Bare Mountain's trailhead is tricky to drive to, and if you're not looking carefully you will for sure miss the trailhead. The Washington Trail Association says that it's an 8 mile hike, the trailhead says 9, and Kate's Nike+ app on her ipod says it's 11. It really feels most like an 11 mile hike. It follows an old miner's road for the first two ish miles, with not one but two creek crossings, including a walk across a fallen tree! Elizabeth got ahead of me and accidentally took the wrong way, but at two miles, you're supposed to turn left. At this point, you start a series of long switchbacks, that progressively get shorter, steeper, and more treacherous as you go up. Seriously, when you think you're getting close, you probably have another mile. When you're about to die, that's when you know you're almost there. Blueberries were ripening, and were certainly consumed. The trail had great views almost the whole way up, and that, combined with the narrow trail, prompted a lot of pauses.
The clouds were sitting on top of the mountain. It was so cool! We made it to the top at a perfect time. We got to see the great views, and then the clouds moved in.
In case you haven't figured it out, we were quite high in the air. Over a mile, actually! As we hiked down, we'd look up and say, "Look how high up we were!"
Seriously amazing. I've never sat in a cloud before. It's so chilly and you can feel the cloud move over you! It was an absolutely breathtaking experience!
When the cloud engulfed us, we had maybe 25-30ft of visibility. Think of pitch black, but instead pitch white.
On this hike, I would stare out and remember John Owen, "Think greatly of the greatness of God". How can you think of anything else staring out at the endless evergreens and towering rocks?! I was so struck by my smallness next to His grandeur. I think hiking is a good metaphor for God's presence. You can read my blog and see the pictures and read the trail description and the reports, and you can know about the hike, but until you do it yourself, until you feel the cloud whisper on your skin, you won't really know this hike. It's the same with the Lord. You can know about Christ without actually knowing Him or experiencing His presence. It's about the experience.
I was too thrilled about being in the cloud! I was still thinking about it today, and then I read this:
Then Moses went up on the mountain, and (U)the cloud covered the mountain. 16 (V)The glory of the Lord dwelt on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud.17 Now the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a(W)devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel. 18 Moses entered the cloud and went up on the mountain. And Moses (X)was on the mountain forty days and forty nights. Exodus 24:15-18
Like I said earlier, when you're in the cloud, you really can't see very far ahead of you. Imagine being blind to all things except that which shows the glory of the Lord! How crazy cool! It also made me think of the cloud that led the Israelites out of the Egypt; talk about walking by faith.
Speaking of that shekinah glory - here are some selected quotes from the last few days of The Glory of Christ by John Owen. I'm currently obsessed with Owen beyond reason. He and Piper are the best on God's presence and His glory, and there is no match to Owen when it comes to Christ in the office of the Mediator.
"Christ is the meat, the bread, the food of our souls. Nothing is in him of a higher spiritual nourishment than his love, which we should always desire"
"And this is one reason of his prayer for them whilst he was on the earth, that they might be where he is to behold his glory; for he knew what ineffable satisfaction it would be unto them forevermore"
"Grace renews nature; glory perfects grace; and so the whole is brought unto its rest in God"
"It is a great evidence of the power of unbelief, when we can satisfy ourselves without an experience in our own hearts of the great things, in this kind of joy, peace, consolation, assurance, that are promised in the gospels"
"Without the diligent exercise of the grace of obedience, we shall never enjoy the grace of consolation"
My soul finds rest in God alone; He only is my salvation. Psalm 62:1 (that's how I remember it...it might be a paraphrase or mismatched translation)
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