Refer to the Map... Often

I always hike with a map, without one your risks of getting lost are far greater. Previously, my problem was that I kept the map in my backpack – not within easy reach, and not looked at often.

I have just come back from a Drakensburg hike known as the Northern Traverse. The hike starts from Sentinel Car Park, summiting via the Chain Ladder (the easiest way to get to the top of the Drakensburg) and then making your way on the top to the central Berg and down to Cathedral Peak Hotel; more than 60 km of mountaineering.

It was during this hike that the issues and risks of keeping my map in my backpack became very clear – thankfully it was early on the first day that I changed my ways. Through the three days of hiking, I referred to the map at least 7 times a day, ensuring that I not only knew where we were but also where we were going. Things can look very similar on top to of the Berg and you can get lost fairly easily if you drift away from the escarpment and a little mist sets in.

Every part of our lives has a map of sorts, for a business it is known as your vision, goals and strategy; for individuals it comes down to our values and beliefs. As a Christian, I am encouraged to read my Bible on a daily basis, not out of legalism or requirement, but simply because it is my map for life. The more often I read it, the better I understand what Christ wants from me and I have a better idea of how to live my life.

The Drakensburg has six 1:50 000 topographical maps, if I look at map 6 while hiking in the Mweni area (map 1) it will not help very much. The same is true for looking at how to live each day; if I am facing difficulties in my family, but continually read about guidance in the workplace, I am looking at the wrong part of the map.

Something else which I did often was to get the advice of another experienced hiker who was with us, it ensured that my interpretation of the map was always confirmed and accuracy was easier to achieve. Again the same should be done for life in general – get the input of others who are trusted and experienced.

Refer to your map often, make sure that each decision if based on guidance provided by it and that your interpretation is confirmed by the wisdom of others.

The art of bringing people with you

I have had this “motto” for some time now, a statement which helps me remember that I need to ensure that other people are with me as I walk through life. The statement is rather simple, but effective when put into action:

“Do what you love; take people with you”

As I write this blog I am preparing for a hike in the Berg - going in December. I have not yet finalised the pass that we will be doing or even if we will be doing a pass (we may just stay in the little Berg). Although there are some options for me which I would like to do: Xeni is one of the very few passes in the Cathedral Peak basin which I haven’t done, and having 4 days for the hike means that I have the option of the Mweni area which requires more days based on the long walk in.

But here is the point of the motto: Although I could organise to do one of these passes, there are some people who would like to come and may not manage with a pass so it would limit who can come with me. If we do a hike that is a bit easier, it will allow more people to join – “Do what I love...”  I love hiking “...Take people with you.”  The nature and difficulty of the hike will determine the group.

For you this may mean that you love to watch sports, that you love to play music or that you love to dance; it really does not matter what it is, but rather ask yourself how you can ensure that other people will join you on what you are doing. Make an environment where people both can and want to come with you.

As a business leader, this means making space for people to feel valued. If we are talking about a social context, it is allowing people to join in and be a part of what is happening. If it is a religious context, it is to let people know that they are wanted, not because of what they can offer but because of who they are. It is with this attitude that Jesus Christ came for us – He was not worried about what we can do for Him, but the bible says that “God shows His love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us”.

Let’s follow the example of Christ and make space for other people to come with us – do what you love; take people with you.

Fit for purpose

Like every other hobby, hiking can take its toll on your pocket, but regardless there are some items that are needed before you can do any sort of real hike.

Between myself and the other guys I normally hike with, we have extra items of most of the gear needed, but there are some items that you just cannot lend. My boots are a size 14, and although I still have my previous pair, there are not many people I know who take that size shoe so it is the one item that you need to have in order to come on a hike in the berg.

If you are just going for an afternoon stroll, your Nikes or Sketches will do the job, if you looking to do a trail run, you will need something a bit more hardy, when it comes to hiking, and specifically hiking in the berg, the old shoes you have lying around won’t cut it.

The remainder of Kyle's boots

I vividly remember a hike we did a few year ago: we were off to do the bell traverse; 5 hikers, 3 first timers. As usual we did a pre-hike check and we were happy with everyone's gear. On the descent, Kyle’s boots started taking some strain, and it was about half way down the zig-zag’s that the sole came off of the upper part of the boots. Kyle was wearing hiking boots, but the terrain in the berg is so rough, that even boots take stain and sometimes, like Kyle's, they can fail. The temporary fix (one which we have used since) was to strap the sole to the upper using Duct Tape, now standard equipment on every hike.

If Kyle was wearing normal shoes, they wouldn’t have lasted that long, because hiking boots are made to purpose, as are running shoes and in fact so are ballet shoes. I am convinced that someone trying to do ballet in hiking boots would be rather unsuccessful – allow your imagination to picture that for a second.

As people, the same applies to us; we are made for a specific purpose. My brother and I are similar in many ways, but there are some areas where we are very different and these differences mean that if I tried to do the things he does, I probably would not be very successful, not to mention that I would wear myself out in having to working extra hard to do them.

The apostle Paul puts it beautifully when he writes to the Corinthians and compares the church to a body. He goes on to say that every member of the body has a part to play while at the same time needing the other members. We cannot expect to do it alone, nor can we expect others to do everything – this is true for every environment: When I hike, at work, in my church and also in my family.

What were you built for – what is your purpose?

Who’s Leading?

I had the privilege this past weekend of going on another hike to the Cathedral Peak area in the Drakensburg. The team was made up of myself and 3 other natural leaders, and this got me to thinking about leadership.

If you have a look at the mountain register we signed before we started the hike it clearly states that I was the leader of the group – but this is more a theoretical. The reason my name was on the register as the leader was simply because I organised the hike but certainly I was not the only leader nor did I lead the walking at all times, in actual fact, we all had a chance to lead at some point or another.

The question I have been asking myself is what distinguishes a leader in some facets of life but not in another? Should someone who leads in a social environment naturally lead in a business or religious one? Regardless of the “correct” answer, people do not always lead in all circles they find themselves in.

Here are some reasons I think this is the case:

Experience and knowledge: One of the hikers, who only lead the walking for a small bit was a first timer for proper hiking in the Berg. This meant that the knowledge of the terrain and routes was not there.

Assuming there is someone better: People take a back seat because they wait for someone who seems better qualified.

Fear: Sometimes people are scared to take the risk in case they make a mistake. We were in the wrong valley altogether on this hike so we never got to complete the route that we set out to do, but that is not a reason to not try.

May I take a moment to make a distinction that I think requires clarity – A leader, a manager and a pioneer are not the same thing. It is possible that a leader is a manager and a pioneer is a leader, but a manager is not always a leader nor is a leader always a pioneer.

Generally managers hold you to something and reprimand you when it is not achieved, where a leader will be able to set out the task and often is more integral in you achieving it – they walk the road with you. A pioneer is very different to both of these. When I go to the Berg, the one thing that is always in the back of my mind is the fact that someone made their way around here without maps and without paths to guide them – they pioneered the Berg. Pioneering often comes with great cost and that cost may even be death. Leading also comes at a cost, but rarely does it cost the leader their life. A managers most important cost is his or her own reputation.

I think in every area of life, in every country, in every government, in every business, leadership is almost always lacking and everyone, from the top down, need to learn what it truly means to lead.

The Bible is full of examples of both good and bad leaders and there is something we can learn from every one of them. Looking at King David we can learn two of outstanding starting points to being a good leader:

What is your response when you have messed up? David lied, stole, committed adultery and murder, but he was quick to seek forgiveness – and to change so as to not walk that same road again.

Are you more concerned about those whom you lead than yourself and those who lead you? As good leaders our priority should be seeing those whom we lead achieve their goals, even if it means that we don’t achieve ours. Their success is more important than ours.

What type of leader are you?

The View from the Top

The phone rang, the question was asked and I jumped at the opportunity. In preparation to take a group from a local school to the highest point in the Drakensburg, Rob wanted to walk the route first and he had asked me to join him.

 Mount-Aux-Sources is thought to be the highest point in SA at 3282m, but this is not true, in actual fact the highest point in both the Drakensberg and South Africa is Mafadi (3450m). Our route would take us up Corner Pass to spend the night in Upper Injasuthi Cave (Injasuthi Summit Cave).

I would just be the two of us, and I know that Rob walks fast, so I looked through my usual gear to find what I could leave behind in order to save some weight – one of the things I left behind was my tracksuit pants, something I had taken on every hike prior and never used, so I figured I would be the best option.

Not long after reaching the summit of the pass, I looked over into Lesotho and noticed the dark clouds building in the distance and with it some lightning – the move was on we needed to get to the cave ASAP. I know someone who has been struck by lightning twice, but in this area of the Berg, one strike could kill multiple people, so there was no time to dawdle. With a few kilometres still to go, the rain started followed closely by some hail (my ears informed me why Rob always wore the “funny” hat he had). With only a few minutes till we reached the cave lighting struck about 50m behind us and that few minutes become a lot less. That night I regretted not having those warm pants with me; no matter what I did I just couldn’t get warm, mostly because of getting wet.

The clear skies and warmish weather was welcomed, with the arrival of the next morning, I mean since we were going to be on top of South Africa, we wanted to be able to enjoy the view. The climb was a little more difficult than I had expected, but when I got to the top and turned around to see the amazing view, I was caught a little off-guard. “Amazing, I wouldn’t call this amazing. Nice, yes, but not amazing” I thought to myself. I can recall the views from the top of Amphitheatre, I can remember views from on top of Cleft Peak. I can even see images from Windy Gap on the way up Organ Pipes, but if I am honest, the view from Mafadi is not something that sticks in the forefront of my mind.

Amphitheatre and Cleft Peak are on the edge of the escarpment, Windy Gap is just below the summit, but Mafadi is set a few kilometres in from the edge, which means you don’t get to see the grandeur and splendour that you would when you are closer to the edge.

It seems the closer I live life to the edge, the better the views. If you look back through history the church was most on fire when it was under pressure, just go into parts of the world where Christians are persecuted and you will see people ablaze for Christ. When we get to the “top” of what we think is important, very often the views are not as good as we thought they would be.

Do what Christ has called you to do and you will find yourself living everyday with great excitement and enjoying the views along the way.

The difficulty with Faith

 

It was the strongest I have ever been, running 5 kilometres in 19 minutes. I was able to keep up with Rory for most of the training run, but as usual, he pulled away as we started to climb the 45 degree hill.

This was going to be our third shot at Injasuti pass, and we were going to make sure of success this time.

As we started out from the camp site, our fitness was not immediately evident – not that I was focused on it but rather the zigzags plagued my mind, that climb to the top of the little berg had been difficult the previous times, I was expecting no different.

I only realised how strong the group was when we passed marble baths before mid-morning - this was usually a lunch time stop. For the first time I also had very little cursing under my breath towards Rob for not waiting for me or allowing me to rest for a moment every 100 meters. I was able to focus on the enjoyment of the hike and the beauty of the most remote area of the berg I had been too.

As the last gully approached and we had to do a bit of a chimney climb in order to reach the final 100m slope… and a little while later, that was it – the top of the Drakensberg via Injasuti Pass, it took three attempts, but finally we made it. Even though it had been a fairly uneventful day, to get warm dinner in, wind out and be snug in my sleeping bag was a welcomed event.

Our descent was via Leslies pass (the same one we used to reach the summit on the previous failed attempt). It took us 9 hours to get up Leslies previously, but less than an hour to get down this time: we were strong.

All in all, it was a great hike with great views. Had we been less fit, I do think we would’ve still made the pass, but being that prepared was certainly a help and made everything much easier. When we know what awaits us, we can prepare better for it. We knew what we wanted to do and we knew what we needed to do in order to get there.

The difficulty with Faith is that you don’t always know where you’re going so you cannot prepare for it. This means that you have to really put your trust in someone. It is this that people struggle with – we always want to have the details, know everything before-hand, every detail, every turn.

2 Timothy 2:13 tells us about something of the character of God: “If we are faithless, He remains faithful: He cannot deny Himself”. If we put our trust in Him, He will not let us down. The first time I went to the berg with Rob, I had to trust him that he wasn’t going to put me into a situation which was too much for me; and he didn’t. How much more will God look after us when we put our trust in Him: He is faithful and remains faithful – even if I am not.

Thanks to Rob and Kyle for some of the Pictures

It’s about getting there, not getting there fast

I have always walked with a little hustle in my stride, it may be the long legs and the size 13 boots I wear and if I’m fit I tend to push it even more. I had been running consistently for a few months before we hiked up Organ Pipes and I was doing well, fitter than the rest of the team.

As always, we left Cathedral Peak Hotel at first light, 2 experienced hikers, one novice and someone joining us for their very first hike. As we reached the bottom of the Camel I fondly remembered my first time up this pass and this time it thought would be no different. Day one saw us reach the top and set up tent with no issues – except for this niggling thought about what would happen if I slipped and fell. I have had this sort of thought before, so assuming it to be like all other times I dismissed it.

Day 2 and we started to descend, stopping to soak in the majestic views. Being that I was strong at the time, I sped ahead, leaving the group in my dust. Again having that niggling thought about falling, and again I dismissed it. It was only at lunch when we reached the bottom of the Camel that Shaun suggested that I slow it a bit – He was right. I was feeling very strong, but the fast pace had left the team in a less than comfortable position.

A little after lunch, coming to the bottom of the last major hill and a chill ran down my back as I heard the shout from above: “Catch Kyle”. Shaun was walking at the back with Kyle just in front of him and Kyle slipped. I had already followed the path as it cut back and I was heading back toward them, 15 meters below. I rushed forward to try and grab Kyle as he came rolling down in front of me, but I wasn’t fast enough with the pack on my back. The tree slowed him down while pushing him away from the ladder that had been put up. I would hate to know what would’ve happened if it wasn’t for that tree – we got let off lightly – a broken ankle and a few scratches and bruises, not to mention that we were just 2 KM from the hotel. 2 hours earlier, with us being a lot higher this sort of fall would have had a very different outcome.

I am grateful Gods protection and for the team that we had, who pulled together, mustered up what was needed and got Kyle out without further injury.

As I look back and think about what happened and more importantly why it happened I am left with this sinking feeling that it wasn’t just an accident, but something that I, as one of the leaders of the hike, could have prevented.

In Luke 8 Jesus tells the parable of the sower; some of the seeds fall on the rocky soil and although it starts out strong, it does not have the roots to last. This is the risk of not pacing yourself - of moving forward faster than your roots are able to sustain you.

God is gracious and can supernaturally grow us faster than we can imagine, but there always seems to come a time when we need to trudge and allow our foundations to be strengthened. This is time consuming and we need to be willing to take the time to walk this through, enjoy the journey and let God do what He needs in us.