Take a Hike!

Ha, ha! Did the title make you wonder if I have totally lost it? I am not saying “Take a hike!” in a derisive tone of voice but in an invitational, “Hey, wanna go for a hike?” kind of way! This Sunday evening our BUC Hiking Group will wind up the season with a Pot Luck supper. There were six scheduled hikes through September and October although one had to be cancelled.

This year we took a different approach. Rather than just hiking we called it “Walk and Wonder” and each week along the trail people were encouraged to think and chat about a particular “wonder” question, asked to deepen our spiritual reflection. There was a nature theme each week too. The first was the forest, with the question being: “How does spending time in the forest impact your spirituality?” The other themes were: seeds, water, rock, air and the arts. I find that rich conversation happens along the trail and we often fall into those conversations with people we don’t normally chat with and learning and relationship grows as we meander a well worn path.

I was only able to participate in the last hike of the season, which was last Sunday. In honour of my beloved I wore a cap that had been given to him. The cap was given because he was one of the people who started our BUC hiking club a number of years ago and for the first few years he was an organizer and planner of the hikes. When he was no longer able to do it I picked up the reins. The cap given to him by a couple in the church says, “Jesus says, ‘Take a hike’, Mark 6:7”. This is the story when Jesus sends the disciples out two by two and tells them to take nothing for their journey. I don’t think he was actually telling them to take a hike (!) but indeed much of Jesus teaching and ministry seemed to happen while he was walking from one place to another. With our mobile society we have lost that walking, wandering time to reflect and converse. Our cars isolate us from others (although I do often hear parents say the best place to talk to their kids is in the car because it is a travelling time and stories are told and secrets confided in the car where there is no getting away from one another!)

Hiking season at BUC is a time I look forward to and enjoy each fall. I am sorry it is over for another year but I know that next fall will bring another season of hitting the trails with folks from my faith community.