REMEMBER DENALI! Part Deux

In my previous post, I explained our adventure from our first day.  God had blessed us with good weather during that time.  One of the reasons was to keep Phrenq safe I'm sure.  When Phrenq returned to our camp, we all went to bed. We woke up the next day and decided to continue our trek forward instead of retreating, because men don't retreat, they advance.

The trail became increasingly hard to determine where it was because it soon just became piles of rocks.  It also started to rain which in turn made it difficult as well to see where the trail was.  It was a light rain, especially compared to Indiana rain. So we were able to keep dry thanks to our handy-dandy raincoats. At points on this days hikes it was just a light drizzle, but as the day wore on, the rain seemed to very slowly pick up. After 5 or 6 miles of hiking we had decided it was getting to the point where we should look for a camping spot.  At this time we realized we had not gone eight miles the first day as originally thought, but more like 5 or 6. Which means we were behind schedule, we were supposed to be about 15-16 miles out by then instead of 12. It was an unknown blessing to be behind.

This pile of rocks is an example of the markers we followed.

So by the time we decided to set up camp, it was raining pretty good for Alaska standards. I'm pretty sure it was also around 50 degrees, maybe even colder. So with the rain, it was pretty chilly.  We had half the group set up tents and half prepare food.  Dinner that night was quick rice that wasn't fully cooked and burnt with summer sausage in it.  It sounds pretty gross, but at the time it was delicious. We were just happy to get something warm in our stomachs.  As soon as we were done eating we went straight to bed even though it was about 8 pm.  We were cold and the only way to warm up was to get in our tents out of the rain and in our sleeping bags and more clothes.

None of us slept well that night.  The ground was uneven, the wind and the rain picked up.  Our tents were not meant for that type of weather, for that much rain.  So as you can imagine it was hard to sleep. Around 5 am I realized I wasn't the only one still awake in my tent. All of my tent-mates clothes and other things were soaked. So we were cold. Soon after Ramon came to our tent asking if he could come in, we were fine with that. All of his stuff was soaked as well. He was probably in worse shape.  I was lucky since my sleeping bag seemed to keep me dry.  I eventually decided to take a look outside for myself since I was sick of sitting around and being cold.  I notice the tarp that was covering my boots were no longer covering my boots.  My boots had ice on them. ICE!  It was very cold out.  I somewhat freaked out and began urgently saying that we need to leave.  Other guys were also awake and agreed and we packed up as fast as we could, which was hard with very cold fingers. I tried to be optimistic and see the bright side of things, so I said "Hey guys, at least its not snowing!"  Soon after I said that it started snowing. It was snowing pretty hard with some large snowflakes. The biggest I've ever seen.  That increased our urgency to pack up and go. So as soon as everything was poorly packed, we headed off.

The snow also fell pretty fast.

We decided it was best to stay as one big group as we leave. Well, one group, plus three guys who went up ahead of everyone to get the vehicles.  I was one of the three who went up ahead.  It was about a mile or so to the emergency trail.  We were slipping and sliding the whole way there since it was very muddy. During that time I began praying.  Not for myself. Not really for the guys hiking.  But for my friends back home. My friends from Purdue, the Purdue campus, my high school friends. I should have been tired.  I should have been cold.  My legs should have been sore. My back should have been killing me since my backpack wasn't fitting properly since it was wet.  Taking my focus off of myself allowed me to push through, to feel no pain,  soreness, coldness, and to have a lot of energy. God really got me through that one.

After 3 miles on the emergency trail we finally made it to the end of the trail.  It was a good distance to our vehicles, so we decided to try and hitch hike...No one is going to pick up a few hitchhikers in Alaska, you know what happens when hitchhikers are picked up. That person ends up being a serial killer or something.  So we tried for half an hour and during that time the rest of our group caught up.  When they got to us, we flagged down a truck.  Cody and I went to the truck and began explain our situation. and get this!  Cody was explaining when he looked in the back and said "HEY! I know you!"  He had met this guy a few weeks earlier at work and had prayed to meet him again. How CRAZY is that?!?  God answered a prayer in such an unsuspecting, straight-up way, it was incredible.  Cody was able to get the guys contact information while we were they were getting the vehicles.

So those guys were nice and brought both vehicles back.  We then pretty much then stripped down naked on the side of the road and rode back to where we were staying in our underwear because that was all that was dry.  The sun came out 15 minutes after we began driving back. I guess God didn't want us backpacking. haha.  We had to stay at a church the last week in Anchorage, so we drove straight there.  We couldn't get in it for three or so hours, so we pretty much set up a hobo camp for everything to dry.  It was pretty ridiculous.

The guys posing with all our drying stuff.

So what do a bunch of guys who had just been hiking, almost died, and been miserable do now that they are back to civilization?  Go to Golden Corral!  We were hungry and a buffet sounded wonderful after eating trail mix, rice, and summer sausage.  So we went there and had a great dinner. And when we left, there was a double rainbow. No joke. The guy from the video was legit in his reaction. It was so cool! So bright, and vivid! All the way across the sky!!!

We took those rainbows as a promise.  A promise from God.  Sometimes, He has to take you through some crap before you turn back to Him, so we can learn something.  But He will ALWAYS bring us out of it.  And that may mean that we die.  Phrenq could have died the first night.  One of us could have gotten hypothermia or slipped on our way back. But God delivered us from it. He brought us on a great Alaskan adventure so we could point to Him even more. All glory to God.

For I am the Lord, your God who takes a hold of your

right hand and says to you, do not fear; I will help you.

-Isaiah 41:13

 However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all 

longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life.

-1 Timothy 1:16

Crap is going to happen. It is a fact of life. But know this, as long as you have a relationship with Jesus Christ, the Lord and Saviour, you are going to make it through.  There is light at the end of the tunnel.

REMEMBER DENALI! Part 1

A side adventure...

It seems like a lifetime ago that I was in Alaska. Though it turned out to be an experience of a lifetime.  My life is changed because of that project and the other lives of men have been changed as well. Men's projects should be more prevalent. I do not think I would have grown as a man of God in the ways I did if it were a typical project with women.  I praise God every day for that opportunity I had.

It has been just over two weeks since I returned.  I haven't posted the best story from the trip because I had a desire to share it verbally with people.  Now that I have had that chance, I figure I would get it written down in a more coherent, more God-glorifying way.  I don't think the way I have told it in person has done that last weekend in Denali justice. Beware. This blog is long. But it is in fact very much worth reading both parts. God's power, beauty, and grace is shown through this story.  I am splitting it into two blogs with two separate stories of the backpacking trip. At the same time these are the same stories. The story of your life, my life, our lives all packed into one weekend.

My last blog was posted asking for prayer for my trip to Denali. A 5 day, 27 mile excursion.  The weather prediction was rain. Rain. Rain. Bear attacks had happened in that general area recently.  It was a dangerous trip. But. We are men. and what do men do? Dangerous things. :)

We drove 3-4 hours north to Denali State park.  We parked one vehicle at the end of the trail and the other two at the entrance. God blessed our first day and a half with no rain. We quickly began our trek forward into the wilderness. We were full of excitement.  Every step we were able to get another glimpse of God's glory.  It was truly amazing.  We separated into two groups.  I was in the faster group of 6. Which is surprising since I had always been in the slower groups or just slower in general.

At the beginning of our hikes it was pretty wooded

Soon we got above the treeline. Every step we could see more and more of Alaska Beauty.

Beauty like this river in the other direction.

The trail soon got rocky.

The trail eventually became all rocks. Then came boulders.  It was hard to see where we needed to go at times but we were able to figure it out due to piles of rocks.  Those were literally our only markers and indication of a trail for miles.  After about 5 or 6 miles we decided to wait up for the rest of the guys.  Around 5:30 pm we told one of our guys to go up and over the ridge we were at to see if there was water for an adequate camping spot. He did not return.

Around 5:45 the rest of the group caught up and we decided to go ahead over the ridge.  At this point we realized that Mr. Phrenq (his identity being kept "secret") was not with us and still gone.  So we quickly made a plan for two of our guys to set up tents while the rest of us went and searched for him.  We had three walkie talkies so we went in three groups.  We had a time limit for when to be back since it was dangerous for us to be out there.  During our search, one of our guys texted a friend back in anchorage to have her pray.  Her father is a retired search and rescue hero.  She gave us one hour to find him before she would call search and rescue.  We did not get back to her so she called.  At this point and time we were upset with Phrenq thinking he got off the trail, came back on and thought we were ahead and went off looking for us.

Around 8 pm the helicopter landed. We all then realized this was serious. Phrenq could have fallen, broken something, or just been killed. I have never known anyone very personally who died.  I was worried. But the Bible tell us not to worry in Philippians 4:4-7, but to pray.  So me and two other men on the project did just that.  We prayed for what you'd expect, safety and peace, but also that Phrenq would hear God in this experience. He had previously said that he has not heard God before and doesn't really understand how we hear God.  I figured all was in God's hands, so He might as well speak to Phrenq in this way as well.  Phrenq also had a cell phone, so a prayer went up for his phone to receive a text seeing if he was okay.

A blurry picture, but proof the helicopter did come.

Five minutes later, we received a text from Phrenq. It was something like "I'm okay. I'm by a highway and river." Almost immediately after we read the text, the helicopter comes out of nowhere and lands.  The rescue guys came over and we told them we had contacted Phrenq.  One of the rescue guys suddenly got 3G service and started exclaiming "I have 3G! I have 3G!" Which sounds ridiculous, but when you are in the middle of nowhere Alaska, that is pretty amazing.  It was a God thing for both of their phones to have service. The rescue guy soon called Phrenq and got a rough idea where he was.  It still wasn't easy finding him, but around 12:45 a.m. Phrenq was flown back to us. Safe and sound. Missing a glove and a bear barrel.

Remember those prayers? Many were answered. He came back safe and sound, his cell phone worked and...well. first I need to say this before I go on.  Phrenq is not your average cookie.  He really enjoys classical music and dislikes modern music.  While he was lost, God put the song "Lay Down my Pride" by Jeremy Camp in his head.  If Phrenq doesn't like that music, how would that song be put in his head? It was God of course.  That song also pointed out that he has been prideful in his ability to lead the group because of his energy.  He knew that came from God. So he heard from God, his pride was pointed out, and he was given an appreciation for modern worship music.


Sometimes God has to take us on a side adventure before we are really led back to Him.  He sometimes has to take drastic measures for us to realize what He is trying to say to us.  It ultimately points us to Himself and helps us realize how much we really need him. We could have lost Phrenq that night. Praise God that we didn't. God is good and there is a purpose for everything, as shown bluntly here.