Kaile Judge - The Hikers Glow and Genius Loci - Students Chosen Topic

    This past weekend my friend Sadie and I headed to Humpback Rocks for a 5.0-mile loop hike. I am from the Blue Ridge Mountains, and after about a month of being at school near the beach and far from any such mountains, my heart started longing again for wilderness. Although we have the Noland Trail, I had been longing for the type of wilderness that is untouched, separate from human construction, deeply silent to the point of hearing your every heartbeat.

    Sadie and I set out at 5:30am, heading towards the mountains, the world as it should be, wild and beautiful. We arrived at the hike and started upward on a steep 1.5-mile trek towards the top, and then another 3.5 slow and steady downhill on the Appalachian Trail would lead back to the parking lot. The hike up was nothing less than brutal. It was much steeper than expected, with lots of large rocks, fallen trees, and running water down the trail's middle. After about an hour or two, we got to the top and sat for a while in the crazy wind, looking out onto the Shenandoah National Park. 

    Although the mountain top was beautiful, it was not the view that stuck with me the most, but rather the hike down the mountain. On the way down, Sadie and I decided to walk a little off the path and head over to the Appalachian Trail. There were no footprints to be seen, and no voices to hear, only that of our own conversation. Just a little ways onto the AT I stopped, and listened, eyes shut, silently breathing, intentionally listening to every noise that was to be heard. It was peaceful, gentle, and humbling. Genius loci is the spirit of the place where God is met, and although we were not at the top of the mountain anymore, or at the Axis Mundi, God was overwhelmingly present. Being still and resting in this place brought peace, the kind of peace that one can only receive in the presence of God. 

    We were about halfway down the mountain when I stopped again to listen, but I stopped to listen because I heard another person. Someone was coming up behind us quite speedily. I saw his bright orange hat through the tree branches, and as he approached, I saw his beaming smile. This man was practically running, going down the mountain with a fairly hefty pack on, but he was smiling brighter than anyone I had seen thus far on the hike. At that moment, I realized that my previous experience on the hike was no coincidence, but that it was the true genius loci of the place we were in. On the AT, I felt God's presence, peace, stillness, and contentment. The man we passed on the trail was overcome by the genius loci. He was quite literally glowing, and it wasn't just because of his hat, but because of his spirit and complete contentedness.

    We walked just a bit further and saw a fallen tree that had been cut in two, so the trail would easily go past, and in this tree, someone had made the most beautiful carving. It was the "AT" symbol, with a little carved-out house next to it. How lovely it is being welcomed into a place that not only so many creatures call home, but also so many people call home too. I now am starting to understand that sacred place is not necessarily the place where Jesus once walked, but the place where God walks alongside you.