North Woods, Van Rides, and Bob Marshall

This is the first post I'm writing on my phone so forgive me for my many typos that are sure to come. I'm using my phone because I'm back in the van (with A/C) for a loooooong haul across three states to western Montana. 

These past few days I've been at a place called White Buck Lodge in Three Lakes, Wisconsin, right near HoneyRock, where HSM goes for SnowCamp. The lodge was unbelievable! It's your stereotypical classic north woods lodge. Made completely of wood with a ginormous stone fireplace in the middle and a giant moose head above the fire. There's no heating in the lodge, so the fire was our only source of warmth, and boy did we need it! But the best part about this place is that it's on a street called "Chicken in the Woods Road". A couple of afternoons we had some free time, so I of course went 'mocking next to the lake! Turns out I'm not the only hammock fan here - I think there are at least 5 hammocks between the nine of us!  As a group, we have the goal of reading the entire bible, cover to cover, in the next 90 days. We're taking a look at the Bible from 30,000ft and getting a grasp of His whole story. We've also started our leadership training, learning about what kind of leadership types are out there and taking a collection of assessments to figure out our own strengths and weaknesses. It's been a sweet time of discovering more about myself and my new friends along with me. 

So that's one end of the long road trip, waiting for us at the other end is the Bob Marshall wilderness preserve near Missoula, Montana. I can't wait to get into the wilderness! There's nowhere I love being or feel closer to God than deep in His creation. It's also a place where I feel I can connect well with those around me. Something about sitting around a fire (or a hot stove) with a group of guys in the middle of nowhere. Deep and meaningful conversations happen there that with ease that are few and far between in other places. We hit the trail midday tomorrow (Sunday) which is great because it's coming so soon, but it also means we're leaving JUST as the Packers kick off! As much as I love the Packers, I'd choose the backcountry over watching a game just about every Sunday. 

We have a really awesome collection of guys on this journey. Evan and I are from Madison, both heavily involved with Blackhawk HSM, Josh is from Minneapolis and enjoys your typical Minnesota sports, Nordic skiing and downhill skiing. Other Evan is from Houston and loves computers, Austin is a 6'2", 320lb (by his own estimates) offensive lineman from Oklahoma, and Corbin is one of eight siblings running a massive pig and cow farm in Huntington, Indiana. Each of us has something unique to contribute the team and after only 4 days (!!) we're starting to form some strong bonds.

Bryce, one of our leaders, talked to us the other day about the difference between The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. He said Tolkien wrote The Hobbit as a children's book. It's the story of a hobbit going on an adventure.  Though it's a great adventure, chances were he'd return home and back to life as he knew it. Conversely, LOR was described as a journey. Gandalf asked the Hobbit to head east to Mordor, not knowing if he'd ever return home. And if he did, life could NEVER be the same. That's what this gap year is for me. It's a journey. One where I will return home (I promise, mom) but I will not be the same. Life won't and can't go back to the way it was. Exactly how I and life will be different is up to the next seven months and how God works in me during that time. 

Thanks for the comments guys! They're really fun to read. And thanks to those of you keeping up with me! It's comforting to known I have an army of friends and family praying for me and following my journey. Hope this post made sense! Like I said, I'm writing on my tiny phone screen so I'll use that as my excuse for any mistakes. I'll be in the backcountry, far, far away from any type of Internet connection (I can't wait) for the next ten days or so but feel free to text or email or comment and I'll get back to you when I can! 

Love you guys,

Ben Hershberger