I recently decided that my oldest two boys were old enough for some good old fashioned wilderness camping. I had worked a lot of OT recently and they were giving their brothers and mom some grief. So, I wanted to do something that could teach them that their life was pretty good, but also show them they could do hard things and show them some of God’s creations. I decided that while we’d be roughing it for a couple daysT that I would go easy on them and drive the 60 km from civilization and only have us hike in about 1.5km (~1 mile) to the base camp from the end of the road. From the base, we could hike all over the mountains, lakes and glaciers that are at the apex of our valley. I checked the weather and it was calling for rain. No biggie, we’ve camped in rain before. But it was July, so we’d be just fine packing fairly light. But, we’d also planned to be there for three days, and it was only a mile hike, so I packed all sorts of gear. Propane cookstoves, lanterns, lawn chairs and fishing gear. We’d have ourselves a nice little camp once we were set up.

As we headed to our destination, we passed empty camp after empty camp on the little dirt road that leads up the valley and I thought, ‘you know, if the weather really turned, this would be a much easier place to camp.” But then I’d shake that thought off and kept heading North. I really wanted to wake up each morning overlooking the Lower Elk Lake, plus, I wanted to teach the boys they could do hard things and that wasn’t going to happen if we didn’t hike. We reached the end of the road, and hiked all our gear into the base camp, doing three loads each to get everything we “needed” to the first lake. We set up camp, fished a little and even swam in the glacier lake. That evening, the rain started. We hunkered down in the tent, played games and went to bed.

I woke up about 1 AM to a much smaller tent! At some point, the rain turned to snow and was starting to cave the tent in. I brushed all the snow off and went back to bed, waking every hour to brush the snow off. By 5 AM, one of my boys awoke and needed to use the outhouse. I escorted him to and from the outhouse in the dark and sent him back to bed. At that point, the snow had turned back to rain and instead of 4 inches of snow, we had ourselves 4 inches of slush. I spent the next hour making a fire. Once I had the fire going strong, I decided I’d better start packing our gear out, as if we stayed, the only thing we’d be doing for the next two days would be hunkering down by the fire and that wasn’t going to be fun for anyone, although  I’m certain it would have been memorable. I ended up doing three loads to the truck and back to camp before the boys got out of bed. We combined everything left at camp into one large load and worked our way to the truck. On the previous loads, I prayed and prayed that we’d be okay, and that the boys would be strong. I prayed that they could overcome this challenge. I poured my heart out to God about life and pleaded with him to help us not just survive but for this to still be a positive experience for the boys. As we left the camp, we prayed again together. Afterward, I warned the boys that their shoes and pants would likely get wet, and they would get cold and that there was little I could do. We would need to continue to hike and press forward to get to the truck. By this point, I had already hiked about 9 km in the slush and was soaked to the bone. I couldn’t have gotten more wet if I had jumped in the lake. My steps had shortened and I was starting to shiver uncontrollably. On that last trip though, we talked and while we talked, no one felt cold or noticed their wet feet. I was shocked at how well the boys were doing, and thanked God for being mindful of us. “If we had to this alone, none of us would make it. But we are not alone. In fact, we are never alone.” (Randall K. Bennett)

We made it to the truck, I started it and the boys climbed in and took their soaked shoes and socks off while I packed the truck up. I also needed to clear snow off the truck and without a snow brush, had to use my arm, which only made my shivering worse. When we headed the 2 hour drive home, it took awhile before the shivering stopped, but the minute we stopped and I got out of the truck, it came right back. When I got home, I laid in the tub for an hour before I felt completely thawed out.
I took my boys to the Elk Lakes to teach them to worry less about frivolous things and also that they could do hard things and the Elk Lakes did not disappoint in giving us hard things to overcome. But those hard things would not have been so hard if I didn’t bring so much stuff, or if I had listened to the gentle promptings of the Spirit and camped in a more accessible location. I also learned that the Holy Ghost may urge us to pull over and find a more suitable place to camp, but it is still our choice. I learned that all the stuff I thought was important for a successful 3-day camp wasn’t needed at all and ended up being extra baggage when the weather turned on us. I learned that my boys are tough and can do hard things and they’ve already asked when we can go again, although hopefully without snow next time. “If the gospel standards seem high and the personal improvement needed in the days ahead seems out of reach, remember Joshua’s encouragement to his people when they faced a daunting future, ‘sanctify yourselves, but tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.'” (Jeffrey R. Holland) 

This adventure with the boys has been the source of much self-reflection. As we camped and hiked, we talked about the gospel in our lives. We talked about being tested and tried. We talked about what is important in life. I spent this time in order to teach my boys these things, but in turn, the Lord taught me about the importance of focus in my life and that so many things that seem to matter, didn’t. I realized that I’m a stubborn mule. It’s not the first time I’ve realized this and won’t be the last. But on those first three trips to the truck, I powered through the cold and wet and the aches and pains, but when it came to that fourth trip, I couldn’t power my kids through anything. We would have to rely on the Lord and each other to get to the truck in order to warm up. The words from a recent BYU Speech kept ringing in my ears.“I realize again and again I cannot overcome this on my own! And I realize again and again, I do not have to!” (J.B. Haws)

This short little weekend trip is also a perfect microcosm of life. Sometimes we are given trials and challenges to test us, but often we bring these trials and challenges on us by insisting we do things our way. We insist we need things in our life that are not of most worth or highest value. They seem important when the sun is shining and all is well in Zion, but when things take a turn and we find ourselves out in the cold, miles from warmth, with no cell phone coverage and others who are relying on us, those “important” things suddenly become burdens (and I’m not talking about my boys.)

Since the camp, I’ve reflected on what is important in life and how to best teach my children. I want them to know that God lives and loves them. He is, at all times, aware of them. Jesus Christ is His Son and He suffered and died so we can one day return to live with our Heavenly Parents. Through Jesus’ suffering, He understands completely what we are going through and because of that, He becomes not only our Saviour, but our Advocate. I want my boys to know that Joseph was and is a Prophet of God and Russell M. Nelson carries with him the prophetic mantle. I know the Church of Jesus Christ is the Kingdom of God on Earth today. I know this by and through the Holy Ghost, who has testified of it to me. I also want them to know (but I’m certain they are all too aware) that I am not perfect and on my own, likely never will be, but I know that I don’t have to be. I just need to try to be better and to help others to be better. “We’re supposed to be working on perfection, not beating ourselves up for not being there yet.” (Beppie Harrison)

I also know that despite all the spiritual experiences in the world, if I do not actively work at strengthening my testimony, I put myself and my family at risk of falling by the wayside. Each of us are destined for greatness but only if we can set aside things that are of lesser value. We cannot watch 2 hours of TV then pick up and read scriptures for 5 minutes and expect to receive revelation. More important than that though, we need to be studying the scriptures, praying daily, serving others and striving to be better each day to help us to create a shield that Satan cannot penetrate. If you find yourself questioning the Gospel, look no further than the small and simple things in your life.

In the NHL, when a team is struggling and is trying to right the ship and start winning some games, there’s a cliché that all hockey plays use. To win games, you need to simplify your game, you need to get pucks deep, create some traffic in front of the net and then shoot the puck on the net. This seems easy in theory, but doing these things is quite difficult. But, like hockey, the opponent hasn’t come to play, they’ve come to win. Satan will use every tool at his disposal to take us off our game, which is why it’s so important for us to stay focused, simplify our game, sanctify ourselves and press forward. “Here then is a great truth. In the pain, the agony, and the heroic endeavors of life, we pass through a refiner’s fire, and the insignificant and the unimportant in our lives can melt away like dross and make our faith bright, intact and strong.” (James E. Faust)

~Todd Bruce

@elkvalleylatterdaysaint