“The Winds” are known as one of the most rugged and remote ranges in the continental United States. If you mention the “Winds” to any backcountry enthusiast, they will usually respond with a nod of approval and envy. Take a look at the photos from the expedition that just returned from the Wind River Range in Wyoming and start dreaming of your next adventure with Black Mountain Expeditions!

Photos

A recent study by the National Trust documents the results of how school trips change the lives of children. Here is a link to the press release. And also a link to the research findings. “Changing Minds: The Lasting Impact of School Trips” by Allan Peakcock of Exeter University.

BME is hosting a spring break expedition in Joshua Tree National Park, CA. For more information, check out the link to the J-tree expedition page. The orange image above is a promo flier you can open and print. Click on the image labeled “j-tree flier general” and click again on the image that opens. Right click on this image and select “save image as.” This will download the flier to your computer.

About once a month, I submit a blog entry to an online publication called Creation Care, hosted by Sustain Lane. My most recent entry was a reflection from a significant lesson encountered while traveling on our most recent expedition , High Sierra’s and Beyond

Below is the article that I submitted:

The Lilies of the Field

The high mountains belong to the wild goats; the crags are a refuge for the coneys…. These all look to you to give them their food at the proper time. When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are satisfied with good things. When you hide your face, they are terrified; When you take away their breath, they die and return to the dust. When you send your Spirit, they are created; and you renew the face of the earth. (Psalm 104: 18, 27-30)

The pile of raw ingredients on the forest floor was met with wide eyes and pensive postures. The giant Sequoia’s looming above seemed small and irrelevant in comparison to the task at hand… Five high school aged participants ration planning, preparing and cooking meals for two weeks in the backcountry of Sequoia Kings Canyon National Park. The menu included bulk ingredients such as flour, rice, bulgur wheat, pasta, spices, cous cous, and quinoa. No freeze dried, instant, just add water, super-sized, fast food, instant gratification meals. The pile before us was the kind of food that mom, grandma, or that cable TV cooking show used…certainly not a high school student that lives on Chipotle, high fructose corn syrup energy drinks and any variety of gas station staples. The endless possibilities of creative menu masterpieces and gourmet meals did not seem to ease the anxieties of situation at hand.

“We are going to starve” was the consensus, which quickly led to an onslaught of questions and genuine concerns.

“How many calories will we burn a day?”

“Can’t we just bring power bars?”

“How many miles will we hike?”

“What can you make with this powder?”

“What if we don’t have enough food”

“What if I can’t make it?”

“How hard will it be?”

“Where’s the lunch food?”

“I can’t do it?”

“You mean we have to cook our own meals?”

In merely twenty-four hours after stepping off the plane at Los Angeles International Airport, five high school-aged students’ worlds turned upside down by simply stepping outside. The wilderness often has a way of revealing our comfort zones, quickly removing us from them. These students encountered the reality of feeling a lack of control, leading to anxiety and fear. These often blinded them from seeing the beauty of the mountains and the richness of relationships with group members. This worry created inner noise distracting from the valuable lessons about others, oneself and God.

Several days into the course we were in a high alpine meadow clothed in wildflowers only seen by the occasional hiker, marmot or mule deer. Here we responded to the group’s anxiety with this passage:

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all His splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

Matthew 6:25-34

Worry is not only found in the wilderness. It is all too common in our every day lives. It is a major ingredient used to push and sell products, programs and ideologies. We are consumed with the stuff that we have, the way that we look, what we drive, where we live, what we eat, who we impress, and how successful we are. It is too easy to bow down to the idol of worry by turning to products and most of all lies that temporarily relieve us from our worries but fall short of what only the creator can fulfill. We are told to not worry about yesterday or tomorrow, because God is with us. This does not imply that all is pleasant nor does it imply we must stop working and cultivating creation. Even the Psalmist says “even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me.” We are able to walk in obedience to Christ’s call, “”Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life…” because we have a God that is with us. Imagine a life that is not consumed with worry, a life free to live as you were created to be, free from fear, free from anxiety and free from the lies “not enough.” It is in this freedom that we see clearly all that God has given us.

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

The new year is the time of year that naturally leads to reflecting on the accomplishments and pitfalls of the past year and goals and hope s for the new year. There is something very exciting about the idea of a new year. The new year brings opportunity for new beginning, new growth, and new experiences. One of my favorite things to think about going into a new year is the ways that I hope to stretch myself whether it be through learning a new skill, leaving my comfort zone, serving more, or trying something new. But, if you are anything like me, two weeks into the new year, those reflections are probably already beginning to fade in the background due to the everyday routine and busyness.  When the opportunity “Froze” to try something new on Sunday, I climbed all over it. North Carolina is not typically known for its ice climbing, but the deep freeze across much of the nation has brought the typical winter wonderland of the North to our backyard! Kent McClure (Timberlake Trip Staff alumni) and I went to the Blue Ridge Parkway and tried our  hands (or should I say “Picks”) at something new… Ice Climbing! Ice climbing requires two Ice axes with picks that you swing into the ice and boots equipped with crampons (10- 12  points that that will grip the ice) a rope and a spirit of adventure. Climbing in this fashion up a 60′ Rock cliff covered in very large icicles is one of the more un-natural things that one could do and I loved every minute of it! Right now while many folks are wishing the winter away, I am hoping it will stick around just a little while longer to provide opportunities for some more winter wonderland adventures!

I wish you well in your adventures this new year!

Ryan

Simply put, Black Mountain is our home and since 1945 we have had the privilege of sharing this place and the sense of adventure it fosters with young people from around the world.

The idea of an expedition, on the other hand, implies going out from our home in search of a larger world, larger challenges and greater growth.

“Expedition: noun, a journey or excursion undertaken for a specific purpose”