I Can't Even Imagine it....Part 2

The three hikers set off in two trucks with two of the dads (Brad and Barry) along to make this happen. The hike was to start at the beginning of Segment 3 and finish at the end of Segment 4, so the plan was for both trucks to go to the start and drop off the hikers. Barry and Brad would then take the two trucks to the end of Segment 4 and leave Mike's truck there for the hikers to use to come home in, and then Brad would come home with Barry. Trent had carefully printed out computer instructions for them so they would know where to leave Mike's truck.

Great plan! So off they went, and just before he drove off, Trent said, "I'm keeping it open to come back on Monday with them if I need to. (coff-coff-hack)" And I was thankful to have a son who could make a wise decision like that even though he had been planning this extended hike for so long.

Trent was carrying Mike's SPOT Satellite Messenger which has GPS tracking. This nifty little gadget sends out automatic messages to the satellite which in turn show up on a map I can see on my computer, so I can follow their progress. It is able to send out 4 different messages. Besides the autosignals, it can send out 1 preprogrammed message which Mike has set up to say, "God is Great, Life is Good, and I'm OK!" When this message is sent out, it comes to the email of everyone on Mike's list, along with the latitude and longitude coordinates of the SPOT, and they usually send that one out at the beginning and end of each hiking day. I've never seen the other 2 messages (which is a good thing), but one is for nonemergency help and one is for 911 help. This last one goes to the emails of everyone on the list and also to the emergency rescue people in the area closest to the SPOT.

All this is very reassuring, but it can also be a mixed blessing, I've discovered!

In the case of aforementioned worrywarts like me, when the unit doesn't make satellite contact for an extended period of time, or if there is operator error and the unit doesn't send out any signals for a whole day, visions of bears swallowing both SPOT and son have been known to flit through my head!!


Barry and Brad followed the printed instructions and finally found the little cleared area in the middle of wilderness-nowhere that seemed to be the right place to leave the truck. However, they really were not sure, because the directions and the road and the turns did not match up properly. Still, there was an old weathered sign that read, "Colorado Trail, Segment 5"... So with some misgivings, they parked Mike's big white truck, climbed into Barry's little one, and bumpety-bump-bumped their way back to the main road and home.

There will have to be another installment!

Before I go...I've been thinking about this. We make wonderful plans and put all the pieces in place, and that is a very necessary part of counting the cost of what we want to do and of being responsible. But when we have done our part and yet things seem to be going wrong, God sees the whole picture, including the needs of the other people around us. He knows how to work it all out!

(To be continued.... again!)