exactly where i needed to be

I spent last week hiking near Mt. Hood w Merilee, and then a few days with my dear friend Martha in the Portland area. There are lots of things i could say about the week Its hard for me to know where to start to share this journey.

Guess i'll start at the end (strange). I sprained my ankle pretty good the night before our last day on the trail. It wasn't a "walk it off" sort of sprain. it was a "holy cow, i think i can actually see my ankle getting more and more swollen...and i'm pretty sure this step hurts more than the last one" sprain. It made for a bit of a tense night - trying to figure out if i'd be able to hike out, and what we'd do about it (the fact that we'd be hiking on cliffs made me more nervous, and not knowing fully how steep the terrain would be otherwise), and there was the uncertainty of "This could either be way better, OR way worse in the morning." I elevated my ankle all night (thanks to the slope of the campsite), and had a compression wrap (formerly known as Merilee's shirt), we made an "ice pack" out of mountain stream water and our beef-jerky ziplock...and prayed for wisdom to make good decisions in the morning...and some healing to boot. When i woke up the next morning my ankle looked much better - i was surprised how good it looked. So Merilee loaded up her pack with everything she could fit (i only carried our clothes) and we set off on a slow hike out. It worked well, cause we had lots of time and knew we'd be in beautiful scenery.

There was almost this sense of melancholy in our camp that night (not a normal "mood" for Merilee and I when we're on the trail). And in the morning i had a lingering sense of uncertainty. I was confident i'd be able to hike out, but didn't know how painful it would be. As we set out for our day's 10 miles there was this sense of being exactly where we needed to be. yes, i was going to reach my destination, but also, it was as if the Lord used this injury to bring our spirits to where we needed to be (i'd also say it was the culmination of 5 days in the woods - full of deep conversation, sharing our hearts, thoughts, recent stories and struggles, and what the Lord was doing in our lives) - and it was a beautiful hike out...with a song of joy and peace - and a sense of worship permeating our walk. i don't think i can describe that day. i feel like i've done it an injustice. i guess all i can say is that i felt like i arrived where i needed to be in more than just the physical sense.

As for the rest of the trip, we had great weather (no rain, about 70-80 during the day), met some really cool people, and had some great views. and as if that wasn't enough, we got to spend a couple days with Martha, exploring Portland a bit, catching up on the past couple years...and getting to know some of her friends.

I'd sum the trip up with the word "abundance." there was celebration, conversation, relationship, great food, amazing views...abundance at every level

By Ramona Falls

"Paradise Park" - on the slopes of Mt. Hood

Mt. Hood

Crossing the bottom of a canyon. This proved to be an incredibly frustrating and challenging morning. This was before it got rough. The trail crossed a stream twice, and we had a really hard time finding the trail. FRUST! (but in the end good), and certainly beautiful

my newly made compression wrap...and a "i have no idea what to expect" feeling

Tunnel Falls. Its 150 ft, and you hike on a trail blasted out from the cliff, and then behind the falls. a bit intimidating (but beautiful for sure!). This was one of 11 falls we passed this day

At the end of the hike

Little Crater lake - about 40 ft deep - clear down to the very bottom

If you'd like to see more pictures, they're all posted at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=141677&id=574368454&l=72ac604229 you don't have to be a facebook member to view the pics.