Struggling from the cold rain and drizzle, I stumbled on an unseen stone along the overgrown Pilot Ridge trail at about 5,000 feet elevation. Instinctively, I stuck out my right hand to catch my weight—plus that of my 25 lbs. backpack. I hyperextended it, particularly my index finger upon impacting the trail bank, but I kept stumbling forward a few more steps to a fairly flat thigh-high boulder. We were at the trail junction to Blue Lake in the Glacier Peak Wilderness. There, I doffed my pack, and leaned on the rock. I told my friend Lee that I wasn’t sure I could make it the 15 miles or more we needed to return to my car. I whimpered like a little kid.
On the previous day, Monday, August 19, 2024, we had parked at the end of the washed-out Forest Road 49 at 2,300 feet elevation, about a mile from the North Fork Sauk Trailhead. We had planned a five-day backpack trip to camp at Blue or Little Blue Lake and do day hikes to the surrounding mountains. Monday was a fine weather day, and we made good time. We ate our lunches about six miles in at Curry Gap, where we had initially thought we’d camp. However, 1 PM was too early to do so, so we trekked on. Climbing Bald Eagle Trail inexorably upward, we shlepped our packs as far as I could go to Spring Camp, about 12 miles in at about 5,000 feet. We set up our tents there and enjoyed our freeze-dried meals prepared with boiling water from Lee’s little burner. Besides the pesky mosquitoes, we enjoyed a pleasant evening.
At home, I’d asked the Lord about this planned trip. I then opened the Bible “at random” to read: For you will go out with joy, and be led forth with peace;
The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you,
And all the trees of the field will clap their hands. (Isaiah 55:12).
I then remembered and sang the song to those words, which song became my means of receiving Christ’s joy for this journey. I rehearsed them in my mind as we trudged up that quite steep trail.
At home that morning. I finished reading through the New Testament. I shared its last verse with Lee: The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen (Revelation 22:21).
I knew the word “be” was not in the original but was inserted by the translators to make it a sentence. That verse is a statement of fact—not a wish. When I read that, I was unaware of how much I would need God’s grace the next day in the wilderness.
That next morning, Tuesday, in my tent, I began reading Matthew. The end of this verse stood out to me: Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which translated means, “God with us. (Matthew 1:23). I needed that reminder that God would be with us fresh that day, though I didn’t know what was to come.
As I leaned on that rock in the wilderness at least 15 steep and rugged trail miles from the car, I knew I was hypothermic. I was also probably hypoglycemic, as I’d eaten only a little oatmeal and granola trail mix that morning as it started to sprinkle while we ate. We’d packed up our gear and got on the trail just as torrential rain poured down on us. I’d stopped in a dense grove of alpine trees and put on my rain pants. Even with my “waterproof” gear, my feet were damp and then soaked as we brushed past myriads of bushes laden with raindrops. We’d hiked up to the top of June Mountain, where the clouds cleared a bit for about ten minutes, allowing us to see Glacier Peak in the distance and Blue Lake below. Then we’d descended in recurring drizzle to arrive at the trail junction to Blue Lake, where I stumbled.
My hands were so cold I barely got the snaps on my pack open. I pulled out and donned my down jacket, and then put on my damp parka, a cap, and one wool glove I could find, then placing Gortex mittens over both hands. I ate a few handfuls of trail mix. I was too cold and wet to think I could make it back all the way. I wanted to go to Blue Lake, a short distance away, set up our tents, get in my sleeping bag, and get warm. However, the clouds surrounded us with continuing drizzle. The weather report we’d read at home said the worst weather was still to come. I prayed, “Lord, what do we do now?”
He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him, and honor him. (Psalm 91:14).
I decided to try to go up the Pilot Ridge trail and start hiking back on our planned loop as far as I could go while Lee left his pack and scrambled up the trace of a trail to see Blue Lake. He would then catch up with me on the loop trail back. I knew I needed to hike to get warm, even with all my layers of clothing on. By God’s grace, I was able to ascend the overgrown, few-inches-wide track for about a half mile and 500 feet up the ridge to a little clearing where I sat. I sang the song Isaiah 55:12 as I waited for Lee. The joy of the Lord strengthened me. Lee rejoined me for a little break. Then, we climbed up the ridge crest and began the long rolling hike back.
After about an hour of hiking, God, in His mercy, stopped the rain as we approached a big, flat rock by the trail. We sat and ate our lunches of bagels and fish. Sitting there, I spied some picas (rabbit-like creatures known as rock badgers) and a chipmunk. Resuming our trek, so did the drizzle. We hiked on and on, up and down the rolling ridge crest. We flushed a few big brown grouse who watched us from about ten feet as we passed. Around 5 PM, we arrived at the two-mile-long series of steep switchbacks leading down from the 5,500-foot-high ridge. As we descended 3000 feet, I kept praying and rehearsing the song of Isaiah 55:12.
Then, we crossed the North Fork Sauk River on a log and hiked the last mile and a half to the trailhead. There, Lee stayed with our packs while I hiked free of weight to get the car. It took us 30 minutes to drive the six miles of pot-holed road to the Mountain Loop gravel Highway. We got to my home about 9 PM after hiking around 35 miles in two days—all by God’s grace, strengthened by His joy. Do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength (Nehemiah 8:10). (Note: Bible verses are from the New American Standard Bible.)
Tom Giesecke (Sonrise Magazine Editor) Author. Grew up in Olympia, WA, where he received Christ at age 15. He graduated from Davidson College, NC, and Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA. After his medical internship at the National Naval Medical Center Bethesda, MD, he trained and served as a U.S. Navy Flight Surgeon for four years. Following residency training, he served thousands of people as a Board-certified Family Physician for more than thirty-five years. Learning of God’s love motivates Tom to daily search the Scriptures for more. Tom has led Bible studies for many years and enjoys sharing “the word of God, and recently publishing a book (find in the Sonrise Bookstore and Amazon) on the grace of God: Gracious Goodness.” Reach Tom at tomgiesecke@comcast.net
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