Wilderness Beauty and Reflection
From Rugged Trails to Spiritual Reflections in Alaska's Wilderness
It was our seventh day backpacking in the trail-less backcountry of Denali National Park in Alaska when we were awakened by the early morning sunrise in Wolverine Creek. It was going to be our biggest push yet- nine miles to exit- so we needed an early start. The cloudless, blue skies welcomed our early departure from camp.
There was a sense of great satisfaction, deep refreshment, and imminent accomplishment even as we took our first steps forward that last morning.
Alaska could never be fully conquered, but it didn’t conquer us.
And, we were about to finish something very few would ever have the honor and privilege of doing.
Grizzled and chiseled, we made our way through the gravelly and rocky Wolverine Creek toward Mt. Eielson. This rocky mount stands a mile above sea level and was our best and final hope of catching a glimpse of Alaska’s crown jewel, Denali, which had eluded us for the previous six days.
Each labored step up the 60-degree sloped talus, which consisted of loose, softball-sized ankle busters, was aided by our trekking poles and closely accompanied by our heavy breathing. But ever so subtly, sneaking up on us westward, rising higher and higher with every foot of elevation gained, was the mighty, snow adorned Denali in all her glory.
Only seconds before, our breath was taken by strenuous activity and reduced oxygen level.
But now, our collective breath was taken by sheer majesty.
As we reached the top of Eielson, no words were spoken, as if each of us already knew what to do and what the others were thinking.
There was a shared solemnity, a communal rite of the sacred and holy.
And along the ridge line we drifted apart, equidistant, to sit and stare and marvel and contemplate the beauty, to drink in the magnificence. It was an indescribably humbling, awe-inspiring, and deeply spiritual moment, quite certainly, the most spiritual experience of my life.
There was a familial union, an unbreakable bond between me, the creation, and the Creator. There birthed a moment of singularity between heaven and earth, of the two becoming miraculously one. The invitation was a present taste of that for which we have always desperately longed.
We were created for so much more than the lives we often settle for, and it was by removing myself from busyness and chaos that I discovered the sacredness of solitude.
Question
What moments of solitude and connection with nature have you experienced in your own life, and how have they shaped your sense of purpose and inner peace?
Peace,
Brandon