First night camping near Old Rag mountain

My wife Laura and I left Monday morning for four days and three nights of backpacking in the Shenandoah National Park. This was the first trip just the two of us have taken, and the longest. We value adventure, risk, and fun over boring, safe, and predictable. And our trip was anything but boring, safe, and predictable!

Here are some highlights with three reasons to unplug below:

• We passed our campsite the first evening and ended up getting SOAKED in a downpour. But because we kept going we saw a momma bear and three tiny baby cubs cross the trail right in front of us! Amazing!
• Watched a snake (not sure what it was yet) feed right outside our tent! Never seen a snake feed in the wild. Thankful it wasn’t feeding on us!
• Saw a BIG papa bear walk right down the trail 20 yards from our site! Check out the video I got HERE.
• Animals we saw: a bunch of deer, several snakes, 5 bears, a salamander, hawks, beautiful birds of all kinds, and about 1 million bugs!
• Experienced incredible views of mountains, sky/clouds, and a massive storm hitting the valley from Hawksbill Mountain (highest point in the park).
• Spent four days with my wife, no technology distraction, and lots of sweat, smells, dirt, and pain!

Taking time to unplug and go offline is an important issue.

Thanks to Margaret Fienberg for inspiring me! HERE is another great post about unplugging to enjoy the outdoors from the Singletracks mountain biking blog.

There are several reasons to do this. Here are three I suggest:

1. Unplug to reflect on the things that matter most

Other than God, no relationship is more important than my wife! Unfortunately, busy-ness, work, ministry, and social media can get in the way of growing it! Four days unplugged allowed me to ask great questions (WHAT and HOW q’s are great!) and listen to Laura’s heart. We evaluated the past. Reflected on a lot. Talked about our love languages and how to grow in speaking them. We even came up with three specific things we can each do to grow in that area!

Food and shelter are REALLY important. It’s easy take these things for granted. It’s also easy to have WAY TOO MUCH of both! Backpacking allowed us to live simply and take time to give thanks for the simple but most important things.

2. Unplug to experience the beauty, wonder, and glory of God in creation

Psalm 19:1-4 says it all,

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 2 Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. 3 They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. 4 Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.

3. Unplug to hear God’s still small voice

Like the prophet Elijah, we would like God to speak LOUDLY and CLEARLY! But I’ve rarely heard God speak loudly. The times I hear God speak are usually in quiet, still moments. God did not speak to Elijah in the wind, the earthquake, or the fire (see 1 Kings 19). God spoke in a whisper, in a still small voice.

Taking time to unplug this week gave my wife and I the opportunity to hear the still small voice of God. We heard Him encourage and confirm He calling on our lives. We needed both in the midst of a HUGE transition coming soon. I’ll write more about that soon.

Here are some pics of our experience…

Gourmet egg burritos for breakfast. One of our backpacking traditions and favorites!

View from Old Rag mountain

View from Hawksbill mountain. This is the highest peak in the Shenandoah National Park.

QUESTION: What is the most important reason for you to unplug? Why?