our short life we need to learn to be awed by the magnificence and wonder of all life on our planet and the vastness and mystery of our universe. This awe needs to be a loving awe that moves us to see all life and all creation with the same eyes of love which God has. We need to awe and love.
It was a good hike for me, and I want to thank everyone who made a pledge to support me in raising funds and awareness of Together for Hope. If you made a pledge, or even now would like to make a gift, then please send your gift to CBF TX, PO Box 15648, San Antonio, TX 78212 and in the memo write "TFH pledge".
Rick McClatchy is the coordinator for CBF Texas.
