Day 2 of My Camino de Appalachia 2023

Maybe I should take a moment and explain my use of the phrase “Camino de Appalachia?”

The Camino de Santiago is a famous 500-mile pilgrimage across Spain to a cathedral which is said to hold relics from the apostle James.

The word “camino” in Spanish can be translated way, road, path, trail, etc. So “camino de Appalachia” might literally mean the Trail of Appalachia. But in my usage, I mean to imply the idea of pilgrimage and not just the literal path. For me, time on the trail has the simultaneous intention of integrating the physical act of hiking with a spiritual and prayerful journey towards deeper intimacy and connection with God.

Of course, the Appalachian Trail is simply a long hiking trail and not necessarily a destination for religious pilgrims, but I have found that many AT hikers do have para-physical motivations for spending time on this less ancient footpath.

Now, what I have found is that many of my days on trail begin in a very thoughtful, contemplative and prayerful manner but end with a focus on the physical challenge. So I love to enjoy solitude during the first few hours of each day’s hike until usually the lunch stop. At that point, I start longing for some good company and conversation to distract my mind from what can become a grueling effort to achieve my mileage goal. My 2nd day was one of those days that seemed a bit more difficult physically. My first good distraction that day was bumping into Tom at the Chestnut Knob Shelter (third photo) which is at an elevation of about 4400 feet and overlooks a valley called Burke’s Garden. Tom was an old codger of a hiker with some fun stories and a deep desire to tune into college football. He had an mp3 player with a radio tuner and was trying desperately to get the Tennessee (Go Vols!) game to tune in since he was from the Nashville area.

After having lunch and drying out a bit at Chestnut Knob, I hiked another 9 miles or so through a completely “dry” area (no water sources). Thankfully, I stumbled across a water cache that day where some trail angel had left a few dozen gallons jugs of water for hikers. If there’s a section of trail that is especially difficult for sourcing fresh water, occasionally, some magnanimous soul (often a former thru hiker) will stash a bunch of water like this near a road crossing. (fourth photo)

And just before dark, I made it to the Jenkins Shelter where I bumped into a fun couple from Greenville, SC who shared some great stories and general trail banter that got my mind off of the pain in my knees and feet! Before I knew it, we had been chatting for about an hour and I still needed to cook some dinner and put up a tent. ha! Floppy and Flower Power (second photo) were a real treat to hangout with at camp that evening.

Day two culminated in about 17 miles of hiking from the Lick Creek campsite to Jenkins Shelter which was near a creek that still had a bit of water flowing through. yay!

Day 1 of My Camino de Appalachia 2023

The Way Is Made By Walking…

That’s the title of a book by Arthur Paul Boers that I’ve been reading alongside of my Appalachian Trail pilgrimage this year. The book is about his experience on the Camino de Santiago, a 500-mile pilgrimage across northern Spain. As he tells particular stories about that journey he also weaves in christian lessons on spirituality that I found meaningful and analogous to my own pilgrimage discoveries.

On Sept 1, 2023 I packed all I would need to live in the woods for two weeks and started hiking on the AT right where I left off last year. Mile 545.6 near Atkins, VA.

About 5 minutes into the hike, I felt as though something was missing. My arms were swinging back and forth and it felt strange that I didn’t know what to do with my hands. That’s when it dawned on me that I left my trekking poles leaning against the gas station where I was just dropped off by a shuttle driver.

Thankfully, that was the only time I left my trekking poles behind during this entire trip, which is an improvement over previous years and trips.

Less than two hours into the hike I noticed the 1/4 marker meaning I had finally hike the first 25% of the AT from Georgia to Maine. By about noon my clothes were already drenched with sweat, so at a road crossing, I stopped to eat some lunch and spread out my shirt, socks, etc to dry out a bit. My goal for the first day was to hike about 16.5 miles to the Knot Maul shelter but when I got there, I realized the spring (water source) was dry and I was completely out of water for the day. So I hike a couple more miles to a stream crossing and setup campus at the Lick Creek campsite.

This first day of hiking and the scarcity of water should was setting the stage for one of my biggest hardships and lessons on this year’s hike: hydration.

Thankfully, at the previous shelter, I encountered a couple of day hikers who were about to head back to their vehicle, so they shared an extra water bottle with me. In fact, there was still a bit of ice in it which was a nice bit of “trail magic” early on in the hike.

Trail magic refers to any generosity than one can benefit from while hiking a trail. Often, it comes in the form of snacks and cold beverages left in a cooler near a parking area…or perhaps even someone parked at a road crossing inviting hikers to take a break and enjoy any kind of food or drink.

So on Day 1, some trail magic and then finding a creek to camp near at the 18.5 mile mark brought much-needed relief after the first full day of hiking. A pilgrimage like this is a great place to learn the significance of small acts of kindness and provision. And this is something I want to incorporate into my daily off-trail life. What small acts of kindness can we engage people with that might help lighten their load or encourage them in the midst of their difficult journey?

 

 

Reflections On My Calling

Freshman year at AU with some Choir buds

During my freshman year of college at Anderson University in Indiana, as I was majoring in chemistry and physics and looking towards a career in chemical engineering…it happened.

Being called to ministry wasn’t a new idea for me. My dad was pastor. My grandfather had been a pastor. Even my great grandfather had been a pastor and district superintendent in the Church of the Nazarene. But up to this point, although others had encouraged me with comments about considering full-time ministry, I had not directly sensed God was calling me to the rank of clergy.

But then just a few weeks into the second semester of calculus, chemistry, physics and few other fun classes…through some confirmation I experienced within the context of my church community, God made it clear that my path was about to change.

Fast forward about 15 years and I find myself packing up all my books and office accoutrements at Beavercreek (now known as Be Hope) Church of the Nazarene and putting a season of youth ministry in the rear view mirror so to speak. What should’ve been a great final chapter in my youth ministry career at a great church with a fantastic team of people was cut short. For a variety of reasons, we chose to leave Beavercreek after just over a year of ministry there.

And the Calling became quite blurry during the next 12-18 months.

Fast forward again about 15 years. My time in college ministry is about to catch up with the time I spent as a youth pastor.

A couple of nights ago, I found myself at the church that represents the end of my identity as a youth pastor. We celebrated the ordination of several young pastors which included my kids’ current youth pastor, Blake Swanson (at Springdale Nazarene Church). As Blake and these others were prayed over, ordained and commissioned to live lives worthy of the calling, I was re-inspired to consider my own ordination which occurred in Columbus, OH back in 2000. I am still called to preach, teach, evangelize, disciple, and shepherd those whom God entrusts to my care.

Not everyone is “Called” to vocational ministry. But as Os Guiness points out in his book “The Call” all Christians are called to find and fulfill the central purpose of their lives. That is the primary calling, whereas vocation is one’s secondary calling. The primary calling infuses ones secondary calling (your vocation, career, “job”) with significance, meaning and purpose.

As I walked through the doors of Be Hope Church of the Nazarene and drove back to Cincinnati, I was overwhelmed with gratitude for God’s sustained and sustaining Call on my life. Ever since 2006, when I left Beavercreek the first time and began to question my calling, I have wrestled with a sense of failure and regret for that season of life and ministry. But maybe some healing happened there this week as I was reminded of how faithful God has been and how I still want to be like Jesus!

 

Chris currently serves as the Campus Mission Coordinator for the Church of the Nazarene while working for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, helping churches engage more effectively and intentionally in college ministry.

To Partner Financially with Chris’ ministry or find out more about InterVarsity: https://donate.intervarsity.org/support/Chris_Bean