There is something simple and awesome about climbing a mountain
that makes guys come alive. The older I get the more I realize that life was
meant to be lived, not survived. And just because you are alive, doesn’t mean
you are living. Anyway I’ve had the incredible chance to climb some of the most
beautiful and majestic mountains in the world this past month. And I got to do
it with some of the most awesome guys too……..
The Annapurna Circuit. One Hundred and twenty miles as the
crow fly’s. Basically we started in Pokhara Nepal at about 2,000 ft and crossed a Himalayan mountain
range. The highest point we reached was 17,800 ft, and that was the lowest pass
there is that we could cross over. So even at that height we had peaks towering
over us on either side.
Probably the most amazing thing about the trek was the
change in scenery. Every day we would cross over mountains, gain elevation, and the landscape would change.
At the beginning the days were hot and sweaty, and within a week we were hiking
in snow. One day we even climbed up into a Blizzard.
We camped a couple times, but mostly we stayed in guest
houses that the locals have put up. They have lived in these mountains forever carrying
in any supplies they need on their backs. They are some of the nicest people I
have come across. It’s a simple and isolated life they live. They terrace the
mountains and farm them. All there resources are conserved and used to their
fullest potential.
After crossing the pass, it was like stepping into another
world. The first side was green and lush for most of the way, but the second
side was like walking on the moon. We hiked down massive canyons, and dry river
beds. The rock formations were incredible.
I had a thought one day while observing the beauty that I
saw………. God is a redeeming God. Most likely these mountains were formed when
the flood happened. So even when God was destroying the world, he saw fit to redeem
it into something beautiful and good………….. MT
