"A humble man rises to a new low" - Terry Scott Taylor
"People don't think I know a butt load of crap
about the gospel but I doooo" - Nacho Libre
"A man makes his plans but God orders his footsteps"
A year ago we were greeted by two very unusual characters as we arrived in a snow storm to the Sangre de Cristo mountains. Unable to get a fire started, these two characters entered stage right. Max and Roy brought us a pan of coals and some dry wood after observing our futile attempts to start a fire. It was Max that taught us how to start a fire in wet conditions. He saved our trip. I can only imagine what the next night would have been like without their help. When we descended off the mountain with very little food we were greeted by Max and Roy. Max was holding a pan full of steak and onions. It tasted heavenly. Were these guys angels?
This years trip was a little different. Will Probst joined us in place of my son. Will and Rhonda have three children and just adopted two orphans from Haiti making a family of seven. Will soon learned about Max and Roy and our traditions that we established on our first trip, like learning the many uses of a bandana, watching Nacho Libre, eating at Spic and Span in Las Vegas, New Mexico, and writing a poem at the end. Our fearless leader Brian the Bard of ICR proposed changing our plans and said, "I did a little calculating this morning and I think we can make it up to base camp before dark." Fear ran through my bones and I shut the idea down before Brian could finish his thought. I get altitude sickness and need time to acclimate. But I didn't want to tell the other guys about this, for we are "men". So I said a little prayer, apologized and started hydrating.
Brian and I are huge Terry Scott Taylor fans so on our trip we listened to the Swirling Eddies- the midget, the speck and the molecule. Then we watched Nacho Libre, and talked about our wives. All good of course.
After 12 plus hours we arrived, put on our gear, and started ascending. I was thinking of Max and Roy as we passed their previous campsite and what Max said to me," Bring that pack over here and let me unpack the kitchen sink." I didn't listen to him last year but this time I did and my pack was 20 lbs. lighter.
We started at the trail head of Panchuela and ascended to our base camp at Horse Thief Meadow. The meadow was covered with lilies.
The next morning we were greeted with this sky.
So the best laid plans of mice and men, we tackled the mountain and we were scourged with hell hail.
Then we retreated to a warm fire and some warm grub.
Brian is the king of building a fire but is not so keen on picking the right dehydrated food.
We had to learn the weather patterns of the mountain. Wait is God's favorite four letter word that we consider vulgar and profane when He uses it with us. Will passed the time by doing a little whittling and Brian lost his spoon so he whittled a new one.< 
Ed was joking about wanting to race up the mountain. The problem with racing Ed is that he is part donkey and mountain goat. Inspired by the Swirling Eddies-A humble man rises to a new low, Will and I took off a half an hour early without telling the other guys. We were on a quest to get to the place that I had lost my hat the day before.
The last third of the ascent to 12500+ feet is tough. Brian came in first, then Ed, Will and the real donkey takes up the rear. I had a little help getting there. Bono was singing Elevation in my ear and the last song as I reached the summit was Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own
Sangre de Cristo means "blood of Christ" and with the help of my "blood brothers" we made it to the top. However, what greeted us upon such an ascent? A flock of fricken horse flies. Big suckers swarming all around. Jesus called Satan beelzebul, which means "Lord of the dung heap or Lord of the flies." I thought to myself how men spend their whole lives ascending to the top. Sacrificing their families on the altar of success. For what? To be greeted by the flies and then realize they were scaling to the top of the dung heap. We descended off the mountain quickly because of an upcoming storm. When we got to our base camp our fearless leader starts hacking away at this huge log because he wants to make the camp better than when we got there. So we joined in to accomplish this noble goal. So if you go to Horse Thief Meadow and go to the last camp space before leaving to ascend East Pecos Baldy you will find the "Man Lounge."
The next morning we descended the mountain and just before reaching the parking lot I look to my left and what do Brian and I see? Max! Max greets us! Something peculiar happened. We were swarmed by flies and Max had no flies on him. We put up our gear and returned to visit with Max and his daughter Harmony. I asked Max, "Why don't you have any flies on you?" He said the key was to sit in the shade. Harmony invited me over to sit in the shade with them! Voila no flies! It gave me a new meaning to "sitting in the shadow of His wings" as the psalmist put so poetically. Max asked us where we were going and we told him that we were hungry and wanted to go into Santa Fe. Max said, "I have just the place." He proceeded to give us direction to Horseman's Haven Cafe. 
Horse Thief Meadow to Horseman's Haven. An angelic practical joke? You decide.
Mummified, paralyzed
we break out of this bivy sack
we cry a song
Shadows speak, "you are weak"
to the top of this dung heap we crawl
ascend to the top
flies flock
will it taint the peace of the blue sky call?
"We know You are true, beyond the blue"
redemption revealed in my sons who are sealed
descending bending
walking after Your will
pain makes the sweetness sweeter still
made miraculous
the hummingbirds tweet
we pray to see You along this way
the path winds and then we find
the Lone Lily is in the valley!
an angel speaks
"sit in His shade"
Beelzebub's furious flies retreat
then we sing
beneath Your wings
Oh what a glorious day
You 've made!
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