Post | Victory For Veterans

Good morning, sir! We have always enjoyed hiking, and in 2005 snuck to the bottom of the so-called Stairway to Heaven, aka Haiku Stairs, on Oahu and spent an afternoon going up and back down. Nearly 4,000 steps, some in not too good repair as the stairway was officially closed. As we climbed up past the H-3 overpass many motorists honked and waved. The picture is not ours, I found it online, the area below is Keneohe and Kaneohe Bay, the peninsula to the right being the Marine Corp Base Hawaii. We lived in Kailua, about another mile to the right of the MCBH.

Good Saturday, January 18, 2020 morning my hiking friend COL Mikel J. Burroughs and thank you for posting the pictures from a hiking adventure in Costa Rica.
1. As a soldier, I participated in more than enough forced marches through all types of terrain -some as a combat engineer, a number as a USMA cadet and most as an infantryman.
2. I have enjoyed walking since I was young. I encountered snakes and bears when I was young as I explored on our family camping trips in West Virginia and North Carolina.
3. When my sons were young, I frequently took them to Bear's Den on the Appachian Trail in Clark County, VA. I tended to carry one or both in the mid-1990's on the way down. They had energy to go up -usually. By the evening they were exhausted after scampering around the rocks and exploring "caves."
4. When I was stationed in Germany I was introduced to volksmarch [an organized and marked walk (or run, if you prefer) through the countryside and towns.] My first volksmarch was in summer of 1979 when I spent a month at Krabbenloch Caserne [near Stuttgart] in July 1979. Most of my volksmarching was while I was stationed at Warner Barracks in Bamberg [1981-1984] Volksmarching was a great way to spend time in the countryside, practice my German speaking, listening and reading :-)
5. At Fort Benning I was introduced to Hash House Harriers. It was a loosely competitive running and chasing game. In our case we ran around Columbus, Georgia. A designated hare laid clues as he/she made a path over hill and dale and through town. The rest were hounds of more accurately Hash House Harriers. The run always ended at a bar. :-)
6. Each year during late summer at USMA, West Point the new cadets after completing beast barracks are marched back to the cadet barracks area. USMA Graduates can march back with the New Cadets at the end of Cadet Basic Training. Many of my classmates have participated in this.

Thank YOU, dear God for establishing and preserving the landforms such as mountains, hills, valleys and fertile plains where: crops grow and are harvested; herbivore animals graze and reproduce, move in herds as the seasons change and carnivores thin the herds of weak and disabled herbivores.
I pray that each adopted son and daughters of YOURS treats each person with respect since the soul of each human being has been created in YOUR image. Let us lead by example to love our neighbor through thick and thin.
I pray that parents of children educate them wisely and demonstrate selfless love. Enable parents and teachers to instill a love for the nature YOU created around us to the children.
I lift the hikers, volksmarchers, leisurely walkers, those who are in wheelchairs, using walkers and canes to YOU dear God. Empower each one to take advantage of YOUR creation as we walk, hike and amble on through town, country and over hill and dale.
I pray that each one who appreciates sunrise, sunset, rainbows, and cloud formations realizes that YOU are the LORD and are grateful for these wonderful sights.
I pray that each radical progressive in Congress will take a hike and have their eyes and ears opened to both wisdom and if they ignore wisdom they will be isolated in their spirit.
I pray that each one of YOUR adopted children and their loved ones sleep well Saturday night.
By the power and authority of the Name above all names, Jesus the Christ.

Images:
1. Areas where I hiked, marched or volksmarched plus as image of some Hash House Harriers

Climb Ev'ry Mountain Finale from The Sound of Music
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvDFoF9sfQA

FYI MSgt David Hoffman PO1 H Gene Lawrence Sgt (Join to see)
SSG William Jones SGT Steve McFarland SGT Wanda Shepherd (Join to see)CW4 G.L. SmithSPC Russ Bolton

Good Saturday Morning COL Mikel J. Burroughs - from a quiet but sunny Greater Fort Myers Area with a current temp of 67° at 8am heading up to 82° & the golfers are out on the course as I look out through our Lanai... Gorgeous! More to come after my breakfast...

Love the topic - "Hiking"! Why Not!!!

Here are a few additions that have strong meaning for me:

1) "Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn." - John Muir

2) "May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds." - Edward Abbey

3) "It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves." - Edmund Hillary

4) "Nobody trips over mountains. It is the small pebble that causes you to stumble. Pass all the pebbles in your path and you will find you have crossed the mountain. The mind does not create what it perceives, anymore than the eye creates the rose." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

5) "Look deep into nature and you will understand everything better." - Albert Einstein

6) "Our wretched species is so made that those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road." - Voltaire


"The magnificence of God’s earthly creations allows us all to hike the mountains, valley’s and shores and take in the solitude, the beauty, the pristine landscapes, with but the wisp of the wind or the rustling of leaves or the waves breaking the shore…This is the magnificence where one can let his or her thoughts breathe in the life God provided, to clear the cobwebs of our minds and to charge our energy to forge forward in life." - Kerry F. Harkins, January 18th, 2020






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