Article June 21, 1999 Issue

HEALING ON THE PACIFIC CREST TRAIL

D.O.

I was ascending a steep, rocky ravine. After two days of mostly solitary (solo) hiking, I ran into a Boy Scout troop hiking in the opposite direction. The troop was made up of young boys approximately ten to thirteen years old and a few group leaders. The Scouts were strung out over about an eighth of a mile.

As I neared the top of a rocky switchback, one of the boys ahead of me screamed, "Help, help! Patrick's hurt!" Because large boulders and thick brush were in the way, I could not see either this boy or Patrick. Immediately, I began to pray, rejecting the suggestion that evil could be a real presence or power in this place, or that one of these innocent children of God could be injured. Mary Baker Eddy states in Science and Health, "Accidents are unknown to God, or immortal Mind, and we must leave the mortal basis of belief and unite with the one Mind, in order to change the notion of chance to the proper sense of God's unerring direction and thus bring out harmony" (p. 424).

When I reached the two boys, Patrick was lying facedown in some rocks below the trail. He appeared unconscious. I walked over to him and said, "Patrick, you're OK, stand up!!" He instantly jumped to his feet. With a look of bewilderment on his face, he started brushing the dust off his clothes. There was no evidence of injury. At this point, a counselor came running up and inquired what had happened. The other boy stated that Patrick had fallen headfirst into the rocks below the trail. When they realized that Patrick was uninjured, the counselor and the other Scouts looked quite surprised. Then they continued their hike.

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