Category: Musings of Sam

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Faith Musings of Sam

Signs and Footprints

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A few weeks ago, we found ourselves hiking the Sound of Silence Trail in Dinosaur National Monument. It had been a rainy few days, but we found ourselves with a few hours of sunshine and set out on the trail. We were blessed with visitors from Jess’s family, and had a wonderful time chatting as we hiked up the trail.

Fairly soon on the hike, the trail dipped into a wash, and we followed the winding course of the wash for a mile or so. The rain the previous few days had washed the trail clean, safe for some wild-animal hoofprints and the footprints of one lone hiker. The trail was beautiful, and were were enjoying the solitude. An occasional trail sign assured us that we were on the right path. About a mile up the wash, the trail (marked with a sign) led up and to the right. The trail led up and out of the wash, and then wound through some clay hills that reminded me remarkably of the Painted Hills in Oregon.

The tight turns in the trail through the clay hills soon revealed the name of the trail: despite being only a few hundred yards in front of the rest of our hiking party, we could not hear any sound of their talking. It occurred to me that this point that I was glad to have signs along the trail to guide our way. Without signs, the limited visibility and inability to hear could create a dangerous situation should we become lost.

The trail had signs at every significant turn, but at points I began to wonder if we were still on the trail. The rain had wiped out all previous footprints, and sections of the trail were not that distinct from the surrounding landscape.

I found myself watching for the footprints of that lone hiker who had hiked the trail before us that morning. Seeing the path of somebody who had gone before us was comforting. The trail signs were sufficient to guide us at forks in the trail, but it was the footprints that gave me confidence.

God’s prophets (ancient and modern) serve as signposts along our trail of life. At significant junctures we can learn from their teachings and choose the path that aligns with principles of The Gospel of Christ.

At times on our journey through life, we might wonder if we are still on the right path. Recent controversy, disasters, or personal relationships at times wash out our trail. During these times, it is often the examples of others that give us confidence in our direction. Their example, living the Gospel day by day, little by little, are the footprints that stretch before us.

As we neared the end of our hike, the footprints before us gave us confidence. The gap in the rain was closing. With a rainstorm moving toward us and raindrops starting to fall, we started to hurry. We followed those footprints rapidly down the trail, and made it back to the truck only slightly wet.

I’m grateful to those whose footsteps I follow, both in life, and on the trail. Their step by step examples give me courage and confidence as I push onward.

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Faith Musings of Sam

Gospel applications on the Slickrock Trail

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During our stay in Moab, Utah, we were camped only 1,500 feet from the start of the Slickrock Trail. This particular trail is unique, with nearly the entire trail travels across the sandstone rock that makes up the landscape. The trail itself is grueling and difficult, but also includes a practice loop of much more approachable difficulty. I had the pleasure of riding this loop several times during our stay, and on my second ride, I had a realization.

Riding most mountain bike trails is fairly easy. Trail activity produces a path through the dirt and rocks that is generally easy to follow. The sandstone of the Slickrock has nearly no dirt, and therefore no tracks. You can faintly see a worn section of path, but it is difficult to follow at riding speed. To help riders follow the route, a white dashed line has been painted onto the surface of the rock.

Between my first and second ride of this loop it had rained. Water pools in depressions in the sandstone and remains until dried by the sun. As I followed the white dashed line across the rock, I encountered such a water pool. Dry during my previous passing, the white line of the trail traveled right through the center of the water pool. To follow the line, I would have to travel directly through the pool of water.

Right there on my bike, my mind immediately flashed to the ancient prophet Lehi’s Vision of the Tree of Life. In his vision, The Tree of Life represented the Love of God, and the blessings of living the Gospel. Leading to the tree was a straight and narrow path. Along the path was a rod of iron, representing the Word of God.

The imagery is clear. To receive the benefits of the Gospel of Christ, we must travel on the straight and narrow path and cling to the Word of God. The path and the rod will guide us there.

In Lehi’s Vision, both the path and the iron rod traveled through a mist of darkness on the way to the tree of life. This mist of darkness represents all the difficulties we encounter in life. These difficulties are distracting, disorienting, and discouraging. Only by clinging tightly to the rod can we hope to remain on the path through the mist of darkness. It can be tempting during difficult times to think that we have a better path. If we let go of the rod, we can navigate around an obstacle and rejoin the path later on. Doing so carries the danger that we will not be able to rejoin the path, or will encounter incredible difficulties in making it back.

When following the Gospel of Christ, the best plan is clearly to never let go. If we never stray from the truth he taught, we will never have to find our way back. We cannot expect our journey to be easy. There will be portions that travel through the mist of darkness, and perhaps even pools of water.

Now, let’s not stretch this analogy too far. The white line on the Slickrock Trail is not intended to be followed to the inch. It is necessary along the trail to find your own route around and over obstacles, staying within a reasonable distance of the line itself. Wanting to avoid getting mud on my bike and wet myself, I just rode around the pool of water.

The Gospel of Christ IS intended to be followed as exactly as we can manage. Christ is The Way, The Truth, and The Life. Following Christ has added a richness to my life and led me to to true joy and help through my struggles. May we commit ourselves anew to studying the Word of God and never letting go.

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Musings of Sam

Like an Old-Time Rail Journey

Big Balanced Rock, Chiricahua National Monument
Big Balanced Rock, Chiricahua National Monument
Big Balanced Rock, Chiricahua National Monument

Full-time travel is not a vacation.

Vacation allows us to put off important issues for that short time to focus on the time we have, the people we have, and the experience we have. Full-time travel requires that we deal with life’s issues as we travel, having no near future to defer to. Issues of house maintenance, parenting, cleaning, relationships and even taxes must be dealt with.

At times, this can seem overwhelming, and even frustrating. It can be hard to focus on mundane but important things when we are seconds away from a trail, new friends, and wonderful experiences. This last week, I had a day frustrated with such issues. A friend posted this quote:

“Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he’s been robbed. The fact is that most putts don’t drop, most beef is tough, most children grow up to just be people, most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration, most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. Life is like an old time rail journey…delays…sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling burst of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride.”

― Jenkin Lloyd Jones, Unitarian Minister

My mental burden was lifted, just by realizing this corrective perspective. Life is good, but we must not measure such goodness in any one moment to decide our happiness. And certainly not in the middle of taxes.

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Hiking Musings of Sam Outdoor Adventures

The Shoes We Wear – I Finally Retire My Hiking Shoes

SAM_3159-Edit copyI imagine the average person doesn’t think much about their hiking shoe purchases. I’d wager that a good percentage of people don’t even have hiking shoes. Being the active person and family that we are, I take my outdoor gear a little more seriously.

Added to that, I have slightly wide feet. Choosing shoes can be difficult, and to purchase these shoes I tried something different this time around. I ordered several sets of shoes from Zappos, and spent a few days walking around the house in each pair. The winning pair was this pair of Merrells, which came in a wide size.

Looking back over the years, these shoes have carried me on a wide variety of trails around Utah Valley as I explored valleys and ridges. After my little brother talked us into hiking the John Muir Trail in California the summer of 2013, these shoes carried me on all of my training hikes as well as the 240 miles on the John Muir Trail. Our pace was fast enough that I was sure to experience some foot discomfort no matter which pair of shoes I was wearing! They held up great, and I was grateful to have them. Among other places, these shoes have stood atop Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the lower 48 states.

These shoes left with us on an adventure that led to our current life of full-time Airstream travel. They have hiked trails in Virginia, Florida, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Washington, Oregon, Vancouver, Minnesota, Illinois, Nevada, and all over Utah.

I finally wore these shoes out, as they began to come apart in multiple non-repairable places. I replaced them 6 weeks ago, but kept them for this final shot. Here in the Alabama Hills in the shadow of Mount Whitney, I took a final picture to commemorate all the wonderful places these shoes carried me.

I wonder what adventures my next set will see?

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Musings of Sam

There is No Place Like Roam

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We had the pleasure of celebrating Christmas and the New Year with friends and family in the Greater Salt Lake City area. It really was a pleasure. We chose to just pack the truck and drive up, leaving our Airstream in storage in Las Vegas. Leaving our house behind required us to stay as guests with those we visited, and our time spent visiting was richer because of it. Had we brought the house, our time would have been shorter as we attempted to get back home at a reasonable hour, and it would have required more time spent driving hither and yon each day.

We spent the bulk of the time with Jess’s parents in Sandy, UT which is actually where our legal address is. Amid the celebrations were dentist appointments, truck maintenance, and drivers license renewals, and other logistical activities.

Our drive back to Vegas to pick up the house seemed shorter than the drive away from it. It took a shockingly short amount of time to mount the bike rack and bikes, tow to a nearby RV park, and shuffle all the stuff.

I woke up in my own bed, listening to the sound of rain on my little tin roof. It is good to be home.

I have a few observations from our time visiting friends and family, and I’ll share one here:

Of all the time we spent at home, the time I felt most comfortable was when were were out adventuring or running errands. For some reason, errands in particular had this effect. I had a few moments walking around a grocery store, in Target, Costco, or Walmart where I forgot that we were not out traveling. I forgot for a minute that it was below freezing outside. I forgot that we haven’t been on a hike in a month, and that most of the recent days I hadn’t seen my kids for but a few moments here and there. Those moments could have happened in any city and the country, and I missed them.

There is no place like Roam.

For our family, it is the activities, not the places, that make us feel ‘at home’ and comfortable. Though we enjoyed our time over the holidays, I’m glad to be back Roam.