November 9th, 2006
I seem to be hooked on what my dad has called “the thrill of life.” This means that I am always striving for something bigger, better, more challenging, more risky. This has certainly been the case with my recent weekend adventures.

Last weekend I went to Mount Magazine, in central Arkansas. It was a 4 hour drive, so I left right after work Friday to stay at a nearby motel in order to get an early start with my hike on Saturday. I picked out the longest, most difficult trail I could find, hiking at the highest point in Arkansas. I planned to start at the top of the mountain and hiking down to Cove Lake, and then back up. It would be around 19 miles round trip, with mostly steep hiking on the side of the hill.

The only motel that had an available room was in an assisted living facility. This may sound odd, and the reality was even more so. The place was basically a nursing home, with one hallway used as a working motel filled mostly with truck drivers and local workers. I asked for a non-smoking room and was told that the best they could do was remove the ashtray for me. But it was a bed, so that’s where I stayed.

I was up at 5:30am Saturday morning, and as the sun rose I was driving up the mountain. It was beautiful and I don’t think it would be possible to fit more vivid fall colors into the landscape. Last weekend must have been the peak of color on Mount Magazine and I was able to enjoy it all day long as I hiked through the quiet national forest.

Now we get to the part about pushing limits. I had thought that a 19 mile all-day hike on a steep trail would be no problem. I have been doing the “weekend warrior” thing for a while now and thought that my legs were ready for a bigger challenge. After about two miles of hiking, both of my knees started hurting. From my experience hiking the 14’er this past summer, I knew that my knees would get worse and worse until I could barely stand. But I had planned to hike all day long, and out of stubbornness or determination, I continued forward.

I knew I had to turn back at 12:30 no matter how far I hiked, to ensure I would be back to the car before dark. By the end of the day I had hiked 10 ½ miles in 9 hours. As I hobbled to the car at the end of the day, I was happy with the feeling of pushing myself hard all day long. Throughout the day I had seen some amazing landscapes and enjoyed the peacefulness as I spent time thinking about a million different things, and talking with God about all the questions in my head.

There were some times along the way that I really felt like I was spending time with God in an intimate way that I don’t normally get to experience. Those times where we feel like God is truly NEAR, instead of distant; those times are like precious gifts. And I would gladly hike all day in pain to find them.

Unfortunately that was five days ago, and since then I have begun to realize that I did much more than push my limits. I visited the doctor yesterday and my knees are still killing me when I go down the stairs at my apartment each day. I had lost feeling in my foot until just yesterday. Wow – I think I blew right past my limits and on into the stupid-zone. Moderation is a lesson I think I am a long way from completely understanding at this point in my life, but who knows…. I guess I can hope to learn a lot from my mistakes, and along the way I’ll have some GREAT VIEWS to remember. Enjoy some of the highlights: