Stage 11: The Lost Son and The Birthday Dad

Zinal to Gruben

Tuesday, July 16

"Who walks with beauty had no need of fear;  The sun and moon and stars keep pace with him; Invisible hands restore the ruined year, 

and time, itself, grows beautifully dim" David Morton

"When I am afraid, I put my trust in  you.  In God whose word I praise, in God I trust, I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?" Psalms 

56:3-4

We woke early the next morning in Zinal, Switzerland. Today was my dad's birthday and I was thinking about how I could make it a special day.  We had a breakfast of bread, butter, homemade jam, coffee, and orange juice.  We also purchased Nutella, a chocolate spread, and put it in what is called a food too. So on breaks we could squeeze them a telephone to piece of bread and have an instance chocolatey snack.

We set off through the town of Zinal and headed up hill through apartment buildings, hotels, and Valisian style houses. It was by this day that I started to notice the common pattern we see leaving valleys. We wake up early, we go through the town uphill, We hike through forest ever-increasing uphill, then a rocky trail, and finally to the mountain pass.  

While hiking up from this from the town of Zanal, there were a few people coming down from the mountain. These were mountain bikers and Alpine trail runners; people who have athletic ability far beyond our own.  Coming up behind us was a group of Norwegians, who we'd seen it a hutte before. Also passing us was a couple from England, who we talked to that morning before leaving breakfast.

The trail took us along the side of the mountain and eventually up the steep slope to the pass. 

At the top, a group of Americans were waiting for their guide to cut out steps in the snow slope down the mountain. Marcus and I waited for my dad and after lunch, Marcus went down before we did.  The snowy pass was too steep to slide down, so we used the same steps the guide had cut out.   Further down we utilized the snow, gravity, and skiing fun.  Once again, we descended down the mountain, which opened up into a beautiful steep valley.  

As the town of Gruben came into view, I thought it would be nice to get to town early and try and find a cake for my dad.  I had been telling everyone along the way that it was his birthday and I was looking forward to surprising him.  So I told him I would go ahead before him and reserve our room for when he arrived.  

Trotting to down the trail at an accelerated pace, I made great time descending down the road.  At a hairpin turn in the switchback dirt road, there was a trail marker leading into the thicket towards the forest on the side of the mountain.  The way-mark was faded, but I took a chance, in hopes of getting down to the town faster.  

The way was hard to follow because of all the vegetation that had overtaken the trail.  Another problem was this trail was taking me up hill instead of down.  About 15 minutes into the trail, I checked the map included on the digital guidebook on my phone. I had gone off course.  It was a trail that led to an alternate route, which would eventually lead to the town, even though it was not recommended by the author.  Since I had already invested 15 minutes, against my better judgement, I moved forward. 

I trekked over risky waterfalls, saturated swamps, and the paths the became vaguer and vaguer, until I wasn't sure if I following human-made paths or something different.  

The way I had taken had led me to a steep, sloping mountain side.   By then I knew I was lost.  I could see the small town of Gruben far below me and I wanted to be there so badly.  Moving forward would only take me onto sheer slopes, increasing risk of slipping and falling, and going down, also led to increasingly steep dangers, including slick pine needles.  

I started to panic, imagining the worst.  I had made a series of bad choices and it had led me to a dangerous place.  I started to pray, asking for God's help and guidance.  At some point, I felt like I heard him say, "go back the way you came".  However, after scrambling from one deer or ibex trail to another, I had no idea which "way" I had come from.  So I asked God which way I should go.  It took a sequence of stepping out in faith, as simple as left, right, up, and down turns, but eventually, I started seeing small, familiar signs in the wooded path.  However, I wasn't out if danger. It would only take one slip or misstep on this steep mountain side.  So I started to recite a verse I had memorized: 

"When I am afraid, I put my trust in  you.  In God whose word I praise, in God I trust, I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?" Psalms 

56:3-4

I pushed backwards along the path I had foolishly followed earlier, growing more and more confident in my trust God's faithfulness.  I thought about all the other times I had been afraid, yet God came through each time.  He has never failed me.  And today was no exception.  About 1 hour after I had left the main road, God delivered me out of danger and onto the right path:

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." Proverbs 3:5-6

I accelerated my pace down the well used and marked trail, finally going downhill towards the town.  I knew my dad had gotten there before me and I was concerned about him not knowing where I was. 

I made my way down Forested trails, through the cowpastures, unhinging an electric fence, and walked down the road into the town of Gruben.  

My dad was waiting at a hotel and looked relieved to see me. He's been waiting for 40 minutes, so that means my detour took about 1.5 hours. I was glad to see him and also glad that he wasn't worried about me. I told him what had happened and we got a room, and went down for dinner.

When we walked into the dining hall, Dad was greeted by a lot of 'happy birthday's' and handshakes from people we had met on the trail.  Rick and Anne generously bought us beers in celebration of dad's birthday.  For dinner, we had potato soup, salad, and a beef stew on rice.  I had talked to the manager about a birthday cake, so they brought out a slice of apple pie with ice cream and a bottle of wine (labeled Lucifer😐).  

We chatted with with Rick and Anne and some Norwegian hikers before going to bed.   I was thankful I had gotten my dad apple pie instead of a search and rescue party for his birthday 😳