Restores My Soul

We have read that sheep avoid rushing water and will only drink from calmer waters.

Having never tended sheep, we don’t know how true that is, but perhaps the most famous and frequently used Psalms from the Old Testament, Psalm 23, it says in part, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want (be in need). He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul…” In this Psalm, the author King David, contemplates his relationship with the Lord God as similar to sheep and their caring, gentle shepherd who provides them with lush grazing pastures and calm waters from which to drink. In part, that’s what this scene reminds us of.

The location is at the outlet of New York Lake, located in the Holy Cross Wilderness of Colorado. We were here to climb a 13,000 foot peak called “Finnegan.” The approach from this stream crossing to the summit was a brutal, relentless ascent on boulder talus for over 1,500 vertical feet. When we had returned from the summit and crossed back over the creek here, it was time to rest before hiking an additional four miles back to our vehicle on a faint trail. What an idyllic location to take a break. Behind us was the half-mile long New York Lake, reflecting the surrounding peaks with patches of snow still lingering from winter. At the outlet, the waters of the lake coursed through and emptied into the calm of the pond before us, with grassy banks and low evergreens framing a Colorado blue sky. We took a long break here, dipping our feet in the cool waters, listening to the gurgling stream and admiring the reflection of the sky in the calmer waters. It was certainly a “pristine,” wilderness location and one that not only rested tired, bruised and battered feet, but also a place to soak in the tranquility of such wilderness, while not too many miles away lay the bustling towns of Vail and Avon, and experience the restoration of our souls.