“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work
of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they
display knowledge. There is no speech or language where there voice is not
heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the
world.”-Psalm 19:1-4
I have the impossible task ahead of me of describing a beauty that
can not be captured by mere words, for it is a beauty that must be experienced
by all five of the senses; and even after such an experience, one is left
feeling as if they have only seen a very small piece of a much greater picture.
With this in mind, I will attempt to describe my journey to the Blue Mountains.
It was 4:45 A.M. Friday August 15th…Already long past
the time we should have left for the train station. I hate to admit it, but we
were running late due to a severe miscalculation of time on my behalf.
Fortunately, my traveling companions (David and Chris), were both very
forgiving. Time however, was not as forgiving…So we had to get moving! The
train was scheduled to leave for the Blue Mountains at 4:56 a.m. We were about
a 16 minute walk from the station, meaning about an 8 minute run with all of
our bags (give or take a minute). We took off running into the dead of night,
and made it to the station with 30 seconds to spare. We felt extremely tired
and slightly sick, but we made it! Our journey to the Blue Mountains had begun!
When you go to the Blue Mountains, more than likely you will get
off the train in a town called Katoomba. In Katoomba, there are multiple
tourist attractions, information booths, and lookout points. The most famous
lookout point boasts a view of the entire valley as well as a view of the rock
formation called “The Three Sisters”. It was here that I got my first view of
the Blue Mountains in all of its glory… It was also here that we stood, unable
to speak, for ten minutes.
After regaining our composure, Chris, David, and I decided to head
into the information office to gather some information about campsites and
hiking trails. We were greeted with some good and bad news. The three of us
were looking for a trail where we could do some “adventure camping.” You know,
the type of camping where it’s just you out in the middle of the wilderness
with no trace of civilization for miles around? The good news was that they had
exactly the trail we were looking for. It was a two day trail that lead you
through the valley, up a mountain, and back up out of the valley. The problem
was that you needed to be an experienced “bushwalker” because the trail was
extremely hard to follow and was easy to get lost on. By experienced they meant
that you needed to be able to use a compass and read a topographic map…None of
us could do this. So…(Mom don’t get mad), we decided to wing it.
At about 1:30 p.m. on Friday afternoon, we descended down the
golden stairs into the valley. With the prospect of the adventure to come, my
veins were pumping adrenaline into my system and I was essentially on
overdrive. The first landmark we were looking for was “Ruined Castle,” a rock
at the top of a hill that looks like a, well…like a ruined castle. It was at
the bottom of the Ruined Castle that we set up camp for the 1st
night. After setting up our tents, building a fire, and eating, we spent the
remainder of the night plotting our course for the next day. We decided on 3
things: (1) We needed to find water. Our water supply was ok for the time
being, but by Saturday afternoon we would be pretty desperate for water. (2) We
would use our common sense. If the trail got to tricky, then we would turn back
and retrace our steps. And (3) We would make it up Mount Solitude no matter
what!
We woke up Saturday morning, cooked breakfast, and hit the trail in
search of water. After about a half hour of hiking, we came to a spot where we
thought we would find some. The map indicated that there would be a creek bed,
and it was right. There was only one problem… no water in the creek bed.
According to the map, the next source of water was at the top of Mount
Solitude. We had no choice but to
continue. At 2 o’clock in the afternoon, we finally found the creek bed at the
top of the mountain…Unfortunately, there was no water. Rather than giving up
though, we followed the creek bed. After tracing the creek bed for about 10
minutes, we came to the edge of a 1,000 ft (this is a guess) cliff. It was
here, at the edge of the cliff, that we finally found water! At this point I
think we all felt a mixture of excitement and relief. After filtering the
water, we retraced our steps down the mountain and made camp.
The atmosphere around the fire that night was one of joy and celebration.
We had accomplished our mission! I think that each one of us felt as if we were
Lewis and Clark returning from a successful expedition to the Pacific Ocean. We
spent hours around that fire…Chris, David, and I…talking about life…looking up
at the stars...reflecting on God’s beauty. I wouldn’t give up the memory of
that night for anything.
