Into the Wild

WARNING: Picture heavy post!!  

I have mentioned this before, (probably more than once!) but one thing I love about working at the DHP is the way they take care of us. The DHP is all about community and supporting each other, and it’s just fantastic. It’s been such a blessing to get to experience a community like this. I truly believe it is a glimpse of Heaven!

Just recently, the entire staff got to drive up to the beautiful Frontier Ranch (a young life camp) for a week of winter camping. All I really knew before we left was that we would spend two nights solo camping. In the woods. In a tent. In the snow. and did I mention alone??

Anyways…we loaded up the car…

…and arrived at this beautiful adult lodge!

With this beautiful view. Yea. It’s amazing.

The next morning, we drove up to St. Elmo, a ghost town, to go snow shoeing.

THERE WAS SO MUCH SNOW!

But we strapped on our snowshoes and headed out through the woods.

We happened upon a tree with DALE carved in it. Cool huh?

and we just kept walking…and walking…and walking. It really was peaceful to walk through the snow covered woods. It was so quiet and clean and beautiful with the fresh powder.

Then we had to climb a HUGE hill. It was tough because of the super deep snow and the incline! But we all pulled together and helped each other make it to the top!

Day 3 of winter camping was “group camp night.” Thanks to Kevin and George for letting us have a practice round of camping with everyone before putting us out in the wilderness alone!

It appears that we are all reallllllly excited about this!

I think we all got pretty good air for having those packs on our backs!

After our photo shoot, the hike began. I was tired after about 5 minutes of walking. Those packs are HEAVY!

After about an hour we stopped for what we thought was a “lunch break.” After eating and relaxing, Kevin announced that we should find a spot to set up our tents! This was our campsite! I was sooooo happy I didn’t have to lug that pack anymore! Steph and I were sharing a tent that night, so we found the perfect spot and set it up! It was a cozy little home  

After getting our tents set up, George showed us how to make a one match fire! We each got to try! It took me two matches, but I was still pretty impressed with myself! Its all about the no-bark wood and size of the stick!

Stephanie did a great job with her fire…after a while but on solo, she really did only use one match per fire! Crazy!   (I used a whole box on solo and actually ran out!! Luckily George came by and brought me more!)

To help get warm, and see a beautiful view, we took a little hike up the mountain above our campsite! Little did I know that the cliff behind me is the one we would be rappelling down the next day!

After the hike, we came back and built a big fire to help keep us warm for the evening. It was cold, but it was cool to be with everyone around the camp fire. Jesse and Kevin fixed us some yummy mac and cheese, ramen noodles, bread, and hot chocolate for dinner and then we just spend the rest of the evening talking, laughing, and singing Salty Dog and KumBaYah! I really just love the people I work with! It was such a fun thing to be with them and have this experience together.

The next morning, on our hike back to the cabin, we stopped for a little rappelling DOWN A CLIFF!

Travis (pictured), Nik, and Ryan all went FACE first! You couldn’t pay me enough to have done that!

Annie was brave sitting on the edge of the rock! But look at the view! We would climb that mountain later in the week!

I was really scared scooting my way back to head down the mountain. Kevin was reassuring…kinda! The rope got stuck on the side of the mountain, and I thought Kevin was going to have to climb down to unstick me!

I was thrilled when I made it to the bottom. That’s the ultimate face of relief to be on solid ground!

The next day was the dreaded one…the start of solo camping! We hiked up to the generally same area where we group camped and were assigned to our own areas. I actually was looking forward to this time. I thought it would be a great time of reading, writing, and thinking. It actually proved to be kind of disappointing while I was out there. I found myself constantly having to gather more wood for my fire so I wouldn’t freeze or it would start snowing or I would have to go to the bathroom or gather more wood yet again! I felt like I was always gathering wood!! But my fire was pretty good! I was proud of myself! Below is a picture of my campsite!

Night time was the scariest part of the whole thing. It was just extremely quiet and the snow falling on my tent sounded like someone was walking around me. I really did feel the peace of Christ during this time however. I knew with all these mysterious sounds around me, I would  never fall asleep. All I wanted to do was fall asleep so I wouldn’t realize where I was. I prayed and prayed that the Lord would calm my mind and just allow me to sleep. He really did answer that prayer. It was cool to get to experience that.

I did get more out of the solo time than I realized when I was out there. I was frustrated during my time in the woods, but being able to reflect on the time (once we came inside) allowed me to recognize the ways in which the Lord did speak to me. I also learned a lot from listening to my friends talk about their experience. Yet again, I am so blessed to be surrounded by these people!

All of our activities led us up to the final day…Climbing MT. PRINCETON!!

It was a fun hike through the snow! We stopped once we made it to the T.V. towers for a little photo op

The hike was just beautiful and not too cold! Look at the view! We could even see Pikes Peak (the mountain in the Springs) from a two hour drive away! It was so clear and awesome!

We also had to scale the mountain due to the possible threat of avalanches along the actual trail.

We made it to the top!! (well kinda)

But decided to keep going…even higher, through the wind and snow!

It was a crazy hike…but we saw one of these guys!! I wish I had his feet to climb over those rocks!

We made it to the top and Kevin told Jesse to break out the celebration! To our surprise Jesse had been carrying sparkling cider all day! So fun to pass the bottle around at the top of this beautiful mountain!

In order to get down the mountain faster, we took a path known as “Hackett Hill.” It was the craziest thing ever!! It was a cut through the woods, not on any trails, through about 5 feet of snow!! It was so hard to get through!! I ended up sliding on my butt most of the time cause my feet would just go right through the 5ft of snow! I don’t think I have ever laughed that hard either. It was hilarious trying to go down and watch Stephanie!

George reminded us while we were away that Jesus often took his disciples away, out of the ordinary, into the wilderness, into solitude to refocus and be alone with him.

Winter camping was awesome. It was more than just being together with each other. It was about being together with Christ.

  I did a lot of things that I may never get the chance to do. I learned a lot about survival. I ate a lot of great food (thanks Sharon!). I stayed (most nights) in an amazingly beautiful mountain cabin. I played a lot of cards. I set up a tent by myself. I cooked myself dinner over a fire. I talked to no one for two days. I scaled down a mountain held up only by a rope. I wore the same clothes too many days in a row. I climbed a 14er. I saw a mountain goat. I slid down through lots of snow. I was encouraged by friends. I shared moments with friends. I ate with friends. I learned from George and Kevin. I spent time with people that I love so much. I got away from the normalcy of everyday life. I encountered unexpected things from Jesus.