Sunday, August 31, 2008

What Real Anglicans Believe About Scripture

If there were any word of God beside the Scripture, we could never be certain of God's Word; and if we be uncertain of God's Word, the devil might bring in among us a new word, a new doctrine, a new faith, a new church, a new god, yea himself to be a god. If the Church and the Christian faith did not stay itself upon the Word of God certain, as upon a sure and strong foundation, no man could know whether he had a right faith, and whether he were in the true Church of Christ, or a synagogue of Satan.
- Thomas Cranmer, leader of the English Reformation

H/T Northern Plains Anglicans

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Defeat on Mt. Adams/Victory on Piker's Peak

On Tuesday I attempted to reach the summit of 12,256 ft. Mt. Adams for the 12th time in the last 11 years. Climbing Mt. Adams began as a tradition for me my senior year of high school when I climbed it with my younger brother Joey and my friend from Germany, Alex Jaeger. Since 1998 I've made it up every summer, doing a two-day hike up the mountain. The South Climb, the easiest way up the mountain, starts at Cold Springs Campground at about 5600 ft. and ends at the summit. After climbing this mountain 11 times in a variety of conditions, I thought I knew it well but on Tuesday I was proved wrong. I have always climbed between late June and the first weekend of August. This year was almost a month later than my latest ever climb and in that month this mountain morphed into a beast I could hardy recognize. On the way up to Piker's Peak, the false summit, the metamorphosis was caused by the lack of snow which normally gives a climber a nice, 2000 ft stairway of deep icy footprints from the Lunch Counter up to the top of Piker's. Instead of the stairway, I had an assent up a couple of thousand feet of loose rock. It was pretty miserable but I was determined not to let the mountain beat me. My determination to summit for the twelfth time was strongest when I reached the false summit, Piker's Peak, at about 1:45PM. It was extremely windy and quite cold up there but the summit was in sight and most certainly in reach, or so I thought. After a short break and some pictures at the false summit I headed toward the snowfield that one must cross to begin the last ascent up the summit. With my first step on the snowfield, I was flat on my back. I was afraid I might keep sliding on what had always been a field of deep snow before but was now a sheet of 2 inch thick ice. I did some walking around up there but the snow field was impassible. I have never taken crampons with me on Adams but this is the first year they might have come in handy. I think even with crampons though, the hike across the snowfield would have been a bit perilous. Even with the apparent defeat of not making the summit, I was still able to view the day as a victory. We normally do the climb in two days but this time we attempted it in one. I had an elevation gain of around 6,000 ft from Cold Springs Camp to above the false summit in six hours. I can certainly see that as a victory. It was a miserable day but I always enjoy a good test of endurance and for that I am thankful. Being home in Washington for this month has been made all the more wonderful by the amazing backpacking/camping/climbing adventures of which I have been able to partake. It's going to be hard to go back to California in two days.
Marker stone at Piker's Peak. Reads: (Aug. 27, 1923) You are a Piker if you stop on this summit. Don't crab, the Mountain was here first. Arthur Jones. Well, I guess that makes me a Piker.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Favorite Photos from the Wonderland Trail



And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Random Update #2...

Well, I feel like I should write something. I haven't felt much desire to blog lately but I have been doing some interesting things. I finished strong at Officer Basic Leadership Course in San Antonio and returned to my hometown of Battle Ground, Washington in late July.

Since then the most interesting thing I've done was to hike most of the way around Mt. Rainier on the Wonderland Trail with two other friends. We spent seven days backpacking and camping and had a great time out in the wilderness.

I've picked up a few books this August which have been interesting and enjoyable. I'm most of the way through What's So Great About America by Dinesh D'Souza. I also picked up D'Souza's What's So Great About Christianity and have begun reading that also. David Bentley Hart's The Beauty of the Infinite has been on my reading list for a while so I finally picked it up and began digging into that recently also.

I went to a revival service being held by a local charismatic ministry in a barn a few miles from my house a few weeks ago and was blessed by that. I might go to another of those revival services this coming Saturday.

I head back down to Loma Linda next Friday, the 29th, to begin my second year of medical school.