Trip Report: The Eyes of the LORD

Pride goes before a fall, as they say. Last fall, attempting to find an off-trail waterfall, I came face-to-face with that idea. My adventure was cut short; a coming deluge, high cliffs, dangerous footing, and a wrong approach all kept me from reaching my destination. I would have to return.

Thankfully, I was finally able to, and this time I wasn't alone. My friend and I headed to the trailhead and started down the overgrown path. I had done a bit more research this time, and knew a better route to the waterfall. It wouldn't be easy, but at least we had a plan.

This was mostly a scouting trip; I doubted there would be much water, despite recent rains. But before I seriously shot these waterfalls, I wanted to know for sure where they were.

The trail itself was not the most exciting, but I've certainly been on worse. It's always a dreaded feeling spending so much time on the front end of a hike descending. That means the return trip is all up.

But we had the entire trail, and what felt like the entire surrounding region, to ourselves. Other than squirrels, chipmunks, and birds, we were the only sign of life for what felt like miles. That's a rare thing on this side of the country.

Finally, we came to the stretch where we needed to cut off-trail. I'm not going to say where in the world we were at. But I will say that we were allowed to go off-trail here.

At first, it was incredibly easygoing, easier, in fact, than most of the trail we just left. That quickly changed.

We split up for a little while. My friend went up the hill above some cliffs, and I below.

Soon, I heard rushing water, but couldn't tell exactly where it was coming from. My friend made it to the waterfall first and shouted for me to come over. Of course, I had chosen the wrong direction and had to climb a section of cliff to do so. But soon enough, I made it, and what a sight it was.

The water plunged over a small cliff, probably forty to sixty feet high, and maybe eighty feet wide, tucked away in the forest. It certainly wasn't a rushing waterfall by any stretch, but still, it was beautiful. It was even more so, knowing that very few people ever even see it.

My friend, instead of waiting for me to take a few photos, headed up—straight up—around the waterfall. Once I was finished taking photos, I headed up, too.

Not too far past this waterfall was another small cascade, tucked away in the dense forest. In some ways, I liked this smaller one better, but both were nice.

My friend pulled a card out of his backpack. While I can't remember the Bible verse on it, I believe it was Proverbs 15:13:

"The eyes of the LORD are in every place, watching the evil and the good."

Even in the stretch of wilderness, far from civilization and people, God could, and in fact did, see.

It didn't hit me in the moment; I was too preoccupied. But as I write this, it's an interesting realization.

Soon, we started the slow walk back.

I'll spare you the details. I'll just say it was a long walk back.

I'm thankful that we still have locations like this, even in the Mid-Atlantic. I'm even more thankful, however, that God sees His children, knows them, and loves them.