An Unexpected Adventure: Reboot’s May 2013 Cheaha Wilderness trip (part 2)

This is the second of a two-part series about encountering many surprises during our May 2013 backpacking trip, including 7 inches of rain.. Read the first part here.

Part 2: 9 p.m. Friday – Saturday

Another storm rolls in.

It’s close to 9 p.m. when we emerge from the tent to assess the situation and our gear. The storm blew the rainfly about halfway off my tent leaving behind a huge puddle of water in the center and soaked gear. We reluctantly decide to pack our waterlogged gear, return to the car and rent a room at the nearby Cheaha State Park Lodge. Though I think Josh and I would have been probably been game to take our chances on the trail, God granted Jeff the wisdom to push for staying at the lodge.

The storm left the trail a muddy mess, and a heavy fog only enhanced the eerie atmosphere as we hiked the remaining 20 minutes to the car by headlamp.

We make it to our room at the lodge and cook our Conecuh sausage and rice dinner outside using our butane backpacking stoves (I’m not sure if we are technically allowed to do this at the lodge but it was 10 p.m. and the restaurant was long closed). Though we are not out in the wilderness, we continue our discussion well into morning hours about the meaning of adventure and how God is calling us to do much greater things than the 8-5 routine. Then we turn in for the night. At this point, it has rained only slightly since we rented the room.

At about 2 a.m., I wake up to what sounds like cannon fire outside of our room. Another vicious storm is upon Cheaha. This time, the lightning and thunder are striking simultaneously. The storm is right on top of us. A couple of times the power surges as lightning strikes. At this point, we all realize we made the right call about the lodge room. The rain continues to pour the rest of the night.

The next morning we rise hopeful to do some hiking, maybe even the entire 7.5 mile Cave Creek loop, as it looks like the weather will clear after about 9 a.m. Again the forecast was wrong. A steady rain continued until almost 11 a.m.

We head over to the restaurant to get some breakfast and realize how fortunate we were to head inside when we did. A few men are standing in the lobby with towels draped around them. They tell us that they were car camping at Lake Chinnabee, a popular campground at a lower elevation. They said the water was rising so fast from storm runoff that they moved their vehicles to the highest ground they could find. But that was not enough. One car was washed away. One of the campers called for help on his ham radio but the roads were flooded. Law enforcement officers eventually rescued about 20 campers by boat. Praise God that no one was seriously hurt or killed.

The rain left the trail a muddy mess.

After the weather finally cleared, we itch to go outside. We head to Bald Rock, a popular overlook on the side of Mount Cheaha. It’s usually fairly crowded but we had it to ourselves.

After reaching the overlook, admiring the vast expanse of green hundreds of feet below, we read and reflect on Romans 1:20 in which Paul says that people can clearly see evidence of God in nature so we have no excuse for not knowing God yet many decide to worship other things instead, including creation. Then we split up for about 20 minutes of quiet time to read our Bibles, pray and spend some alone time with God. Normally this would be an hour of quiet time, but the rain is threatening again.

My time is spent thanking God for this adventure we are on even though it is nowhere close to what I envisioned or planned. I admire the sights, sounds and smells of the forest renewing and calming itself after an intense rain. The tree and plant leaves are almost electric green with raindrops steadily dripping off. What the Holy Spirit puts into my mind is that the rain and weather are a reflection of God’s character. The violent storms show that He is capable of righteous anger at evil and sin and also show His strength as a warrior for His people. But He is also a God of grace, peace and mercy, which I see in the calm after the storm. The freshness of the forest reminds me that He is a God who makes all things new when believe and trust in Christ.

After that, we head to the country store to check out of the lodge only to find that many of the roads leading to Cheaha have been closed due to flash floods. We are asked to stick around for a couple more hours. The adventure isn’t over yet.

A TV weather image shows rainfall totals for Friday-Saturday. Cheaha is in the red and purple area, indicating close to 7 inches of rain.

We head back to the Cheaha Trailhead and see if we can hike into the Cave Creek portion of the loop we had intended to complete Saturday afternoon.

The trail was extremely wet. Normally there are one or two very small spring crossings, but this time we probably cross 10-15 runoff streams in our two hours on the trail. At several points, water is literally pouring out of the ground. At other points, the trail itself has turned into a stream.

The pinkish-white mountain laurel flowers are in full bloom, and their beauty reminds me of the lilies Jesus talks about in Luke 12 that without trying are clothed more splendidly than King Solomon in all his glory. And if God cares so much for a flower that is here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, how much greater does he know and take care of the needs of those who are following Him with all of their hearts.

We hike about four miles total and return to the car. The roads are clear and it is getting to be late afternoon. We head home to Montgomery.

We have a great time. I don’t think we’d have had a greater adventure any other way. In fact, I learned a lot about the Jesus Adventure on this trip.

I learned that we can easily, almost unconsciously, fool ourselves to think we have it all planned out and under control. But really, God is in control and he knows what is best for us and he will provide for our needs as long as we are seeking after his heart. He has a far greater perspective than our own. Having only two people sign up for the trip was disappointing initially, but I felt a sense of peace about it closer to the trip. Having six or eight people would have been really challenging with the unexpected weather. Every indication before we left was that there was a 50-50 chance of scattered showers. No one predicted 6.9 inches of rain in one night.

Taking a break on the Cave Creek Trail which turned into a stream on Saturday.

We likely wouldn’t have been able to set up enough tents to shelter everyone in the first storm. Six people wouldn’t fit inside a three-person tent. The lodge only had a handful of rooms available, probably not enough for eight people.

Also, when we do an overnighter in this section of Cheaha, we normally camp at McDill Point, which is 2.5 miles from the trailhead. If we left earlier and camped there, we would have probably been forced to stay outside the whole night. Hiking 2.5 miles in the dark and in a storm is a tough bet.

Again God is in control and God knows best, even if you don’t understand it until you are trying to set up a tent with lightning, thunder and torrential rain all around.

I’m am more convinced and more pumped than ever that God’s hand on Reboot Wilderness Adventures and that he wants to use it in his way to bring us back to himself. We are a generation that is losing focus on what really matters in life. We are too busy chasing jobs, money, pleasure and other fleeting temporary things that society and culture tells us is important. We need to follow Jesus with all our hearts and live a life of adventure.

This was an experience you can’t have in a building. It’s only available when you seek a sense of adventure. Come join us for a fall trip and have an encounter with our all-powerful Lord in His wilderness. He is calling us to lives of real adventure where he will guide us and take care of our every need along the way – even if it’s in the middle of an epic storm.