50-50 Success!

Lessons learned walking 50 miles


By Isaac Will
Chapter coordinator

Contrary to popular belief, hiking 50 miles is a long way to walk.

We started our hike at 10 p.m. Friday, June 5. The weather was cool and the moon shone brightly over Lake Superior. Saturday started with happy muscles and joints. Although the weather remained ideal our physical condition started to deteriorate after about 20 miles. Great things require great sacrifice — and we were starting to feel the pain for the last 5 miles of the day.



A light rain started around 3 a.m. on Sunday, June 7. By the time I was getting out of my bivy at 6 a.m. it was down to a drizzle. I quickly realized that my body had not recovered throughout the night as I expected.

Just walking around camp and packing up our minimalist gear was painful. Thinking about doing another 25 miles seemed almost too much, too far, too many more calf-eating hills and knee-bashing rocky descents into river valleys, too many more miles of root-strewn trail that took out or ankles. We wondered if our bodies would make it.

But we really didn’t have a choice. Our car was parked at the end of our trail — 25 miles away. One way or another, we had to get there.

And this is how I sometimes feel in my daily life: Just waking up and getting through the day can seem like a huge and sometimes painful task. Trying to make a difference in the world and go the extra miles can seem too daunting and almost defeat you before you start.

I learned a few things along the way:

Always pack marshmallows.
Even when the destination seems too far away, just start walking. Take a step, then another, then another. You’ll get closer with every step. The more involved you are in the journey, the faster it will go by.
Miles, like time, will seemingly melt away. And when you are done, you can look back and say proudly: “I walked that trail.”
Don’t let failure be an option. If you are going to walk a trail in life, commit to it and park your car at the end. The harder you make it to quit the less likely you will.
Bring more Advil than you think you’ll need. It may not be easy going.


I know the work being done through Climbing for Christ IS making a difference. It is Kingdom work. I know my hike did not solve the food, water, and education problems, or the spiritual battles going on in Haiti, but it will make a difference. Dinner will be served. Salvation will be offered. To God be the glory – amen!