During a recent trip abroad to Australia, I had the opportunity to squeeze in a backpacking trip in the back country of Blue Mountains National Park. Given the challenging canyon and rainforest environment in that part of the world, and the fact that I was doing the trip solo, I made extra efforts to become familiar with the route, have appropriate equipment, and take practical safety precautions. Despite these efforts, and my prior experience in backcountry settings, I encountered a great deal of concern for my safety and well-being from those who heard of my plan in advance of the trip. This particular area was notorious for triggering emergency rescue measures to extract people who weren’t prepared for the rugged terrain.
My excursion was scheduled to occur over a weekend, meaning that I would not be attending a church that Sunday. However, I downloaded the Christian Science Bible Lesson-Sermon to my tablet, so I could have “church” during the trip. This turned out to be the most important piece of equipment I packed that weekend.
After a challenging and rewarding first day in the backcountry, fatigue and loss of daylight prevented me from getting as far as I had hoped in order to set up camp the first night. That meant that I would have more terrain to cover the next day. It was tempting to respond to the additional pressure to reach my destination and not take time out for church that Sunday morning in order to get an early start and cover the additional mileage. However, I resisted that temptation and the next morning found an inspiring setting on the edge of a cliff to stop for breakfast and spend some quiet time reviewing the Lesson-Sermon I had been studying and praying with that week.
