A sneak peak into a Beyond backpacking trip

I came to Beyond Malibu with an open mind but a few preconceived notions. My dear wife was a mountain guide up here, a bit over 30 years ago. I had the pleasure of traversing the Long Pearkes route with a group of young men, which included three of my sons — two of them being campers, and one as our guide. Coming into this backpacking trip, I knew we were to be tested physically, mentally, and spiritually in close Christian community.

Day 1 we climbed through dense alder trees on an overgrown logging road. The alders snagged on packs, and I found myself tripping over my feet often. Yet, their roots held the soil on the steep road in a way man-made products could not have done. I made it a game to avoid the pitfalls of the alders climb, and instead, marveled at the fortitude of the men who carved the road and prayed for strength.

Day 2 was a steeper climb into the alpine! On the fringes of the forest we found ripe juicy blueberries, which we stopped to enjoy….this break was a God-given excuse to rest my weary legs. We arrived at the saddle, and behold, the mountain beyond our ridge standing tall and proud in the sunshine. After lunch and an application of sunscreen, we had an extended quiet time in which I contemplated what it means to live in love (1 John 4)….the love that is greater than the faith that could move the mountains (1 Corinthians 13). We continued our hike, playing games and talking to distract ourselves until we reached camp. At camp we watched a threatening storm pass, and were left to enjoy our dinner comfortably as one of our guides shared his life story.

On the morning of day 3, we packed up camp and ate a quick breakfast.  We had snow school while our guides checked out our glacier crossing: setting ropes, allowing us to traverse the snowfield, and descend onto the rocks below. The snowfield was dirty with ash from recent wildfires, and very melted; it made kicking steps a bit tricky with our ice axes. After a butt slide (on belay) we reached the rock flats below and discussed our faith in the rope and compared it to our confidence in Christ (Hebrew 11). We ended our day hiking across a broad bowl into the sunshine at “Kingdom Come” campsite.  It had been a long and difficult day, and some of us had discovered, with the encouragement of the group, our greater strength (Isaiah 46).

It was good that we soaked up the expansive views the night before because the morning of Day 4 was a foggy one. We worked our way down through a tricky, technical climb and across another snowfield, trusting our guides entirely to navigate as it was obscured by fog. We were encouraged with a hot lunch and a Tim-Tam slam. After making the choice to continue hiking to “Beyond Heaven,” we were greeted with breathtaking views as the clouds parted. We formed a line, held hands, and praised God for such a gift.

Day 5, we gradually worked our way along the ridge and began a descent down a giant granite staircase. In the afternoon we reached “Maury’s Mound,” high above the Princess Louisa Inlet, where we set up camp and wrote letters to ourselves (encasing thoughts and feelings from the trip).

We were up early on Day 6 to prepare for the final descent. The rising sun illuminated each peak in the Inlet as the morning progressed. With the few technical sections, and the toughness of downhill on our bodies, it felt just as challenging as the first day. With high spirits we made it down and hopped on the boat waiting to take us back to base camp. Through the week we studied, meditated, and discussed faith, hope, and love. I can solidly take away that the greatest of these is LOVE, which nicely encapsulates the community that is Beyond.

Thanks all for an excellent adventure,

Bill Burgess