We finally reached the beginning of the Jennings Creek Trail Head and CR240; now roughly 3 miles down to the car. Normally I enjoy a good walk and 3 miles is about the perfect distance. But normal is not part of our vocabulary these last few hours...
- We were walking in a deluge
- We were walking in a lightning storm
- There was also hail
- I had one good shoe and the other foot was essentially a sock; now soaking wet and cold.
- The temperature had dropped to the upper 50's, definitely not normal for two wet South Texans in July.
So we trudge down the mountain...
As we were hiking down the rocky 4WD road, I favored my left side to relieve the weight on my nearly-bare right foot. After a half mile or so, my left knee began to ache and ultimately locked up similar to my experience on the first Tabeguache Rebuff. So my hiking style transitioned from that of Festus from Gunsmoke to someone (or something) from the Zombie Apocalypse.
Much like Jonah in the belly of the big fish, my prayer life intensified...I didn't pray for my own deliverance (I have no trepidation about death or discomfort) but I prayed fervently for Caleb - that he would make it safely back to Salida without too much trauma. I prayed fervently for Nic as he was stuck up on the high mountain in the middle of this intense storm. I felt responsible for both of them since I had dragged them into this misadventure...
Still a couple of miles from the car, an elderly couple with a pickup full of dogs came driving down the road. They stopped and asked if we needed help or wanted a ride. Caleb jumped at the chance but I declined...I wanted to plod along and see if Nic might catch up with us. I gave Caleb the car keys and off they went.
And I hobbled along...
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The Devotional Interlude from Psalm 46...
Psalm 46 is a poem or song about the uncertainties of the journey...the earth gives way, the mountains fall, the waters roar and foam, the mountains quake...this uncertainty is contrasted with the stability of God, and that famous line comes from this Psalm (I've included several translations):
"be still, and know that I am God"
"calm down, and learn that I am God"
"stop your fighting, and know that I am God"
"cease striving, and know that I am God"
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My favorite thing about hiking and climbing in the mountains is, despite the pain-discomfort-uncertainty, there are beautiful reminders everywhere if we pause and observe...
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15 minutes or so after my side trip to this pond I hear a vehicle coming up the road...it was the elderly couple with a pickup full of dogs...seems Caleb told them that my knee was locked up and I didn't have a shoe on my right foot. They dropped him and immediately came back and demanded that I get in the truck and ride down with them.
I did.
