{"id":19599,"date":"2026-03-11T07:56:24","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T07:56:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/uncategorized\/could-he-trust-god-to-oversee-his-familys-hiking-journey\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T06:08:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T06:08:13","slug":"could-he-trust-god-to-oversee-his-familys-hiking-journey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/friends-and-family\/parenting\/teenagers\/could-he-trust-god-to-oversee-his-familys-hiking-journey\/","title":{"rendered":"Could He Trust God to Oversee His Family’s Hiking Journey?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The John Muir Trail<\/a> is a 211-mile footpath through the high country of California\u2019s Sierra Nevada Mountains. It starts in Yosemite National Park and ends atop the 14,505-foot summit of Mount Whitney, the tallest mountain in the lower 48 United States.<\/p>\n

For many hikers, the JMT, as it\u2019s called, is the adventure of a lifetime, a challenging but rewarding trek through some of America\u2019s most iconic mountain landscapes. Completing all 211 miles usually takes about a month.<\/p>\n

My wife and kids and I met our match at mile 135.<\/p>\n

It was August 9, 2021. We were on a three-week trek along the southern two thirds of the trail\u2014from south of Yosemite to Mount Whitney<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This trip was my idea. Years ago, I edited a Guideposts <\/em>story<\/a> about an Oregon family who\u2019d hiked the JMT when their kids were 11 and 13. At the time, my son and daughter were in kindergarten and third grade. I want to do that when the kids are old enough, <\/em>I thought.<\/p>\n

After seven days along the trail, that seemed like one of my dumbest parenting ideas ever.<\/p>\n

We began the day at a rockbound lake above the tree line in Evolution Basin. We hiked up and over 11,955-foot Muir Pass, then descended the tricky, volcanic switchbacks of LeConte Canyon.<\/p>\n

We had hiked almost 10 miles, ascending and descending close to 4,000 feet. The sun was disappearing behind the canyon\u2019s western wall, and the air was getting chilly.<\/p>\n

The kids were exhausted. Frannie, our 14-year-old, had had a growth spurt right before we left, and her brand-new hiking boots no longer fit. Her feet were covered in bandages and duct tape. She winced with every step.<\/p>\n

Benjamin, 11, had started the day buoyant and leading the pack. Now he hung his sweat-streaked head and plodded along. We stopped for water, and I consulted our guidebook. Every campsite we\u2019d passed for the past few miles had been taken by a large horse-packing expedition. The next possible site was close to a mile away.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo!\u201d the kids cried out. \u201cThat\u2019s too far. Please, can\u2019t we stop?\u201d<\/p>\n

My wife, Kate, and I looked at each other. Longtime hikers, we\u2019d been taking the kids camping since they were toddlers. Were we overmatched today? I felt a wave of self-doubt. I\u2019d had such high hopes for this trip. Hopes that went far beyond the beautiful scenery<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d envisioned a time of spiritual renewal<\/a>. Restoration of my confidence as a parent. A time of family togetherness before the kids transitioned to high school and middle school. A healing encounter with God in the wilderness after a year of pandemic craziness.<\/p>\n

Now I felt like a jerk for forcing the kids to go on this trek. I\u2019d planned our route and the daily mileage, while Kate had taken charge of the food. Every meal had been terrific so far. My route-planning? Terrible, obviously.<\/p>\n

We had 75 miles to go until Mount Whitney. From here, the terrain was even steeper and the hiking days I\u2019d planned were even longer.<\/p>\n

Kate is an Episcopal priest<\/a>. She leads a large, historic parish in New York City. It\u2019s a demanding job. When the kids were little, I stepped back from work to take care of them.<\/p>\n

I mostly enjoyed working part-time and spending afternoons and many weekends with the kids. (I say mostly because, let\u2019s be honest, parenting is not easy.)<\/p>\n

Kate worked long hours, but her schedule was flexible. We prioritized family evenings and time outdoors. Our early camping trips<\/a> grew into multiday mountain adventures.<\/p>\n

It was the kind of life I\u2019d dreamed about while growing up in a household scarred by alcoholism <\/a>and my father\u2019s debilitating stroke when I was nine years old. Trust is hard for me\u2014especially trust in God and myself. After many years, I was at last beginning to trust myself as a parent.<\/p>\n

Then Frannie hit her teens. Not only did she start taking a dim view of outdoor adventures, but she also stopped confiding in me. Rolled her eyes at my dad jokes. Ignored my book recommendations. Made it clear her friends were top priority.<\/p>\n

It was all developmentally appropriate<\/a>. It stung anyway. And I couldn\u2019t help wondering what I\u2019d done wrong. Was Benjamin next?<\/p>\n

Hiking the JMT seemed like a way to recover lost ground. Away from school, screens, the city, the pandemic, we could reconnect as a family and I would be reminded of God\u2019s abundant provision.<\/p>\n

The kids\u2019 weary eyes bored straight through my gauzy notions. They\u2019d seemed to be having fun up to this point. Probably they\u2019d just been making the best of it and counting down the days till we were done.<\/p>\n

We trudged to the next campsite<\/a>. It was empty! We dropped our packs and stood catching our breath. Peaks soared in every direction. A stream dashed over rocks. Golden evening light filled the canyon.<\/p>\n

We washed off in the stream, and Kate and I made some quick decisions. Gathered around our little cookstove, we announced a change of plans.<\/p>\n

\u201cTomorrow we are hiking off the JMT,\u201d I said. Before the hike, we had arranged to pick up a resupply of food at Parchers Resort, a small collection of cabins.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll ask the people at Parchers if we can stay in one of their cabins for a few nights. We\u2019ll rest, maybe get new boots for Frannie, then we\u2019ll find a ride to another trailhead farther along the trail and restart the hike there. We\u2019ll still end at Mount Whitney, but we\u2019ll shave 50 miles off the hike. We can go slower and have more time for fun. What do you think?\u201d<\/p>\n

The kids\u2019 faces lit up. \u201cThat sounds great!\u201d they said.<\/p>\n

My voice must have sounded more confident than I felt. This plan was as much of a gamble as the old one.<\/p>\n

Parchers\u2019 cabins had all been full when we dropped off our food supply a week ago. We would need a last-minute vacancy.<\/p>\n

We also needed a ride down the mountain to the town of Bishop, an outfitter with hiking boots<\/a>, another ride to the town of Independence and a place to stay plus a ride from Independence to the new trailhead.<\/p>\n

If even one part of the plan went wrong, we\u2019d be stuck. Imagine the kids\u2019 expressions then.<\/p>\n

The next day\u2019s hike was even worse, a torturous slog up rocky switchbacks to a campsite in Dusy Basin, just below Bishop Pass.<\/p>\n

Parchers was on the other side of the pass, but we were too tired to continue. Benjamin was in tears along one steep stretch. We set up tents and tried for a swim in a nearby lake. Drought had turned the lake into a shallow mud wallow.<\/p>\n

\u201cGuys, we just have to give the rest of this trip to God<\/a>,\u201d Kate said as we gathered around the cookstove that evening.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t know how everything will work out,\u201d I said. \u201cAll we can do is put it in God\u2019s hands<\/a> and trust.\u201d It\u2019s the kind of thing a parent is supposed to say. I willed myself to believe it.<\/p>\n

After dinner, I walked down to the muddy lake to filter water for the next day\u2019s hike. Dusy Basin is one of our family\u2019s favorite places in the Sierras, an alpine landscape of lakes, granite and wildflower meadows surrounded by jagged peaks.<\/p>\n

The sun sank behind the western ridgeline, and silvery twilight settled over the basin. I looked back and saw Kate and the kids sitting by the stove, boiling water for tea and instant chocolate pudding. They were silhouettes against the remains of the sunset, their faces illuminated by the stove.<\/p>\n

All of a sudden, I felt overwhelmed by love for them. Usually, feelings of love are shadowed in my heart by fear of loss. This time, the wave of emotion built until it seemed to fill Dusy Basin. It was God\u2019s love<\/a> dwarfing mine, upholding my love for my family and rolling right over my fears.<\/p>\n

The sunset became an orange line along the distant ridgetop, then vanished, and stars dotted the sky.<\/p>\n

Trust me, <\/em>the landscape seemed to be saying.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll try, <\/em>I said.<\/p>\n

We woke up the next morning excited by the prospect of returning to civilization. The kids powered over Bishop Pass and sailed down the trail to Parchers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we can fit you in,\u201d the woman at the reception desk said. \u201cWe had a couple of cancellations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Turned out, there was a daily shuttle bus from a nearby fishing lake to the town of Bishop. There, an outdoor gear store had hiking boots perfect for Frannie\u2019s torn-up feet. They had one size left\u2014Frannie\u2019s size.<\/p>\n

A woman in a burger restaurant overheard us trying to figure out how to get to Independence and offered a ride. \u201cI hiked the Pacific Crest Trail<\/a> a few years ago,\u201d she explained. \u201cSo many people helped me out. I\u2019m always looking to pay it forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

We found a motel in Independence, and the staff there arranged for someone to drive us to the Kearsarge Pass trailhead the next morning.<\/p>\n

You\u2019d never have known our kids had struggled watching them charge up the trail toward Kearsarge Pass.<\/p>\n

Each day of hiking seemed better than the one before. We fell into a rhythm, kids in front telling stories, singing and cracking jokes. We explored streams and lakes, examined animal tracks, spent afternoons reading and playing cards and ended each day with compline, an Anglican nighttime prayer service<\/a>.<\/p>\n

By the time we reached the summit trail to Mount Whitney, it was the kids motivating me. I don\u2019t like precarious heights<\/a>. The trail isn\u2019t technical, but there are some steep drop-offs.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can do it, Dad,\u201d the kids said. Frannie hung back to accompany me up the last stretch.<\/p>\n

\u201cRemember that time you took me camping in the redwoods and we got lost and you had to carry me up that steep hill?\u201d she said. \u201cNow it\u2019s my turn to keep you going!\u201d<\/p>\n

We clambered up the last rocky section and stood atop the mountain. Peaks in every direction. Chasms, spires and a dome of blue sky.<\/p>\n

The kids were ecstatic. We crowded in for a family hug and asked another hiker to take our picture.<\/p>\n

I knew Frannie would snap back into teen mode when we finished the hike. I knew Benjamin would be a teenager one day and trust would always be a struggle for me.<\/p>\n

But I had learned something on this hike. When I doubted myself, when things seemed to go wrong, I knew what to do. Just <\/a>trust.<\/a> <\/em>Trust my kids. Trust our family. And trust the God who\u2019d brought us to these mountains and who provides for us\u2014on the trail and off.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

For more inspiring stories, subscribe to <\/em>Guideposts<\/strong><\/a> magazine<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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