Slam Jam Overnight Hike
On the Saturday morning of September 30, 2017, Slam Jam met at Carstensen Hall and prepared for the long, beautiful drive to the Catskill Mountains. They brought with them all the necessities for an overnight hike including tents, sleeping gear, water, and food (including materials for s'mores of course). They felt prepared for the 5 mile moderate hike up to the camp ground, with everyone carrying their own gear and taking turns with tents, but the weather was not as willing to cooperate. As the we started hiking it began to drizzle. We had brought ponchos for everyone, but we knew that the possibility of finding dry wood and starting a fire was dwindling. Looking at the everyone's wet feet and seeing our progress slowed as we struggled up muddy hills with wet leaves, we began to worry as the temperature dropped that spending the night might be unwise.
When we arrived at our campsite, we boiled water on our little camp stove and sat in a convenient lean-to we were all happy to see, and tried to make a decision while eating cups of instant ramen. The staff group: Krista, Ruta, Kent, and Matthew, met and discussed the option of hiking back down now. They prayed together and earnestly offered the situation, knowing that a decision to stay would be uncomfortable at least and dangerous at most. They decided that they should take the discussion to the whole group and if there was anyone who felt strongly that they did not want to stay the night then the whole group would turn back.
The group unanimously decided to stay, and the energy of the hike shifted from tired, wet, cold, and uncomfortable, to the epic empowerment of accepting a challenge. The staff explained that they wanted this trip to offer a challenge because understanding the course of True Parent's and the struggle of God is not possible without understanding challenge. They explained True Father's journey from North Korea as a refugee and how our simple overnight hike could not compare, but at least feeling the cold and hunger and the aching in our feet gave us a better ability to imagine his experience.
The evening was spent huddled in the biggest tent telling stories, and eventually getting a fire going thanks to some lighter fluid, and roasting marshmallows. The night was very cold, down to 35 degrees, but we woke up ready to hike the rest of the mountain to the overview. We came to the top and got to climb up a fire tower and view the incredible landscape before hiking back down.
The beauty of nature through which God's love is so tangible was apparent, but the trip also contained an unexpected mixture of challenge, unity, and fun that enriched the experience in ways more nuanced than we could ever have constructed on our own. God was with us on this beautiful overnight hike.
