Hiking Experience Versus University.

Facebook can be either a spiritual edifier or a psychological destroyer! Either to make the browser feel good about himself from numerous responses of "likes" - or the social site can make him feel negative about himself. In my case, whenever I post photos of places I had visited, or of us as a couple, I would be lucky if I get more than a dozen "likes". But if another couple were to appear on the site - especially the middle class and both well-educated, such a post can collect hundreds of "likes" along with a thread of complimentary comments trailing the photograph.

However, how surprised I must have felt when I posted just three scenic photos! As this is written, more than 1.5k likes were assigned to my poster. This makes the poster having the highest number of "likes" attained of all time.

As such, why? What's so special about this particular entry is that it can collect more than 125 times the number of "likes" than my average entry? Simply this. Those three pics are shared among members of like-interest, The American Southwest Group. Their general response is, Yea! I've been there. I recognise that location! Hence the high popularity.

I have reposted these three here on this blog. Being my own photos which I took myself, whilst at the location as far as I'm aware, there's no breach of copyright.

Facing downstream at Bright Angel Creek. Taken 1995.

The name "Bright Angel Creek" is also given to the side canyon within the creek flows to the main Colorado River, and also where the North Kaibab Trail snakes along from Phantom Ranch to the North Rim. The ranch is a cluster of huts, each containing several beds, where I spent the night in 1978, and again in 1995. Lining the creek are rows of Cottonwood Trees, along with other shrubs. As the whole of the Grand Canyon National Park is defined as a desert, the waterway certainly provides an oasis of vegetation lining its banks. This brings to my mind, Jeremiah 17:7-8, where the Old Testament prophet writes that anyone who trusts in God is like a tree planted by the water and sends its roots by the stream, and will never suffer from the drought but remains fruitful throughout.

One of the other two pics is of the Colorado River flowing through the Grand Canyon. Taken from what's properly called Riverside Trail, it's the extension of Bright Angel Trail that snakes from the South Rim, with its trailhead at Grand Canyon Village itself. The scene is dominated by Zoroaster Temple Butte, the limestone pinnacle resting on sandstone "shoulders" and looks down at the river, with Brahmans Temple Butte next to it. The trail crosses Silver Bridge (the one nearer the camera) to join the South Kaibab Trail on the approach to Phantom Ranch. The trail continues on as the North Kaibab Trail - eventually arriving at the North Rim, hence the whole of the Rim-to-Rim trail system is appropriately known as the Corridor.

The Grand Canyon consist of two canyons, one inside the other, the Outer Gorge and the Inner Gorge. This fascinating phenomenon was formed by the faster erosion of the softer sandstone, shale and limestone strata lying on top of the harder granite bedrock which has a slower erosion rate. Therefore, between the outer and the inner rims, there is a ledge halfway down the Canyon, known as the Tonto Plateau. It's on this plateau where Indian Gardens is located, through where the Bright Angel Trail passes and serves as a camping ground and a rest stop, complete with a water bottle refill tap for hikers.

The original plateau through which the whole of the Grand Canyon cuts is the Kaibab Plateau. The plane is not quite level but slants towards the south. Therefore, with rainwater flowing southward towards and into the Canyon, they erode the North Rim at a faster rate as the water flows towards it. Also, due to the sloping plane, at 8,000 feet, 2,438 metres, the North Rim is around 800 feet, approx 244 metres, higher than the South Rim. With the rainwater flowing away from the Canyon South Rim, its rate of erosion is slower. Therefore, with the South Rim being closer to the River than the North Rim, the view from the south side of the chasm gives that spectacular view of the great North Tonto features that make up the most popular and famous postcard views.

And also the view from Indian Gardens on the South Tonto Plateau. From here, the trail hiker can make out the Buddha Temple Butte directly ahead. I now affectionally refer to it as the cousin of Zoroaster Temple for its similarity to it, consisting of a white limestone pinnacle topping red sandstone "shoulders". To be honest, as a hiker myself, the near-identical features confused me. But by studying my own photography, along with the trail maps, I became aware of the two rocky buttes, one on each side of the Bright Angel Canyon and both on the North Tonto Plateau. To the west, Cheops Pyramid stands out - a large "rooftop" of stratified rock, with Isis Temple Butte poking out from behind it as seen from the trail.

View of Colorado River from Riverside Trail - 1995.

I recall the evening I spent at South Rim after the completion of the 1995 hike. The pattern of the receding sunlight and the patterns and shapes of the shadows thrown by the buttes, pinnacles and other rock formations gives the whole scenery such a dramatic source for the artist's pleasure. From Battleship Rock just off the South Rim, the evening shadow throws an outline resembling a profile of a female's face. Not surprising, this phenomenon is named "Eve's Shadow" - the only name taken from the Bible among all other names taken from Eastern religions.

Perhaps you may be asking: Why have I gone into such detail about the Grand Canyon? Indeed, hiking through the chasm is a fascinating experience in itself. But during both the 1978 and the 1995 hikes, I knew little about the Canyon. But by completing the hike successfully, the whole of the natural feature had a hold on me, so to speak, and opened up a desire to learn about it, even on the geological side, and arrived at the conclusion that the water-laid sedimentary rock layers are the result of the Biblical Flood rather than that of Uniformitarian geology spanning millions of years.

Combining experience with knowledge certainly enhances the experience, including the photo album I now have. Oh, the wonder of the human mind to learn and retain knowledge long after leaving school and well into old age. I guess, to possess learning heightens respect for the student, thus making him become more of a necessity to society. After all, take our National Health Service. If it wasn't for doctors and nurses training to meet the grade, human longevity would be much shorter, with illnesses of all kinds blighting practically everyone.

But for many years I have wondered whether a graduate enjoys a more fulfilled life than one who has only a mediocre level of education. And so, earlier in the week, just before the beginning of the Zoom morning prayer, a couple of different people online shared their work experiences, thus giving an impression of a richer, more fulfilled life.

Mark has gotten a new job that will involve him working for a small Christian airline somewhere in Africa. Paul is due to set off to Sudan to contribute to a project, thus bypassing the British Winter. After many sumptuous details of their forthcoming opportunities, I thought about my wife's poor health and I felt my spirit drop, and I cried out why is that some people, especially graduates, have such enviable lives while others fight for their own existence?

I then gave examples of the latter by quoting those living in the valleys up North where, after a spell of heavy rain, the river burst its banks and flood surrounding homes and businesses, with water rising up more than a metre above the carpeted floor and rendering the owners homeless and the business, such as a pub, defunct. Or the malnourished in third world countries who have no idea where the next meal will come from. Then I cried out, Why, oh why, O God, is there so much unfairness?

Then one of our elders answered that we have no right to ask God Why. He is God and therefore He is sovereign. This gives me the idea that God will have mercy on whom He will have mercy and compassion on whom He will have compassion (Romans 9:15.)

Not at all edifying! This gives me the impression that God loves some people more than others. And especially favouring grads more than non-grads! And what happened on the same day? My beloved went down with severe pain in her lower belly and since an ambulance wasn't available for six hours after the call, I asked a neighbour whether he was willing to whisk us to the hospital. Once we arrived, she was allowed to bypass a queue waiting outside of A&E and we were allowed to report straight to Reception.

For more than twelve hours, I sat as if in vigil beside my wife as we waited for the doctor to arrive. After so much time spent waiting - an entire night without a wink of sleep - she was finally admitted to a hospital ward. And now, as I write this, the feeling of loneliness dominates my soul. Loneliness with fear of the future, along with the knowledge that my dearest beloved is once again suffering in hospital.

The futures of both Mark and Paul looks bright and glittering while ours looks very sombre. Where is my beloved's poor health leading us to? The very thought of widowhood brings terror! According to the latest update, she's lying in pain in her bed and a label above her head reads, Nil by mouth. That sounds serious!

To be a member of a church brings advantages. All I had to do was phone a couple of friends and tell them the situation. Not only they are willing to pray for us, but with my request, they, in turn, phone others they know. A prayer net is formed out of willing and compassionate supporters. And the net will include our elders.

Looking North from Indian Gardens.

Does God love some people more than others?

Does God have favour with graduates above others not so well educated?

No! No! No! If that was true, then the Lord would have ruled out all His disciples except Paul!

In addition, the famed verse, John 3:16 would be invalid, along with Romans 10:9-13, Acts 17:30 where Peter says that God commands all men everywhere to repent and be saved, and 2 Peter 3:9 where the apostle writes that the Lord is patient, not willing that anyone should perish, but all come to repentance. Salvation is open to everyone.

The Grand Canyon is a splendour of God's work of art. The sheer wonder of God's power. And such natural structures testify of God's judgement and His salvation by grace.

And no number of "likes" could ever match that!