YOU GOTTA GET YOUR FEET WET! (4 OF 7)
by Roger Thomas
Scripture: MATTHEW 14:22-23
This content is part of a series.
You Gotta Get Your Feet Wet! (4 of 7)
Life with Peter series
Roger Thomas
Matthew 14:22-23
August 5, 2001
The veteran guides at the tourist park in the Alps say they have seen it happen time and time again. The day almost always begins the same way.
A few dozen tourists sign up for a day of mountain climbing. The brochure promises a never to be forgotten experience. The hike will take about eight hours total—up and back with a lunch break at a midway station complete with restrooms. It will be rugged but do-able for anyone in reasonably good condition. Parts are steep, but most of the trail will be gentle switchbacks. Experienced guides, wide paths, and guardrails at needed points guarantee a safe return. That is what the brochure says.
By the nine o'clock departure time about two dozen hearty climbers are on hand. The half dozen guides distribute the gear—water bottles, backpacks with lunch, sunscreen, and plenty of first aid kits. The group starts at a rather casual pace. Some of the younger hikers encourage the guides to go a bit faster. There is lots of talking and joking. Some even try to start up a song or two. By the beginning of the second hour, the mood changes with the terrain. The incline is steeper. Breathing in the thinning air becomes harder. There is less talk. All attempts at singing have stopped. No one calls for the guides to pick up the pace.
Into the third hour, everyone's legs, except for the best conditioned, are starting to ache from the uphill trek. Finally, the group rounds a bend in the trail. A beautiful mountain vista opens before their eyes. But the most beautiful site is the midway station nestled at the edge of an alpine meadow. A few in the group almost run the last dozen yards or so to the benches. Backpacks are tossed aside. Water bottles are opened with gusto and lines form for the ladies' restroom. It is always this way the guides say. But the real story is yet to take place.
After ...
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