Valley of the Gods

they call it the valley of the gods and i can understand why. if i were a god, i would probably hang out in this valley too. requiring two days of hiking from the nearest highway [ie. a one lane road with a speed limit of 20km, occasional crossing of goat herds, the always expected wandering cows, and frequent potholes you would swear might swallow the front of your car] harkidun is remote and seemingly undisturbed. glaciers confidently cut into the blue of the sky reaching their fingers to heights i cannot begin to fathom. the snow covered peaks allow the pines to partially occupy their white robes, both seeming to understand the limits of the roots; the trees dare not to venture further. together, they gently ease into the valley below, stretched along an expansive base. from up here where i gaze, the river below appears to be a burbling brook, stones tossed and scattered between its edges. but my two preceding days of hiking along this raging water tells me it’s anything but. the rushing sound i hear from my seat hundreds of feet above reminds me the pebbles i see are in fact giant boulders and the this seemingly gentle stream is doing much more than babbling.

on our journey here, we passed village after village, each dwindling in population size and growing in meal cost. harkidun was the last station listed on our itinerary and still closed for the winter. only a fool would try to face a brutal season in the midst of these peaks…perhaps another reason why the gods like it. i don’t think they mind the cold so much. i find myself sitting among abandoned guest houses and empty food supply stores. [oh, what i wouldn’t give for a hot parantha] in a few weeks, the hiking time in the valley will be prime and the trails carrying backpackers from all corners of the globe. it’s nice to be ahead of the curve, though, to beat the ‘crowd,’ to hang out with my God in the valley before they bring the rest of theirs.

sometimes i wonder…why such beauty if only a handful to enjoy it? why tuck such an incredible view into a remote footprint? perhaps it really is the valley of God. maybe He really does find solace among these majestic peaks. i mean, if mankind paved His paradise, i wouldn’t think Him selfish to keep a few places to Himself.