That Someone

Last July, I hiked Grays and Torreys peaks, two 14’ers in the Colorado high country. It was a beautiful day, but the winter snow was still melting and the trail was a mess. I sloshed with hundreds of others through Horseshoe Basin toward the top.

On the ascent, I met a young guy heading down the trail. He carried a fairly large dog in his arms. “Aaaaw,” I said, “Is your dog tired?”

The guy said, “He’s not my dog, but yesterday he fell off a ledge and broke his leg and couldn’t be rescued.” The hiker went on to explain that he had climbed the mountain at dawn, in the hope of locating and rescuing the injured dog.

I’ve been haunted by that chance meeting, that opportunity to talk a moment with a great tender-heart. The hike up Greys & Torreys Peaks isn’t technically difficult, but it’s long and strenuous. And getting off the beaten path at higher elevations can be dangerous. That young man gave something of himself to find that dog, and then carried the dog for several miles, by no means easy miles, back to his owner.

Most people are waiting for someone else to change the world. On that day, for that dog, that guy was that someone. And I wondered, what other sacrifices does he make in his life?  And what am I willing to give of mine? It’s a tough question, one worth wrestling over.

Here’s to all the rescuers among us. Thank you for the passion and compassion you pour into this world.