The Frozen Panther

Well the day has come and gone, now Matty and I are home once again in our warm houses. Some people probably think we lost our minds for wanting to camp outside in a foot of snow during one of the coldest days I can ever remember. It was indeed crazy, and COLD!! But we had a great time; Matty made it to his first summit, and my desire to see snow covered mountains was greatly met.

Our destination was Panther Mountain in the Catskills of New York. We left lancaster at 5am on Saturday, had a delicious breakfast in a town called Milford (next to Point Jervis by the way), and arrived at our destination by 11am. To our surprise we saw a couple other groups of day hikers, most using snowshoes. I didn’t know what to expect once we got into the woods; thankfully the trail had been well trodden and the snow was packed well enough for us to hike in boots without much trouble. The two miles we hiked to the campsite seemed like much more than that. We made the decision to set up camp at the first site since it may have been the last; that turned out to be a wise choice.

We went to work setting up the tent, finding the fire ring, and gathering wood. We were so excited to have a fire, but the combination of the deep show, gusty winds and cold prevented us from having much success with that. We gave up and retired to the tent, it wasn’t even 5:00 yet! Too cold and windy to make dinner outside, we made it in the vestibule of the tent. The menu was grilled chicken, mashed potatoes, and asparagus; clearly the best meal I’ve ever eaten while backpacking. One advantage to winter hiking is that food does not spoil. The downside, as we found out, is trying to keep things from freezing in no time at all.

It turned out to be a long night. Did I mention I took Chloe along? That may not have been a good idea, she was so cold. Even though I got her a sleeping bag, and let her sleep on my sleeping pad buried under our jackets, she still shivered through most of the night. Matty and I were in our -20 and 0 degree bags, respectively and were just barely comfortable. In the morning I think my feet were the closest they have ever come to having frostbite. A word of advice, keep your boots in your sleeping bag when it is -10 outside.

The three mile round trip hike (without packs) to Panther Mountain Sunday morning made everything I’ve just described worth it. Other than the time I spent snowboarding in Jackson Hole, WY it was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. As we approached the summit, all of the pine trees were covered with snow, the rich blue sky had only a few clouds just over the horizon and the sun was out in full force. We got some pictures and quickly retreated as we were robbed of any warmth we generated on the hike up.

It was mostly downhill from there, and once we packed up the tent and all our stuff we made a beeline for the car. It was a memorable experience I will never forget. I think my next winter trip will be accompanied by slightly warm temperatures however.

The Wild Dolly

The weekend of October 18th Matty and I packed up the trusty Subaru wagon with our camping gear, some good eats, and the coolest dog in the world and set off for the Dolly Sods Wilderness, West Virginia. For the next three days we would wander through some of the finest wilderness we have ever experienced. Danger lurked around every corner or the WWII artillery field (yes there are still live munitions out there somewhere). Then we departed the hills of WV for the Fall Foliage of Skyline Drive and the pancakes with blackberry syrup at the Big Meadows Lodge.

Friday October 17th

We arrived at Cracker Barrel around 8pm and were were hungry! If I told your that were just going to the Cracker Barrel for a filling dinner I’d be lying. Our primary objective was to acquire several of their miniature bottles of maple syrup for our pancake breakfast on Sunday morning. We had a wonderful waitress that gave us more than we needed. Even Chloe didn’t leave there empty handed. She feasted on someones cornbread they decided to leave just lying in the parking lot (what a waste!). So after a couple more hours of driving, a small detour, and fearful that we were being followed by a killer at 12:30 am we arrived at the rocky dirt road that took us over 3000′ up the moutain we’d be hiking from in just a few hours. Since there was no camping allowed near the parking area we threw everything in the front of the car and froze our tails off in the back of the car. Since Matty was too big to fit we had to leave the tailgate open.

First night

Saturday October 18th

We awoke to freezing temperatures and a glorious sunrise. The view was amazing, you could see for miles in all directions. We scrambled to get out stuff organized and eat a breakfast of frosted mini wheats before setting off down the trail. We spent the morning trudging through a boggy wasteland. It wasn’t too bad though, I can only image what it must be like in the wet months of Spring. I’ve never been to the Canadian wilderness myself, but Matty testified to what the guidebooks said about the landscape resembling that of the barren Canadian lands. I spent most of the day grumbling about all of the leaves being off of the trees. I was fully expecting to see peak foliage but most of them had already fallen.

By noon we were out of the bogs and starting to follow Red Creek, the same creek we would be spending the night at. After a restful lunch in a bed of pine needles and leaves we headed on. At some point we missed a turn and ended up having to hike over <ROCKY MOUNT>, the one trail I did not want to experience, oh well. So we caught another trail down the mountain into “The Forks”. I think we might have been a little south of them actually, it was hard to tell because the water level was lower than the spring and summer months. This area is known for its swimming holes and is a popular destination because of its proximity to several trail heads. On our way to the forks we were met by a stray dog that had been tagging along with another group of hikers. We were pleasantly surprised when we found her again at our campsite. Matty named her Dolly, and she spend the might playing with Chloe and eating the treats we gave her.

We made it to camp around 4pm and had plenty of time to relax and make dinner. Matty had just gotten a new hammock and was filled with the same level of excitement to set it up as I was when I first got mine. There is something wonderful about relaxing in a hammock after a good days hike. I opted to stretch out on a rock with Chloe in the middle of the creek. I find lying in the middle of a mountain creek to be one of the most relaxing things in the world. Maybe someday I will build a creek that runs under by bed. Dinner that night was a bountiful helping of Tuna Helper and hot chocolate. It was another cold night, thankfully we gathered plenty of wood for the fire.

Sunday October 19th

When we got up today the tent was covered with ice. But that was ok because we were going to have pancakes. It was the first time I ever tried cooking pancakes over my backpacking stove. After failing miserably with the first one, I figured it out and we feasted on miniature pancakes with chocolate chips. The morning hike was uneventful, somewhat boring, and very tiring as we headed back up the mountain we came down the previous day. It wasn’t too bad though, the trail was wide and the grade was even. We found a wonderful little spot to have lunch by a small creek. We set up our hammocks there and had some apples. Later I would find that in a hurry to get warm I left the ropes to my hammock tied to the trees (so much for leaving no trace).

About an hour later was when the fun started. Let me mention that the trails in the Dolly Sods are no longer marked, any blazes on trees are long gone and the only thing to go by is the trial and the occasional cairns. So…Matty is blazing the trail and I’m just following along not paying any attention. We leave the woods and get back out into bog land like we had experienced the previous morning. At some point Matty realizes we are not on the trail anymore. So what do I do? Pull of my trust GPS of course (which we probably should have “consulted” a little sooner). To make a long story short, we spent the better part of an hour bushwacking in attempt to cross over the trail. I later found that we were very close, but ultimately we decided just to backtrack our way out (which I highly suggest for anyone who has a similar experience someday).

After we got out, we were both thankful that we were alive and hadn’t detonated any artillery shells. I was starting to feel the burn and we still had many miles to the campsite we were trying to reach. After another short rest and hike along a beautiful mountaintop where we saw about 50 people, one of which asked matty if he was going skiing (ski poles), we arrived at a massive formation of rocks. I plopped down and matty climbed to the top and took some pictures. It was getting dark and we were tired and out of water. Filled with the realization we were not going to make it to our chosen destination by dark, we called it quits at a small campsite on top of the mountain. It was so cold that we ate whatever food we had left and went straight to bed.

Monday October 20th

Today started at the crack of dawn. We had everything packed and were back on the trail in time to watch the sun come up.  It was cold again but it felt nice to get moving.  As we hiked over a few mountain tops we got to see the sun rise several times, that was neat.  I took some nice pictures.  After a short rest, we finished our hike by retracing the same route we took on the way in.  I was pretty exhausted and glad that we were done.  We ended up hiking just over 26 miles.  The drive back to civilization took us about half an hour down a dirt/stone mountain road.  After a quick pit stop at the Seneca Rocks Visitor Center we headed straight to Skyline Drive.  

 

Poor Chloe was shivering

 

Cold Campsite

 We longed to find a Diner along the way to fill our empty stomachs.  I thought for sure a town such as Harrisonburg would have a diner, but when we asked the local grocery clerks they gave us less than stellar directions.  I decided to settle for McDonalds, and Matty Subway.  Chloe enjoyed her portion of my fries.  I always crave fast food after a good hike; and the double cheeseburger and coke really hit the spot.

It was about 3:00 when we arrived at Big Meadows and got settled into our campsite.  It was Matty’s first time in the Shenandoah, and even though he contained his excitement very well I knew deep inside he longed to chase the flocks of deer as he once did in the hit film “The Redneck Reality Show”.  The rest of the day was filled with good memories:

• After I took precautions of securing my hammock (remember I lost the real rope, and had to use nylon “string” instead), I assured Matty that I would not be harmed as I reminisced of the time I hung my hammock over a tree stump that surely would have impaled me had I fallen.  In the next breath I found myself crashing to the ground; apparently the standard rigging from the factory was incorrect, and the rope securing my hammock to the tree came undone.  Lesson learned: use discretion when hanging hammock over objects you would not normally enjoy falling on.
• Dinner was amazing, we had beer brat & cheese mountain pies
• Dessert on the other hand was “interesting”.   Matty was struck with a creative idea, that I admit sounded delicious but in practice was an utter failure.  Anytime you combine marshmallows and a king size snickers bar inside of a flaming cast iron furnace you can expect to watch all of the marshmallow and caramel spew into the fire below.
• For after dinner entertainment we went bear hunting, I am now 3 for 3 on attempted bear sightings.  We also saw the same deer 4 times as we drove by.  On the way back into the campground we spotted a skunk.

Sunday October 21st

All good things must end, and today we had to head home.  I was up at the crack of dawn and rather than fall lazily back to sleep I decided to head out to the visitors center and take some pictures.  After the sun came up I could not but help from wondering the meadow for the next hour and a half.  It was fun to experiment with photography and enjoy the beautiful morning God had blessed us with.  After a pit stop for a cup of Joe, I summoned Matty and we we headed to the lodge for a delicious breakfast.  This was my third time eating there, and I did not leave disappointed.  It was a beautiful morning and we enjoyed the view as we ate.

We spent some time in the visitor center before heading out.  We watched the file “The CCC Boys”.  It was interesting to learn more about the CCC Camps that were responsible for creating what we now know as skyline drive and other national parks across the country.  The drive home was long and pretty uneventful. Overall it was another successful trip without incident.

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More….

This past weekend, I had the chance to lead worship for my parents’ church at their women’s retreat.  A good friend of mine from Millersville Bible (MBC) came with me and played her guitar.  It was awesome to lead those women in worship, and humbling at the same time.  I just kept coming back to the fact that even though we are so unworthy of God’s love and grace he still lavishes it upon us.  I was reading in Hebrews on Saturday morning and came upon this verse “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (4:12-13).  I had heard this verse before but it stuck out to me because the night before, our speaker for the weekend, had said that when we go deeper with God he will “expose us in unimaginable ways”, and I thought yeah really!  If everything we are is uncovered and laid bare before Him, we really are totally exposed.  And then the thought came to me that despite tha fact that he knows the deception and decitfulness of our hearts, he still tells us to “Come!”.  And even more so… He is waiting for us with open arms.  He loves us and accepts us no matter where we’re at and despite the fact that we are often far from Him.

Besides all of this, I realized that my life is CRAZY!  I have a lot on my plate … so over the next few months I’m going to be paring down and seeing what the Lord would have me be doing.  We’ll see how this goes.  Honestly, I’m kind of afraid of what may happen, but I guess that comes with a God who is as wild as ours!

Blessed and humbled,

Janele

A Wedding and Andrew Peterson

Yesterday, my baby sister got married!  It was a happy and sad day all rolled into one.  As Nate and I were driving back to Lancaster last night, I kept thinking to myself “I can’t believed she’s married”… but Del is a great guy and we’re very happy for them.

Amy walking down the aisle

I know yesterday was more stressful than my wedding day was!  I was so emotionally drained after the wedding, I felt like a bowl of mush.  Everything went great…although the Pastor (not my dad) forgot to let them kiss after he pronounced them husband and wife!  But they took matters into their own hands and kissed walking back down the aisle.  After the ceremony we had the reception at Waynesboro country club, the room was lovely (we decorated Friday morning…) and everything went off without a hitch.

So, how Andrew Peterson (AP) works his way into the story is after the wedding Nate & I drove back to Lancaster.  I found out about a month ago that AP was having a concert the same day as Amy’s wedding, but we’re such big fans that we drove back after the wedding and went to the concert.  It was awesome, but his music is so relaxing Nate and I almost fell asleep listening to it :0).  I’m really glad that we got to see him there because it was the perfect end to a wonderful day.

Well it’s late, so I’m signing off to go to bed!  It’s been a long weekend.

Janele

Truth and Grace

This past weekend Janele and I were on a retreat for Cedar Grove Mennonite (her dad’s church).  I had a lot of free time, so I started been reading a book recently published by the Barna research group called unChristian.  The book presents research findings of how the Christian church is perceived by todays young adults (“outsiders” as well as “born-again” evangelicals).  I will post more once I finish the book, but I highly recommend it.

As I was reading today something that caught my attention was truth and grace.  The Bible clearly presents Christian truths that we are to live by.  But God never intended these truths to merely be rules that we must follow in an attempt to somehow achieve a level of holiness that would make us good enough to earn God’s grace (grace is free by God’s great mercy).  Having truth without an adequate understanding of grace leads to legalism.  It seems lately that God has been giving me a better understanding and insight into the power and wonder of his grace.  It is wonderful when we combine His gift of grace with biblical truths.

Moving on

After working with Nielsen (formerly Spectra Marketing) for 4 years and two months, Janele and I have made the decision for me to leave the company and work for JPMorgan Chase in Mechanicsburg, PA.  The day has finally come and I will be starting with Chase on September 2nd.  It was not an easy decision to leave, and I will miss the friendships I have formed over the past several years.  However, I am looking forward to the new experiences and challenges that are sure to come my way.

It will be a significant change to our lifestyle; I will be commuting via foot/bike, train, and car each day for a little over an hour each way.  Janele will be taking on full responsibility for Chloe in the mornings and we’ll be seeing less of each other each day.  I am excited about the time I will get to spend on the train to transition from work to home life.  My commute right now is less than 5 minutes and that isn’t enough time to let my body and mind switch gears.

I am committing to take advantage of the morning commute by reading through the entire Bible.  I am really excited for a solid 30 minutes of consistent quiet time each day where I won’t have a lot of other distractions or excuses.  I feel like God has opened this new chapter in my life so I can grow closer to him and be more effective in my ministry to my co-workers.  Please pray for me that I will be a good example of Christ in all areas of my life, but especially as I start my new job.

Crazy Summer Days

Its been a long time since I’ve sat down and wrote about whats been going on all summer.  June was filled with all sorts of getaways.  It was refreshing to get away but we’re both glad to be home and back into our routine.

We have really been enjoying our Sunday School class at church in which we’re learning about the History of the Christian Church.  I am surprised and encouraged at how God has worked over the years in the lives of many famous people and in major historical events.  We don’t often hear how God has been at work or that many well known scientists, musicians, inventors, etc were in fact devout Christians.

Some of the things that have been going on (in no particular order)

• We have had the pleasure of attending and being involved in several weddings this summer.
• Just this past week we helped our friends Jared and Jen move into their new house (right before they had their 2nd baby; its a boy!)
• Lots of hiking with Chloe, we’ve been taking longer hikes which is nice.  i am getting ready for a 3 day weekend hike to Old Loggers Path over Labor Day.
• Bachelor Weekend Getaway with Sax and Jared Montgomery to some pretty sweet mountains by the PA Grand Canyon (unfortunately the water was too low to go canoeing)
• Janele has been busy helping with arrangements for her sister’s wedding on September 6th.

The Ace of Crepes

Today Janele and I set out with Chloe for downtown as we often do on Saturday mornings. The plan was to stop at market for coffee and donuts. However, on the way I realized I was in the mood to try out Rachels Creperie (not crapperie) for breakfast. I had been there for lunch recently and was very impressed with my Sante Fe Crepe. We were seemingly ignored for about 10 minutes as we sat outside. Once I notified the waitress that we were in the market for some breakfast the service was very good. The crepes were even better. We had a lot of people come up and pet Chloe as usual. One man actually startled her from behind and she barked at him. He stepped back and threw his hands high in an act of total surrender and shock. It was comical to watch; as we knew she wouldn’t hurt a fly. Ironically, we saw the same man about 4 more times as we walked through town before heading home.

Longs Park Extravaganza

We were originally planning to spend the entire day at Longs park with friends and a stock pile of meat on the grill. We didn’t follow through on that; but did go out to the park for the orchestra and fireworks. Somehow Janele agreed to let me take Chloe, which turned out to be a pretty bad idea. During the fireworks she cowered and shook in fear. Needless to say we won’t be taking her to see any more firework displays. It was packed as usual, but we did get to experience a loud impatient mother yelling at her kids as we crunched our way through the rt 30 underpass to get back to our car.

Creation Fest 08

Hi all!! This is my first post on here, Nate gave me the task of writing about Creation (http://www.creationfest.com/ne/). Hopefully I’ll be posting more often, now that I have all the necessary information.

Every year the youth group we help out with (On Track Youth Ministry), goes to Creation.  Because we have not been able to go the last 2 years, Nate and I decided to trek out to Agape Farm in Mt. Union, PA for the Fest.  We booked it out there Thursday night so we could see David Crowder and his band perform since they are one of Nate’s favorite bands.  I was skeptical about the band, and wasn’t sure I really liked their songs, but after seeing them in concert I am 100% a David Crowder fan.  They were awesome (although his skin still kind of reminds me of a burn victim).  The Newsboys also played Thursday night, but because of a really bad thunder storm, most of the concert was interrupted, which I was not entirely disappointed about, I’ll have to be honest.

The days of Creation are mostly spent sitting under the canopy Dennis has rigged up and playing cards, chatting and eating junk food (it’s a youth event what do you expect?!?!?).  They also have morning sessions, afternoon sessions and evening Praise & Worship times with sessions, all of which we are expected to attend.  It’s not so bad….the speakers are generally good.  After the evening concerts, we all head back and chit chat some more, and have camp fire time where we share what we learned from that day’s speakers.  We usually try to convince a Creation first-timer that toothpaste can be used as an accelerant.

Friday night was Chris Tomlin.  I love Chris Tomlin!  If you love his CDs, he is even better in concert.  This concert was the highlight of the weekend for me.  Saturday, which is always a sad day because it is the last day of Creation had a wonderful speaker named Reggie Dabbs (http://reggiedabbsonline.com/).  The other great thing about Saturday night is the candle lighting.

Well, Sunday we packed up and headed home, and that was all she wrote for Creation 2008.