Hiking in the Sierra Nevada Mountains is a popular pastime for many people. It provides great exercise and often a beautiful view, along with a great sense of accomplishment.
However, if the hiker is not careful enough, it can be dangerous and even prove to be deadly. Lawrence Bishop, who was 64 at the time, was seconds away from death on a hiking trip that had gone terribly wrong. But for the bravery and courage of one man, he would have certainly died that day.
He and two other friends had taken the day to hike up the Dog Tooth Peak Trail, elevation 10,256 feet, which is in the Sierra Mountains National Forest. Since getting to the top requires scrambling over boulders, his friends decided not to go all the way. Lawrence, however, decided that he would go. Promising to take pictures and call out his friend’s names, he left his pack and water bottle under a tree and started off. Little did he know that his journey would last two nights and two days, and nearly cost him his life.
Dangerous
Shortcut
On his way down from the top, he saw a pile of rocks that he thought pointed to an easier way down. Starting that way, he immediately slid down the mountain, opening a gash in his head. Why didn’t he just go back up? He couldn’t. Over time, the wind and rain had polished the granite into a smooth, glass-like surface. Recovering himself, he saw a narrow drainage ditch between the rocks that he thought he could use to get down to a safer place. Immediately, he slid and flew down the mountainside, landing on a steep, exposed slab about 100 feet down. He had to use his hiking poles to wedge himself into a small indent. This is where he spent Thursday night.
Early Friday morning his friends started off on the 12-mile walk to the nearest phone. It was not until 1 p.m. on Friday afternoon that help was summoned.
About this time, Lawrence spotted a flat place in the granite below, and he thought that if he could reach it, he could lay down and wait for help to come. If he could just wedge his feet in holes ... but, again, he miscalculated, flying down the mountainside to 300 feet below where he had been. This time he landed on a ledge about six inches wide. But now he found himself in a desperate predicament. He couldn’t sleep or relax, because he needed to use his right leg to prop himself onto the narrow ledge. Without food, water and rest, how long could he last? He knew that if he fell another 300 feet to the bottom of the mountain, he would not live.
Deceived by the
“Easy Way Out”
How many of us are just like Mr. Bishop? There was a right way down the mountain to safety, but he thought that he saw another, easier way. Many people think that they can get to heaven their own way, instead of God’s way. “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death [hell]” (Proverbs 14:1212There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. (Proverbs 14:12)). Jesus plainly tells us, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father [God], but by Me” (John 14:66Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6)). We cannot work our way to God, or come to Him on our own terms.
Total Focus
There he lay, all through Friday afternoon and evening, through the night and into Saturday afternoon. By late afternoon, he had had it, being totally exhausted and dehydrated. He could feel himself shaking ... his leg was giving way! Just a few more moments, and he would be sliding down the final 300 feet of the mountainside. But wait, what was that? He saw orange jackets ... help had finally arrived!
It was almost too late. His leg simply could not hold him anymore, and with a moan, he began the 65-degree glassy slide down the mountain. But one of the rescuers, David Rippe, saw it too. In an instant, as if his feet were somehow magnetized to the face of the mountain, he raced up the 300 feet to Mr. Bishop and held him on the ledge, keeping him from falling.
Those that saw it were in awe of the rescue, as was Lawrence Bishop. “This guy would put mountain goats to shame,” said Bishop. “He just runs up and he puts his hand on me and he pushes me back into the rock.” When David Rippe, who was part of Richardson’s all-volunteer search and rescue team, was asked how he did it, he said, “I wasn’t focused on the climbing; I was focused on him. I saw Larry on the ledge and I saw he was starting to fall.” Both men were then lifted to safety by helicopter.
What were Mr. Bishop’s thoughts as he lay struggling to survive until help came? “How much do you want to live? is a question I’d never really asked myself,” said Bishop. “But all I’d thought of for two days and two nights, from every angle, every minute, was: How do I live? I really want to live.”
The Vital Question
Mr. Bishop’s question was a good one. Man has a God-given desire to want to live. But there is a question that is even more important and critical than the one that Mr. Bishop asked. It is this: How can I have eternal life? God tells us how, in His Word, the Bible. It has never failed one person yet. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:1616For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)). God loved ... God gave ... believe it and receive it in your heart and you will have eternal life. “The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:2323For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23)). One sin = death. The gift of God = eternal life — through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Do not wait until you’re in a moment of crisis to settle this question. Be wise, and accept God’s free offer of salvation today, while you may. You’ll have all eternity to thank Him for it!