Trip Report: Shenandoah Waterfall and Decision-Making

Decisions, decisions, decisions. Decision-making is not something that I'm known for. I probably shouldn't admit that here, but I digress.

I suspect, however, we all struggle from time to time knowing what to do in certain situations. I'm sure I've written on this at other times; that's ok, it's something worth repeating. The truth is, as long as we're following God's word, we are pretty free to choose. Easy to say, hard to live out.

The other day I headed up to the mountains. This outing was strictly to shoot some photos and spend some time with God; I wouldn't have time to do any video work. The weather had been rainy, the skies cloudy, and it sounded like a perfect time to shoot a waterfall. I know that as summer continues, the falls will get pretty dry; not ideal for photography. So, I decided on one waterfall in particular.

But as I left, the rain stopped, and the clouds began to dissipate. Would it be better to photograph a sunset? I needed to keep my options open at this point.

Arriving at the park, I drove until I could reach an overlook, at which point the decision became harder.

The sky was looking promising for a sunset shot. Would that be the better option tonight?

Still, even with the low clouds and clearing skies, my gut told me to stick to the plan. I've seen enough sunsets fizzle out in this place, and I suspected that would be the case tonight. But, as I drove on, I still wondered if I should go to an overlook or a mountaintop instead of a waterfall.

In the end, praying and thinking, I decided to stay the course. I headed towards my waterfall, but as I pulled into the lot, the sun was peeking through the clouds. Not a good sign.

I got my gear together, locked the car, and headed onto the trail. It was already getting a little later in the day; I'd only have maybe three hours to do a roughly 5-mile round-trip hike. Not to mention, I needed some time at the falls to shoot.

Time to hoof it.

Shortly after I got onto the main trail, the cogs in my brain started to spin. This is not unusual when you hike alone. One's mind can start to wander. Mine started thinking about the little decisions we make all the time. With each step on the trail, I had to make a decision. Do I step on this rock? No, it's too slick; step over here. I was having to make rapid-fire choices, almost instinctively. It's not like I stopped for each difficult step and thought, "Hmm, where to put my feet?"

As an aside, trails in this park are on the rather rocky side. Add in some rain, and you really need to pay attention. Slipping, tripping, and falling are very real possibilities if you're not keeping an eye out.

The point, though, is that so many choices in life are made like those steps. We don't stop and think through everything; we go, one step leading into the next.

I wish the big decisions were so easy.

The truth, as hard as it is to comprehend for my pea-brain, is that God is directly active in guiding our steps. Each and every footstep I took, in some providential way, God was directing me. I can't understand it.

Did I not have control over my own feet? Of course I did. Yet God in His infinite power and wisdom was also there, in some way that I can't explain.

And He is there in the big things as well, working all things for His glory, and for the good of His people.

Finally, I reached the waterfall. While it is an official waterfall on park signage, there's really no trail to the base. Sometimes you have to wing it, I suppose.

Decisions come into play even more when you have to make your own way, when you have to clear your own path, as it were. Unfortunately, I chose the path with the thorny bushes and poison ivy. You live and learn, I guess.

The water flow wasn't the best; the clouds were bright and high. No fog and a lot of deadfall. In other words, not the greatest conditions.

And this brought about one of the hardest parts of making decisions: Owning them.

Coming here wasn't a bad decision, but if I wanted to come away with anything from this, I would have to work at it. The photograph wasn't going to fall into my lap.

So, I explored this little cut-away part of the canyon for a bit. There was a large downed tree right in the middle of the scene, looking like a long straight brown line in the shot. Not ideal. Many of the wet rocks were also covered in moss. If you've never been around sites like this, I will describe them as a friend of mine does: they're slick as snot. That's not what you want when you're out here by yourself, 2 miles out, and it's getting close to sunset. Oh yeah, and you're not in plain view of the trail. Fall, get injured, and no one will know until the next day. Hey, risk-taking is part of choosing, right?

Still, I had to work the scene; nothing was obvious except for a small bend in the current. Further from the falls, the downed tree was an eyesore. Closer to the falls was deceptively steep and slick, not to mention no real foreground element. That bend would have to be it.

Barefoot, I stood precariously in the water, about knee-high, and tried to get my camera as close as I could to the stream. Try standing lopsided in rushing knee-high water on slippery, yet still sharp, rocks, while trying not to drop expensive electronics into the cold water; it's good for the constitution.

Ultimately, I came away with a composition I'm fairly happy with, but one I'd like to refine under better conditions.

So, what is the takeaway from all this? If you hike by yourself, you'll probably spend a lot of time thinking very random thoughts.

In all seriousness, I don't have all the answers on how we make decisions. I can't tell you the best choice in any given situation. But I can say that God is directing our steps. And He is working everything according to His plan. We can decide, then, to rest in that simple truth.