Welcome to the second post on my High Adventure trip in the wilderness of Southern Arkansas. For more background on the story, please see the previous post here.
When we left off, the group had just stopped for lunch on the second day of the trip. The previous night was a huge thunder and lightning storm.
We proceeded along the trail, crossing the river several times. These areas were a little deeper, so it slowed us down. We had to change shoes, tie the boots to the packs and get across slippery rocks to the other side.
We did manage to pass additional gorgeous scenery. This water area was amazing...but we were too far behind schedule for another swimming stop:
Then, the trail headed to higher elevation, but staying parallel to the river below. The climbs were pretty tough, as there were no switchbacks - just straight ascents. I was finding the climbs to be really challenging. I was trying hard to keep up with the young men, but was getting tired. After a few hours, I stopped to check my blood sugar, just to see what was going on. Normally, glucose levels should be between 80 and 150, with the majority of readings around 120. I pulled my glucometer out and found that my blood sugar was at 34. Not good. Not good at all. I was so tired from the climbing that I didn't even see this "low" coming on. I sat down and shoved some candy and Cliff bars into my mouth. I didn't want to worry the rest of the group, so I just asked for a little time.
I was scared.
I haven't been scared as a Diabetic in decades. I have pretty good control, and can solve most problems on my own. I'm pretty fiercely independent, and won't allow this disease to slow me down or become inconvenient to those around me.
However, even with multiple Cliff bars and several packs of candy, I was only able to get the glucose up to 80. But that was enough to start the downhill portion of the trail, while continuing to eat along the way.
At this point, I started to pray fervently to my Heavenly Father. This wasn't just a typical prayer...I was begging my Father in Heaven for help just to make it to the next hill. I was exhausted...and truly humbled at this point. I had done everything I knew how - preparing physically and taking care of myself. I had packed plenty of food, despite its weight. However, all of that just wasn't enough. At this point, I had to turn everything over to the Lord. It occurred to me, as I was walking, that this is what life is all about. We have to do everything that we can - keeping commandments, loving and serving others. No matter how much we do...we still fall short. The Atonement of Jesus Christ is there to help make up that difference...if we but humble ourselves enough, having faith. He'll make up the difference. That's exactly what I was doing on that trail.
We were falling even further behind schedule, as the trail was difficult with the climbs and descents. We came up on a service road and with the help of our maps, decided to take the road as a shortcut to reach our intended campsite for the evening. The road, however, was several miles of incline. Not as bad as the other hills, but enough to create a challenge. I had a tough time.
At this point, I made an important decision. I was going to make it the 8 miles to the camp site that evening, but turn back the next day. I would let the rest of the group continue on the trail, but I would take three days to slowly make my way back to the original camp site...and wait for the group to make the loop. The way I figured it, the trail was going to get a little tougher towards the end, and I didn't want to be even further away from medical help, should something really bad happen. I didn't want the other leaders to have to carry me out and find help. It wasn't an easy decision to make. I was, in a way, admitting defeat. After all the months of preparation, I wouldn't be able to spend the quality time with those young men that I wanted to.
However, my health was too important to take any chances.
I continued along the road. Praying constantly. I asked for Heavenly Father's help to just make it another hour. Miraculously, I made it. I asked for His help to make it another hour. Miraculously, I made that, too. I asked for His help to make it to the camp site that evening. Miraculously, I arrived...and with my glucose in slightly better shape.
I told you that this was a story about miracles.
When we all reached that campsite, there was a collective sigh of relief. We spent the day going about 9 miles, but it took us several hours longer than we had anticipated. The site was really great. We positioned ourselves right next to an amazing spot of water:
We immediately started replenishing our water supply. Everyone was thirsty after that ordeal. We brought hand filters to pump quarts and quarts of water per person:
This is our Bishop...he was a regular down at the river, pumping water through the filters...
Everyone jumped into the water...and it was glorious! In fact, we found one spot that we called the "High Adventure Jacuzzi". If you sat in just the right spot, it felt wonderful...
That evening, I pulled the other adults together to tell them about my decision. The group wouldn't let me return by myself, so they tried to figure out who would accompany me. I felt horrible. Suddenly my problems were going to impact someone else in the group and they wouldn't be able to enjoy the rest of the trip. It was a definite low point.
The adults started talking about how difficult the day had been. Looking at the next few days, we noticed that the ration of "fun" to "challenging" was leaning a bit too much toward the "challenging" side. We wanted the Young Men to enjoy the trip. So, we decided to take a day of "rest" and allow the boys to enjoy the river and relax. We would let the boys vote on whether they wanted to finish the entire loop, or double-back on the trail and accompany me. That would result in about 20 miles of backpacking, by the end. The vote was unanimous - they wanted to all stay together and return with me.
Another miracle, in my opinion.
That evening, I led the boys in a discussion of several topics. All of them were related to "Mission: Possible." We talked about our mission as Aaronic Priesthood holders, our mission to have a positive impact in the lives of our families and young women. It was a really great experience.
We all got rest that night - probably the soundest any of us had slept in a long, long time. Some of the boys didn't even get up until 10am ; )
One of the other leaders managed to make pancakes that next morning for his son. They even brought a small container of syrup. Genius!
The boys spent the entire day playing in the water, fishing, and even trying to spear fish. It was a great day. Here's a panoramic view of our campsite. Hopefully, you can enlarge this to see everything. My tent was behind the camera, unfortunately.
That's me, in the center of the picture...
At the end of the day, lots of fun was had. However, it wasn't all fun. Some young men spent a little too much time out in the sun, without sunscreen:
Others had real issues with some of the mosquitos, ticks and other assorted bugs in the wilderness...
I had a completely different problem. This was one of my toughest challenges of the entire trip.
For lunch, we had the usual dehydrated meals. To cook these, you had to boil water and pour that in heavy plastic envelopes with the food. The envelope had a "zip-loc" seal so that the contents would cook for several minutes.
Apparently, some food particles were caught in that lining, so that when the boiling water started expanding the food, the lining popped open and boiling water spilled across my foot. Ouch.
Even with taking immediate action, I still received 2nd degree burns on top of my foot. This picture isn't easy to look at, so scroll by if it bothers you:
To put it mildly...it hurt. I spent the next 30 minutes in the river, to try and reduce swelling and pain. I tried to lie down and sleep, to allow my body a break. However, I had intense shooting pains going up my leg about every 20-30 seconds. No way to sleep. Obviously, my nerve endings weren't happy with what happened.
At this point, I stared at the inevitable reality that I might not be able to sleep that night. In addition, I would have to hike 10 miles over some difficult terrain, to get back to the vehicles.
I turned again to the Lord. I asked for His help, to just be able to make it back under my own power. I managed to stay put and had dinner right next to my own tent. That evening, I led another series of spiritual discussions related to preparation for these young men to serve full-time missions. Another great experience, despite the shooting pain.
As I concluded the discussion, I felt a pretty strong prompting that I should ask for a Priesthood blessing...and that it should be conducted in full view of the young men. Our Bishop was there and agreed to my idea.
I asked all of the Melchizedek Priesthood holders to join the Bishop in the ordinance. It was a powerful experience, to be surrounded by all of these brethren around the campfire. No sooner had the Bishop finished speaking...the shooting pains ceased. Yet another miracle.
I went to sleep that night singing praises to my Heavenly Father for the abundance of miracles that day. I cried myself to sleep...not because my injuries still hurt, but because my heart was full of joy. I didn't know HOW I was going to carry my backpack the next day...and make it the ten miles over difficult terrain. I only knew that I was going to do everything in my power to make it happen....and turn everything else over to the Lord.
To be continued....
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