This weekend I spent two complete days in 'June Lake' (that's in the Sierras, between Yosemite and the Nevada border). I went with 40 others from the 'Post-College, No-Kids' (abbreviated PCNK) group at my church. Overall, I was successful in my three goals: 1) meet new people, 2) deepen half-formed friendships, 3) spend the minimum amount of money.
Goal #2 and #3 happily collided on Friday when 5 others felt equally disgusted with the $60 ski lift fee and opted for cross-country skiing instead. I enjoyed the skiing (first time!), although it was hard to stop my habits from rollerblading. Most of my rollerblading techniques resulted in crossing my skis - ack! At one point, another girl and I went exploring off the main path, following a track from some previous ski-er. It started by paralleling the main path, but then it took a bend and before we knew it, we were going up the side of the mountain with a very steep slope to one side and rocks on the other side! We were already so committed by the time we realized it was no longer following the path, we just decided to stick it out and reach the top. It took us quite a while, but we finally made it. And then getting back was a trick, too! You can imagine our sense of accomplishment, though.
On the second day, I tried snow-shoeing with a group of 12 (as pictured above). This was an interesting experience, but overall I enjoyed the ski-ing better, although it was more difficult. Both on Friday and Saturday, we had amazing weather: it would be below freezing at night and then warm up into the 40's. The beautiful blue skies made for a wonderful contrast between the green of the evergreens and white of the snow.
I did get to experience the ski lift on Saturday night, as the final large group gathering took place in the ski lodge. Being the heights-lover that I am, I enjoyed being lifted up the mountainside about 20 feet above the ground. The ski-lift was a little chilly on the return trip, though. At both evening gatherings, we looked at the passage in II Cor 5, exploring the theme of 'courage'.
A good and worthwhile weekend. Hopefully yours was equally enjoyable!
