I’ve been asked to be a mentor at the church camp. I’m guessing what qualifies me for that is that I’m an older guy with experiences in life (both good and bad). So they match me with this younger guy from Arkansas. Hey, at least we can understand each other being from the South and having the same “accent”. Hmmmm,…… what should I say to a younger person who is looking at me as his mentor. Does this make him my “mentee”? Should I invite him over for coffee and share our life’s stories? Staci would be so much better at small talk than I. I’ve always had a dread for that “awkward silence” that shows up when I’m trying to lead in conversations with people. Well, Dan being Dan, I did what seemed to me to be the best way to get a conversation (and hopefully a new friendship) started. I asked him a question. A most unusual question…….

“Hey Chris! I’m going on about a five mile hike in 10 inches of snow to find a dead elk, cut his stinky, rotten head and horns off, (elk had been dead close to three weeks), then bring the trophy horns out, clean them up, and have them on display at my house. You want to come help?”

I hadn’t gotten the words out of my mouth before these thoughts hit me. First of all, this guy doesn’t even know me. Who wants to hike with some guy he doesn’t know five miles into the wilderness? Second thought is why would he even WANT to help me haul out a dead elk. (Did I mention this animal had been dead and had a very putrid smell.) I’m almost regretting asking him, well, because I probably put him on the spot and everything. I’m already expecting to hear him say he’s already got plans, or he’s got work to finish at camp. But his reply is this. “Haul out a dead elk? That’s right up my alley! Count me in! Yes Sir, I’d like to go!” ……And this is where today’s story begins…..

I had a group of hunters up this week for Archery elk hunting (and fly fishing). Shout out to C J, Tyler, Jody, Wendall, and Dave. These guys are super fun to be around! They are also top notched hunters and fishermen. Even where we hunt in the wilderness, you can still send out texts. They informed me that they were in elk, and while hunting they walked up on this dead elk. They also sent me a picture of his horns. Once I saw the picture of the horns, I told them keep hunting, but tell me where this animal is because I didn’t want to see those horns go to waste.

Now, I’m realizing as I’m looking at the map that this is going to involve a fairly long hike in the ten inches of snow that hadn’t melted from the storm a couple days earlier. Traveling in the wilderness by myself is no problem as I have gone many times in the past. But I’m not stupid. I probably lean more on the cautious side. Trips I make by myself are always on specific trails, going to specific lakes to fish. If something were to happen to me, twisted ankle, some type of physical ailment, a bear attack(just kiddin’) someone would know where to find me. On this adventure, no one would know how I’m going in, or how I would be heading out. I need a safety net. Someone would need to go with me. Hopefully someone with young legs and strong muscles to help carry this twenty- five pounds of horn and bones of a burden that I’m wanting to haul out. The mentor’s “mentee” will fit this position perfectly.

The first couple of miles were not that bad. Horses and hunters had already established a trail which we gladly followed. Once we reached the top of the pass (see picture above), we were on our own. We now had to bushwhack our way to the coordinates my hunter buddies had given me to get to the dead elk and those horns.

The storm that came two days earlier had dumped up to two feet of snow. What made my footing so treacherous, was that the snow had melted, refrozen, and was melting again. Every time my hiking boots landed on a smooth sided rock underneath the snow, I fell. Probably fell fifteen maybe twenty times before we made it back to the established trail. I was surely glad I had my “safety net” of a guy there with me.

When we were within a couple hundred yards of our dead elk, we ran into a lot of these………

Mountain Lion Tracks!!……. and lots of them. They actually led us straight to the elk carcass. Hey, it looked like the mountain lion himself had fallen a time or two in the slippery snow. I didn’t feel quite so bad about my capabilities of hiking after seeing that. 😉 As we approached our target, closing the distance to about fifty yards, the smell became overwhelming. The ravens let us know where they were feasting, so we knew right where to go. Now the fun begins………

I have a picture of the carcass, but Staci said don’t show it because someone’s probably eating breakfast. I will just describe the scene for you. Picture a dirty diaper, a dead mouse caught in a trap for 3 days, Sour milk, my son’s tennis shoes, and road kill……. all put into a blender and poured out onto the snow. I then kneel in this substance as I cut the head and horns from this mixture. Lots of gagging, and grimacing going on, but hey it was worth it. You never know what goes on behind the scenes of a picture!

Success! Now to haul our elk horns back out of the wilderness. Chris was great at being a pack mule. He did more than his share of hauling out my burden. My burden became his burden.

Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2

On our Christian adventures we should all bear one another’s burdens. We are all in this together, right? The struggles, the battles, the highs and the lows of life aren’t meant to be handled alone. God gives us so many opportunities to see Him when we share. My burden of “elk horns’, may not compare to the personal burdens you are carrying right now, or the burdens of someone you know. But when we share in others burdens, likewise when we allow others to share our burdens, we are fulfilling the law of Christ. What law is that? Loving our God with all your heart, and loving your neighbor as yourself. Truly a Godly way to live right?

So don’t miss out on those Godly opportunities to share with others in their burdens. Also realize YOUR OWN BURDENS may need to be shared with someone else. Again this Christian journey is not meant to be traveled alone. God has His all knowing abilities and power to show us things we need to see. Sometimes He uses other people for His purpose. Burdens whether great or small become opportunities for us to interact with each other while seeing God’s care and helping hand in the example of another human being.

“Dear Lord, thank You for Chris and his willingness to share in “my burden”. May his example help me and my friends reading this become more aware of the opportunities that You God give us each day. The opportunities to help and be helped. Those opportunities to Love God, and to love others as ourselves. Amen.”