August 13-Holden Village
The two hour boat ride on Lake Chalen was filled with sunshine, blue skies above and blue water below. Rock cropings and evergreens dressed the hills. On the right side of the boat the trees were a deep green and on the left the trees looked like toothpicks, damaged from the wildfire 7 years ago.
I was amazed by how much land was devastated during much of the ride, but creation is resilient. The hills were covered with new ground cover.
The fire came terrifyingly close to the Village. The 45 minute drive up 10 miles of switch backs with an elevation gain of 2,000 feet held no resemblance to my memories of the drive. Deep forest used to line the road which is now a barren forest of charred trees with a few proud pines sprinkled amongst the fallen giants.
The village looks the same in many ways. The greatest change I noticed is the radical hospitality that is offered by the staff which creates a more inclusive community. The staff intentionally introduces themselves with preferred pronouns. At the orientation there was a land acknowledgement of the indigenous people who have called this land home. I appreciated the intentional move toward greater inclusivity and acknowledgement that people of all religion and spiritualities, race, gender, and sexual orientation are created in the image of God and welcomed at Holden.
As I contemplated which hikes I wanted to do in consultation with the resource person at the Hike Haus, I realized that as an 18 year old I was not as in tune with nature as I am now. Earlier in the day I sat by Railroad Creek, a creek that runs through the village, and I saddened by my awareness that I had not treasured the natural surroundings when I was so young. I missed so much beauty by not opening my heart and my eyes to all that enveloped me. I was not looking at life and creation through the lens of gratitude.
I remember friends going on hikes when I lived at Holden 47 years ago, but I did not have an interest in joining them. In comparison, hiking is what I want to do in this visit to Holden, because it feeds my soul. I am going to venture out on the trails with eyes and heart open with gratitude to the God who created it all.
I went to “sacred space” which churches might call worship. I was delightfully surprised. It was welcoming and inclusive. It was meditative and the music made my spirit sing.
One important God moment happened as a result of being gathered in community. A man came up to me and said, “Kris Linner? I am David Hanson.” David lived at Holden with his parents, Kay and Paul Hanson (whom I had just visited in Billings), and his sister, Nancy, in 1976-77. He was 8 years old and his sister was 5 years old when I and Cathy Grande took them on an overnight hike. Thankfully they were safely returned to their parent’s care and not eaten by a cougar or a bear. David and I found it was a treasured memory that we both shared. Jokingly David said that camping overnight changed the course of his life. He said that after that trip into the wooded mountains, his first major purchase as a young boy was a tent. He caught the camping bug. I was grateful to reconnect with David.
