Lori Morley Your Link to the Simbari People 
“The More Miserable, the More Memorable”
That’s what one of the missionaries here said to me when I told him of my planned trip to climb Mt. Wilhelm. I told him that I hoped it wouldn’t rain and that it wouldn’t be too terribly miserable but… well, maybe I better just tell you about my trip and then you can decide for yourselves.
We started off early Friday morning well prepared. Well, I thought I was well prepared anyway. Plenty of snack food? Check. Extra pair of shoes? Check. 6 pairs of socks? (2 per day) Check. Flashlight? Toilet paper? Check. Our trip was going to involve a 6 hour dive to the bottom of the mountain, a 3-4 hour hike to a camp (elevation about 10,000 ft.?), and then another 4-6 hour trek to the summit. At least, that’s what the internet said. The drive went well although the road for the last 2 hours was very rugged and bumpy but we were all fresh and smiling as we bounced along in the two 4×4 vehicles. We stopped and took pictures along the way and the scenery was gorgeous. Unfortunately, just about the time of our arrival at the mountain, it began to rain and continued to rain for the 3 plus hours to the camp. The camp is a very rough cabin with several rooms with mattresses that you throw on the floor, an eating area with table, benches, and a 2 burner stove top, and an outhouse. At that elevation, it was pretty chilly so I unrolled my sleeping bag and crawled in with all of my clothes on and snuggled close to my two other sleeping companions, Natalie and Katie. I felt pretty good with the combination of my 3 layers of clothes, hat, and their body warmth.
The next morning we woke up at midnight (I guess you can’t really call that morning, can you?) and began our hike around 1:00am. The reason for this is that it is a long trek to the top and the best chance of seeing anything is at dawn. At most other times, the top of the mountain is shrouded in fog. I knew I was in for the hike of my life so I only took the bare necessities…water, snacks, and my camera. I started out excited and feeling adventurous, walking single file in the dark with my 10 companions but very soon one of our group began to have the signs of altitude sickness. This can manifest itself in a variety of ways like a headache, nausea, sleepiness, and shortness of breath. We all felt it in some degree but some had it worse than others. The only way to relieve the symptoms is to return to a lower elevation in order to let your body adjust. We toiled along slowly as a group for awhile but we finally decided that we needed to split the group so the 8 men went on ahead with one guide and we 3 girls stayed behind with the other. We walked very slowly as Natalie needed to stop often to catch her breath and felt very nauseous. We were only an hour or 2 into the hike and I didn’t know how much farther she would be able to go but as I look back, I marvel at what the human body can endure. Natalie was a very determined woman and from strong German stock. She pushed ahead one step at a time and we with her. Sometimes she would want to give up and other times I would but we somehow managed to encourage each other to keep going. “Just over that next ridge.” “Only another hour.” This went on and on for 7 ½ hours! The wind buffeted us as we reached higher elevations but we did not give up. Making it to the top depended not so much on how fit we were, although I was thankful for every bit of exercise that I had been doing recently, but more on how much determination we had. Honestly, I didn’t know that I had it in me to be so determined! Was it really me that made it to the top of that mountain? Yes, we did make it! In fact, all 12 of us made it! The men were an hour or so ahead of us and it was a very difficult hike for them as well. Since we had split up so early in the hike, most of them were quite sure that we girls had turned back. Imagine their surprise when we rounded a corner and met them coming down! We were only a half hour from the summit. We had gone all this way without even being able to see our destination. Because of the mountains blocking our view, we had to climb 7 hours before even being able to see the summit! But we all agreed that if we would have seen how far we had to go, we would have given up. You see, we always thought that we were closer than we were. Just a little farther and we would be there and so we focused on each step and not on the path ahead. That was easy to do when we were in the dark. Our guide was amazing. We really made him work for his pay. He pushed us and pulled us up the mountain and as we stopped to rest at the halfway point (“What?!!! This is only halfway?”), he said, “I will make sure that you girls make it to the top” and he did! There we were. Exhausted and cold but elated at our success. We took photos to document it but could not linger. There wasn’t much to see as we were surrounded by the clouds and the wind was bitterly cold.
Then we began the hike downward. “How long will it take us to come down from a 7 ½ hour hike?” I wondered. I was hoping for 3 hours, 4 at the most. It took us 5 ½. Natalie began to feel better as we descended to lower altitudes and we stopped several times to take photos. The scenery was incredible. We were so tired that it became difficult to place our feet firmly on the ground. We slipped and stumbled our way down and, as girls often do, we got giggly. We laughed at each other’s spills, took bets on who would be the next to fall, and marveled at the capacity of human endurance. So yes, sometimes I was miserable but this hike turned out to be one of the most memorable experiences of my life and I will never forget it.
Return to Ordinary
We spent one more night at the lake and the next morning we hiked several hours down to the vehicles. On the way home we were full of our individual stories of our time up on the mountain and we dreamed about future hikes that we could do together. I thought, “There’s nothing like facing hardship to bring a group together.”
Today I’m a little sore. My calves ache and I’m regaling my friends with the story of our victory. Life seems so ordinary now after my mountain top experience. Tomorrow I will return to the tribe and to the work that God has given me to do there. I’m eager to do that but there’s a part of me that still wishes I was on top of the mountain with my friends.
Prayer Requests
Praise the Lord for safety on our hike to Mt. Wilhelm and for the wonderful experience that it turned out to be.
Pray that I would be able to quickly unpack and clean my house in the tribe and get back to work on Bible translation. Up next: the book of Romans!
In Christ,
Lori
