On a recent trip that I went on to spend a weekend at home, I did something spontaneous because of topics that we had discussed during class. I was driving on I-64 and decided that I wanted to stop and hike up to Humpback Rock, which is a trail off of the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was a glorious day out, and I had been sitting in my car for most of it, and just had to get out to breathe in some fresh air. All I had were my TOMs to hike in, but was determined to make it to the top. This was not the first time that I have made this hike, because my family and friends often make the trek with me. However, this was the first time that I made it on my own. Once at the top, but even the trek up, I took in deep breaths of the mountain air, realizing that, like we had discussed, there really is something different, sacred, about the wilderness. I made it to the top, and just sat gazing at the 360° view of the surrounding valleys. In Lane’s book, he says “the place became sacred for me in a way I had never expected”, when talking about the Vietnam War Memorial. (p.55) I felt the same way with this location. Even though I had been here many times before, it never had this kind of impact on me. Lane also talks about having “ ‘moments in Nature’ that in intrinsic to any exchange occurring” (p.56) between the setting and myself. And it was the “ambient array” of the mountains, the “sensuous surface” of the rock I was standing upon, the “ground” or giant mountain that I was atop of, the “arc” of the rolling hills, as far as the eye could see, and the “atmosphere” of just soaking in the beauty of God’s magnificence shown through his wonderful creation.
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