Ghost water night

No thoughts are in my head

Restless muted walls

And my eyes under the bed

This is the end

My black has turned to blue

I have no feet

But I'm wearing one left shoe

I

Need some time

A way to kill this moment

That has no vital signs

I, me, mine

Here in the darkness

I look just fine

 

John R. Durant---2004

 

On Monday, August 10th, I left on a 57 backpacking trip with my son, Andrew (15), four other young lads from Church, and two other youth leaders, Brothers Tyler Allen and Bryan Wheeler. We trekked from Steven's Pass to Snoqualmie Pass in 5 days. You can find the pictures here. At the same time, another group of boys and their leaders, led by Spence Darrington, began the same journey from the opposite direction. We met in the middle at Lake Waptus, the only rain-free period of the trip. It was great to see the whole group together, and a message from the scriptures while we gathered around the fire lifted our spirits.

 

The pictures tell some of the story of the trip. Sadly, we have nearly none of the last 20 miles, because we were so frozen cold that we didn't want to stop for photos. On Friday we did the last 20 miles in about 7 hours of constant hiking up mountainsides and across narrow paths clinging to the rock.

 

At the end of it all, we went to Arbys where the boys filled up on Bacon Cheddar Roastburgers!

 

It is an experience I'll never forget, and the bond between us all is something special. We suffered plenty on the trek, but all in a good way. As my motto goes, "Nothing's fun until it hurts." Thus, this trip was lots of fun! I am eager to do it again with James, then John, then, Paul, then Steven as they grow a little older.