On Monday, I climbed Upper Wolfjaw Mountain, number 29 in the list of the 46 high peaks of the Adirondacks. I struck out early in the morning with every intention of scaling Upper and Lower Wolfjaws, but one was all I had the energy to summit. I intentionally went up the higher one with the better views first, just in case I decided I couldn’t manage both.
It was a gorgeous day. My hike began at the Ausable Club near St. Huberts. I crossed the East Branch of the Ausable River, which was swollen and roaring after the previous day’s heavy rains. I followed the West River
trail, climbing steeply up the cliffs away from the Ausable, then turned right to head up the Wedge Brook trail. Wedge Brook flows down the slopes of Lower Wolfjaw in a series of cascades before emptying into the river. Hikers often stop at the point of the brook’s largest single waterfall, which is fully visible from the trail. Even after you scamper down to a pool at the base of the falls, you can see the water rushing over the rocky escarpment above before dropping about 30 feet. This sight was much more picturesque than one might expect in the middle of the summer, when many falls slow to a trickle.
Even though the nearly 3,000-foot ascent to the summit of Upper Wolfjaw (elevation 4,185 feet) was steep for much of the 5.4-mile journey to the top and quite challenging in the last mile, the 180-degree view from the peak was breathtaking, as was the lookout toward Gothics and Mt. Marcy just a few yards further down the trail. The trek took me longer than I expected. I didn’t appreciate the difficulty of the near vertical and very rocky climb approaching the summit. Still, it was satisfying to know that I maintain the physical ability to complete a hike like that. So there were lots of reasons to be grateful for the day.
The best gift of all, however, was the unexpected presence of two companions for the most difficult section of the hike. The terminus of the Wedge Brook trail is in the col between the Wolfjaws. That’s where trails coming from four directions
As I faced the trail going left to resume my walk, I heard someone call out playfully, “Did you bring any ice cream?” I turned to see two men descending toward the intersection from Lower Wolfjaw.
“Sorry, no,” I said with a chuckle. “Didn’t have room.”
“Where are you headed?” the other asked when we were all standing together.
“Upper Wolfjaw,” I said.
“Us, too,” the first man said. So I joined them. I asked where they were from and was pleasantly surprised when one of them answered, “Syracuse.”
“Me, too!” I said. “Well, sort of – I live in Liverpool.”
“Liverpool!” he said. “We’re from Onondaga Hill.”
Their names were Kevin and Jay. I noticed almost immediately that just being with these fellow hikers afforded me a burst of energy. What had become a rather discouraging slog now felt like a fun challenge. We worked together as a team, puzzling over how to scale large rock faces, offering hands to pull each other up steep scrambles, and comparing this ascent to other hikes we had made. At one point, we reached a split rock about as high as I am tall. The only way up was through the split, which was less than a foot wide. So, we had to throw our packs up on top of the rock then squeeze through that narrow opening before climbing up some tree roots on the other side. Kevin sized up the situation first and tossed his pack up. Once up top, he reached down for me to hand him my pack. It was a small gesture, really, but a big dose of encouragement. Whenever one of us stopped, we all stopped, glad for a chance to rest and take a drink of water. Near the top, we allowed ourselves a longer break and Kevin shared some homemade jerky. When we finally reached the summit (about an hour after we had met), we sat together on the outcrop and enjoyed the commanding view, identifying the various peaks.
One of the themes I harp on in my preaching is that we are made for each other – to be in community. My brief encounter with Kevin and Jay confirmed this truth. It was remarkable how that last difficult mile became so much more manageable just because we were together. I enjoy solitude on my mountain hikes, but yesterday, fighting a growing sense of fatigue, I needed to be with them. It was nothing short of serendipitous that I reached that intersection in the woods just before they did and stopped long enough for them to find me.
Who’s to say how many intersections we all reach in the course of our lives where we meet people unexpectedly right when we need them or they need us? How many encounters are unplanned by us but are in fact God’s provision of need? And how many such encounters do we let pass just because of our lack of awareness? To “pray without ceasing” as Paul admonishes in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 is, I believe, mostly about being mindful enough that we do not miss sacred moments. Because we are made for each other, those places where our lives intersect with the lives of others, even if only for a few minutes, may prove to be holy ground where we “entertain angels without even knowing it” (Hebrews 13:2). The most basic meaning of “angel” is “messenger.” Angels are bearers of God’s word, whether they are supernatural beings or fellow travelers whom God puts in our paths when we need them. Kevin and Jay were angels for me on Monday. Perhaps I served as an angel for them as well. We all reminded each other how much more effectively we negotiate life’s difficulties when we are together.
©2015 by J. Mark Lawson
Wonderful story!!!! Thanks for sharing - almost a sermon in itself. We do need each other and chance encounters like this make us mindful of that!!!
Posted by: Larry Boyer | 07/23/2015 at 07:18 PM