Hey everyone!
I’m back! The last month has been one of the most incredible experiences of my whole life. I got to spend 31 days hiking the Colorado Trail. Doing a thru hike of any long trail has been a dream of mine since I first found out what backpacking was when I was twelve. Thankfully, the Lord has been sending me on a journey over the last two years where I get to do the things that I never could have imagined I could do. It’s all through Him.
The Colorado Trail is a 485 mile trail that goes from Denver to Durango. I did some extra miles here and there- mainly by climbing a few 14ers. My ending mileage is between 505-508 miles. In 31 days! This is something I never would have believed I could do. My most previous long backpacking trip was 12 days in 2016… and we did 108 miles… In the first 6 days in Colorado, I did 104 miles.
This dream of mine used to look impossible. I never knew where to go or how long I should go for. There were also a few things that were holding me back from actually trying to accomplish this goal.
First of all- I was scared. I was scared of going alone. I was scared about the amount of distance. I was scared about being in the mountains for a month. I was scared about getting injured or my bad ankles not being strong enough. I was scared about bears and moose. Most of all- I was scared about the weather. This is a long list! There were so many unknowns. SO many variables. And on my own, so much could go wrong.
But I felt called…
I decided in late June that I was going to do this trail because I knew the Lord was calling me to it. Alone or with a group. I was going.
Luckily, two weeks before I left, in mid-July, I got two people to come with me. Steadman and David. Steadman I met in Asheville during my last trip. David was a friend that I had made through working at JH Ranch last fall. We started out a group of three. By the end of 6 days, I was alone again. They both dropped out for different reasons that aren’t really important. I had so much confidence when we first started. It was like my confirmation that the Lord was actually calling me out there- He gave me a group of people, which would have made so many of my fears go away. Yet after one week, here I was again- facing all the same fears I had since before I started.
For a week on the trail, I was alone.
Days were long. Nights were boring. Everything seemed meaningless. All day, I would walk and pray. I heard the Lord speaking more clearly than ever before. We could have full on conversations like I talk to anyone else- that’s how clearly and quickly I heard Him. He was so close in my most desperate times. Yet I still wanted to have human interaction so badly. During this week I was alone, the only times I talked to people was when I would just say hi to people as they walked the opposite direction of me on the trail.
There were benefits to being alone. It was easy to talk to God all day. There were no distractions. I could go my own pace. I did Colorado’s two highest peaks (Massive and Elbert) in the same day. No one was there to stop me or tell me they were too tired. I just kept walking. It was either keep walking and make progress, or sit around alone. So I got productive. As I look back, I think of the quote “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” Never before have I realized how true this reality is.
During the first week with David, we met a guy named Cameron who was doing the trail alone. We stuck together for a few days until we got to Frisco. David and I stopped in Frisco for a few days to let his feet recover (which they didn’t, which is why he went home). Cameron however had kept going, so he was ahead of me the whole week I was alone.
One night, there was a campsite I really wanted to stop at, but the Holy Spirit told me to keep going. I didn’t want to because I was tired and hungry, but I did anyway.I went so much further than I had wanted to, and I ended at a campsite that was way worse than the one I wanted to stop at. I was so confused why He had led me there. But He hasn’t failed me yet, so I obeyed. The next day, it was the same thing. He told me to keep walking when I wanted to stop. At the very end of the day, I saw Cameron. He was hiking with his mom, so he was going a slower pace than he normally does. This gave me the opportunity to catch up with him over that week. She was leaving the next day, so he was about to start hiking at his normal pace again. If I hadn’t caught up with him that night, we would have been a day apart for the rest of the trail. It was from this point on that I knew the Lord had me out there for a reason. That He would provide my needs. Cameron and I decided to hike the rest of the trail together.
The Lord truly showed me so many ways that He will provide. We can hold onto the promises that He gives us in His Word. I could never have done this trail alone. I think I would have given up. Cameron being part of this journey made this adventure actually fun. I had someone to joke with, talk with, and pour into. I had planned to go alone, but then I brought two people with me. Even when I felt like they failed me, the Lord showed me He will provide anyway. I could have started alone, yet He still would have provided Cameron. I know that if He calls me to something, I can trust on the promise that He will never leave me or forsake me. He knows what I am able to do. Obey what the Lord is calling you to do. Even the biggest, most scary thing- He will be with you through it all.
There are so many stories of crazy things that happened all along this trail. Too many to ever tell. We got every type of weather from hail, snow, high winds, rain, thunder, lightning, smoke and ash falling from the sky, walking through clouds, and any combination from this list. We saw moose, deer, goats, cows, sheep, mountain lions (sadly, no bear). We met people that I will always remember. This truly was an adventure of a lifetime. And even in the scariest moments, I had so much peace. As I saw the biggest storm we had ever seen coming right at us, with 40mph winds blowing in our faces as we were at 13,000 feet of altitude, above tree line with no cover to protect us from the weather, walking along the top of a ridge- I still had so much peace. I was able to look at those storms, the things that used to scare me to most, and laugh at it. Because I knew He would provide. I knew He would protect. I knew He was with me and that He would never leave me.
Now we’re to the present moment, and there’s a few things going on. I’m back in St. Louis until January of 2021. I’ll be starting up my odd job, landscaping, construction, home repair business that I ran last fall again this fall and winter. Hit me up if you have jobs ;). In January of 2021, I’ll be leaving for yet another mission trip. This one goes to Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Cambodia. It’s another long one, so I’ll be gone until August of next year. Somehow, World Race liked me enough to ask if I wanted to be a team leader for this trip, so of course I said YES!!! As a team leader, I’ll basically be helping direct a team of gap year students as I also do ministry with them.
I feel so blessed to have this new opportunity. It’s like I said at the very beginning: the Lord has allowed me to do things that I never could have imagined over the last two years. So many of my dreams have come true, and He is continually giving me new ones to go out and accomplish.
If you want to hear some of the crazy stories from this last month, feel free to reach out to me. If you need someone to talk to, feel free to reach out to me. Thank you for everything you guys do. For keeping me in your prayers and fundraising me. You truly are amazing. I hope to see you or talk to you soon!
