I had the opportunity to go to Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimmaron New Mexico from July 8th to July 22nd. I received the CD of pictures from the trek this week and felt a renewed motivation to pontificate.Those of you who have been to Philmont before can relate when I say it is a wonderful place to be, although being away from home for 2 weeks is a LONG time to be away from home (not just for me, Rebecca was the REAL trooper). My trek to Philmont began rather suddenly. I was called July 3rd and was asked to fill in as a leader for the council's trek, with plans to leave Ogden on July 8th. The other contingent leader was a 64 year old co-worker, which turned out to be a great blessing. The 5 youth in the contingent scarcely knew each other -- so the ride from Ogden to Pueblo, Colorado (where we stayed the 1st night) was quiet.
We arrived at Philmont early on July 9th, were assigned tent space, and a crew guide who scared us to death about bears (they leave no detail out about what bears can do). At Philmont, they have strict rules about camp site living because of bears. For example, campers cannot sleep in or have in the tent the clothing that they have worn while preparing, cooking, or eating food. That evening (a Wednesday) we attended LDS church services in a beautiful little chapel, built especially for LDS campers who come to Philmont -- they hold church 7 days per week there -- which was a big spiritual boost. There was standing room only. Several stakes from Texas had brought their Priest age youth to experience Philmont. At that sacrament meeting, the LDS Chaplain challenged the participants to do 3 things while in the "backcountry": to pray, to look for miracles, and to write in a journal. The morning of the 10th, we departed for what Philmont refers to as the "backcountry."
Our first 2 days in the backcountry were fairly routine as mountain backpacking treks go, beautiful vistas, abundant wildlife, and etc. The evening of the 2nd day, it rained horizontally. Because of the clothing rule, I quickly changed out of the clothing I had worn that day and put on a pair of sweats and realized I need to put my clothes in my pack, which was about 100 feet from where my tent was. Before running over, I decided not to bring my flashlight, and instead ran out into the rain toward the shelter we were keeping our backpacks. It was not 30 seconds later that I found a rock (very wet from the rain) and slipped and fell. I landed straight on my tail bone. I cannot remember ever being in more pain. After catching my breath again, I got up hobbled over to the backpacks then back to my tent. The next morning, the pain was nearly unbearable. Recognizing I was not going to make the remaining 60 miles (the trek was a total of 70 miles) with a 50 lb. pack with out divine intervention, I asked my co-worker to administer a blessing to me. Ironically, one of the LDS units from Texas was in a neighboring campsite. With a faithful priesthood holder from that campsite, Tom (my co-worker) was able to give me a priesthood blessing. I remember the words "we bless your body that it will limber up, that you may fulfill the trek." The pain subsided and we continued our trek. I knew it before, but was reminded of it that morning, that there are no co-incidences when it comes to the the purposes of Heavenly Father being fulfilled.In the subsequent days, I witnessed many great things, saw wonderful views, experienced many things, and felt the spirit often.
On day 12 of the trek, I was reminded again of the mighty power of Heavenly Father. I have never seen rain like the rain in Northern New Mexico on this day. Clear skies one moment, torrents of water streaming from the sky with walking trails becoming raging rivers the next moment, then clear skies again. We had seen our share of rain on this particular day. We were en route to our campsite when the rain came. . .and came. We hiked slowly as drops of water pelted the ground (and us). At one point, one of the youth turned to Tom Hunsaker (my co-worker who was on the trek with me) and said, "I think we need to pray." He agreed. We gathered together and Tom offered the most simple prayer I have ever heard. It consisted of 1 sentence: "Help us to make it to our campsite safely and to have a dry place to sleep." I could barely hear what he was saying, the rain was coming down so hard. Then it happened. We arrived at our campsite 5 minutes later, the rain stopped. We were drenched. As we attempted to get a fire going and set up shelter, the sun came out. It was not until later when walking through an adjoining meadow that I realized that the sun was peering through clouds, its rays shining only on the area where our campsite was. The sky stayed this way for the duration of the afternoon and early evening. You might think I am exaggerating, but I am not. When we unpacked our bags, there was a lot of wet clothing and materials -- but every one's sleeping bag and tent was dry.
I could go on and on about the many simple yet tender mercies of a loving Heavenly Father. I came back from Philmont with a clear mind, determined to continue to pray, to look for miracles, and write in my journal. It is interesting what I have learned about life since combining the 3 activities together. It took a trip to the backcountry of Philmont to be reminded (again) of the hand God does have in our lives. How thankful I am for ALL he has provided me.
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