Fishing/Hiking Campout

Today I just got back from a scout campout that I went to to get some requirements done. It was an even bigger adventure than originally intended! The pictures of it are on facebook; it takes longer to put them on here and only one person I know looks at this blog anyways.

So we started Friday evening by driving to Cave Junction. We got some meat there from Taylor's Sausage, listened to some live music that happened to be playing there, and then drove off to our spot. We were going to camp at Lake Tanner, but due to harsh weather, we decided to camp at Bolen Lake and go to Lake Tanner in the morning to fish. Earlier that day I had prepared some foil foods that Bro. Evans suggested. One was an apple  with the core taken out and filled with cinnamon gummy bears dipped in chocolate (he originally suggested just normal, hard, cinnamon candy, but he also suggested to experiment with gummy bears!), another was yellow cake batter in an orange peel (which Jacob ate), and then the hobo dinner, with hamburger, onions, carrots, and potatoes.

That whole night was pretty crazy. The 12 year old scout that I shared a tent with went out in the middle of the night just to explore. It's some kind of insomnia thing he has, I guess. I didn't know this then though; he left while I was asleep. But when he came back in from the rain and got in his sleeping bag, it got wet on the inside and he started to make shivering noises which woke me up. I was quite confused as to how he got so wet. After a change of clothes and a new sleeping bag, he was just fine. My coat was warm enough to keep me happy sleeping on my mat for the rest of the night. So I dosed off some more, and then I was awoken by him talking. He just kept on talking about a bunch of random stuff ranging from Lord of the Rings to some scary girl in his class named Danielle. Although it was all interesting and all that jazz, it kept me up for the last few hours of the night. Ah well; you never get much sleep when camping anyways.

When it was time to wake up and leave, we threw all of the equipment in the cars and went off to the lake to fish. The fishing trip was pretty successful; my dad and Josh Haack both caught 10 fish or so each. I even caught one! The unprepared scout was moaning and shivering again, and didn't want to fish. He was feeling sick, cold, and miserable. Poor guy, I hope he learned his lesson. Hopefully his parents will prepare him with the stuff the leaders told us to bring next time.

Eventually everyone left in Bro. Black's car, except for me and my dad. We were going to go and go a 10 mile hike for one of the Hiking Merit Badge's requirements, and so we did. We went on a trail called Tanner Peak, and it was an inspirational experience for me, while also being challenging in the icy weather. The fog and mist covered everything. The wind and rain made the experience all the more epic and adventurous. The leaves of some of the trees had turned yellow while the evergreens retained their dark green shades. It was pretty... hm, a word to describe the area... mystical.

The long and monotonous march in the quiet place of nature gave me a lot of time to think. That's what I love about hikes; it's good meditation time. My last few days have been out of control. I have lacked the personal leadership that I need to feel successful, to have inner peace, and I've been spinning my wheels in the mud, so to speak. But while I walked my mind came upon Proverbs 3:3-5: "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths."
This is currently my most favorite scripture. I personally don't perform very well unless my spirit is strong. I forget things, I don't plan well, I lack the energy to follow through. I am weak without the Spirit of God. It comforts me that all I need to do to become better is to trust the Lord with all of my heart. Thinking that you can be happy in any other way is false. My new most favorite hymn is "I Feel My Savior's Love". That song brings such joy to my heart.

Anyways, our 10 mile hike turned out to be longer than expected. We made a wrong turn somewhere, short-cutted a bit, and eventually found ourselves quite lost in the wilderness, me and my dad. It was scary. We said a prayer, looked at the compass, and started moving west: the direction Tanner Lake was in. We found ourselves on another trail, but didn't recognize anything on it from when we walked in. Answer to prayer #1: Two people show up on the trail: a father and his teenage daughter. They were both wearing orange caps, and the father had a gun in his hands. We asked them for directions, and he had no idea what trail we were talking about. We had walked onto a completely different trail than the one we started on! He said to keep going until you found the trail head. Then he said that there might be cars that you could wave down to help you get a ride back to our vehicle which was parked at the parking spot near Tanner Lake. We thanked him and moved along. It felt so good to know that we were actually getting somewhere, even though it wasn't our original spot. I'm so glad we didn't get lost and die out there because of our foolishness. God is so gracious. And seeing that teenage girl's beautiful face totally made my day; girls are so awesome! There's a reason why scout camp isn't as likable as civilization: the lack of the young women! A smile from a female on any day makes that day worth living. Well, I guess all days are worth living, but, ya know. Sure makes me feel glad all the same.

ANYWAYS, we got to the trail head and waited for a car to pass by. None did. Eventually, dad gives me a walkie talkie and tells me to go down the road a ways and see if there might be a highway or something where cars would be more abundant. And so I did, but I found nothing. After almost losing reception with the walkie talkies, dad told me to come back. And so I did, and we waited some more. Two old guys who were driving a pickup truck rode by, but didn't pick us up. Dad thought that they thought that we were terrorists who wanted to kill them and steal their car or something like that. We kept on praying in the wind and rain for some merciful soul to come and help us. Answer to Prayer #2: This big green truck drives by and stops. The window rolled down, and dad explained our situation to a kind, pretty woman and a friendly looking and sounding older man. Out of the pureness of their hearts, they gave us a ride back to our rig, out of their way too. It is funny how much we take for granted things like heating and lighting and food and moms. I like trips like these that humble a body and show you how life would be like without most modern conveniences. Our saviors even gave us some water, chips, and jerky and let dad use their phone (which miraculously had service at one point!) as we drove to where dad's red Grand AM was. It was a huge answer to our prayers that these two showed up. May God bless them both forever for their Christ-like deeds.

After getting some poles, other equipment, and fishes that we left at the river, dad and I were off to home! We got there after about an hour's drive or so, I would guess.

I am so glad that I went. It was a challenge, but that was what made it so good. I love doing hard things; they refine me! That is what I seek: refinement. Maturity. Leadership skills. Initiative. Diligence. I know that if I just trust God and love him, "he shall direct my paths". I will keep this scripture in mind and learn myself to follow it good.

(btw, studying Huck Finn appears to be affecting my writing style. I'll write about him later.)