West Coast Trail - Part V: Walbran Creek to Cullite Creek

Getting water from the Walbran Creek. We prefer to filter our water instead of using pills. Primarily because it tastes better filtered and natural.

We thought this ladder was long. Ha!

I have my faithful biology teacher to thank for my love of plants. Now, whenever I see fuzzy little plants like these I exclaim, "Oh! How delightful! Look, father, at all the wonderful Lycopodium!"

Many wildflowers caught my attention along the way. This indian or labrador tea is actually a species of Rhododendron, R. groenlandicum.

The bog laurel, Kalmia polifolia, is very similar to the Rhododendron growing
near by, but is toxic. Not a good idea to confuse the two when out collecting for
tea.

Drosera rotundifolia. Drosera are among my favourite plants. First, they are carnivorous, snaring unsuspecting insects in the droplets of "dew" on the leaves which quietly fold over to seals the invertebrate's fate. Second, they are down right gorgeous and just saying "Drosera" brings joy to the heart.

So we climbed way up this ladder and then back down just to cross a giant bridge
to more ladders which go all the way back up before coming back down.

The largest bridge of the trip was the Logan Creek bridge.

Looks precarious.

Our packs seemed especially heavy as gravity attempted to pull us off of this crooked ladder ascending a sheer cliff.

The construction team in charge of this one had a good laugh. I'd hate to have to do it without the support.

Farther along, roots and mud became more common occurrences.

Once again, plant oddities catch my eye. These are liverwort thallus in their gametophyte, non-reproductive stage.

Bogs are great places to see interesting plant life.

Approaching the campsite at Cullite Creek, a young Steller jay watches us suspiciously.

Arriving at Cullite just after noon means we have time to explore. And just as well, because the whole Creek is enclosed by a cliff at each side. It was so secluded and enclosed, yet amazingly beautiful, I felt like I had arrived in paradise. Albeit, a very cold paradise.

Harlequin ducks and pigeon guillemots rested on the cliffs and rocks around the cove.

The ducks seemed to be feeding on something close to the wall's side.

The north side.

The boulders of the north wall created a unique landscape of almost maze-like quality. Small fossils, mostly clams and snails, can be seen within many of the crumbling boulders.

This male harlequin duck was very frisky. 

Dad collects some firewood. We were the only ones in the who site; everyone else made five or six nights out of the trial. We did seven.

A fallen spruce dwarves my father.

A curious fungus coats the bottom of a log.

With time to spare, we hiked up Cullite Creek for some distance. There are many salmon fry in the creek.

Keen sandals are perfect for these kinds of semiaquatic excursions.

Looking back at the temporarily unneeded cable car over Cullite Creek.

We do practice no trace camping so no one would ever know we had been there. But it is certainly easy to tell when we are there. As messy as our house.

Spiritual Security

Can I lose my salvation? Strangely, this is a question nearly anyone raised in a Christian home asks at some point. In many of the churches I've been in, I have heard, quite emphatically, "You cannot lose your salvation." However, this statement means very little unless the meaning of "salvation" is exposed for its true meaning. First, the Bible never says we need to "get" saved. I like confronting conservative Baptists with this statement: "No one has to get saved." It makes there jaws drop because, in their minds, I have just stated that Jesus Christ is not needed for people to enter eternal life. But that's not what I mean. Let me explain.
The Bible never says "get saved." Never. Rather, it says, "be saved" multiple times (well over 30 in the New Testament books). So salvation, as far as it applies to a sinner's conversion, is a state of being. Salvation is not dependant on a choice one made in the past. God sums up this idea in the book of Ezekiel (33:12-16).

"Therefore, sone of man, say to your countrymen, 'The righteousness of the righteous man will not save him when he disobeys, and the wickedness of the wicked man will not cause him to fall when he turns from it. The righteous man, if he sins, will not be allowed to live because of his former righteousness.' If I tell the righteous man that he will surely live, but then he trusts in his righteousness and does evil, none of the righteous things he has done will be remembered; he will die for the evil he has done. And if I say to the wicked man, 'You will surely die,' but he then turns from his sin and does what is just and right-- if he gives back what he took in pledge for a loan, returns what he has stolen, follows the decrees that give life, and does no evil, he will surely live; he will not die. None of the sins he has committed will be remembered against him. He has done what is just and right; he will surely live."

Therefore, if someone is righteous and then turns to sin and dies in that state, God will judge him. "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The man who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to pleas the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life" (Galatians 6:7, 8). So the Bible is very clear. If you sin, expect destruction (Hell) and if you live by faith in the Spirit, expect eternal life (Heaven). Don't be a fool and bank on a past decision to save you from Hell. What you do right now is what God is concerned with.
People who seem to think they can sin and escape Hell without sincere repentance often quote John 10:28 and 29, where Jesus, speaking of the eternal life He gives, says, "No one can snatch them out of my hand" and "no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand." They might also mention Romans 8:35-39 which says, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: 'For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.' No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Of course, the context of that verse is obvious. Hardships and persecutions shouldn't worry us because God can protect us. But notice that no sins appear on the list. And the John verses are also clear; Jesus is talking about those God has given him (of course, this brings up the whole "election vs. free-will" debate, that will have to wait for another post).
In summary, because I am running out of time; don't be a fool and keep sinning. Repent before it is too late. Don't think God will be merciful to you simply because you knew what truth was. You need to put your faith in that truth (Jesus' saving grace) and live by it. Secondly, God is more powerful than you could ever imagine. So when you do put your faith in Him, He has power ample enough to keep you from sin, if you just rely on His strength. So the answer to "Can I lose my salvation" is "yes" and "no." To God, who knows all things beginning and end, it is a resounding "no." But to man, who is finite in so manny ways, the answer is "yes." As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 13:5, "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you--unless, of course, you fail the test?"

Psalm 116

Sometimes I become exasperated with people. I might overhear someone in the hall telling dirty jokes. And they call themselves Christians? My friends might become angry with one another. Can't we all just get along? One denomination accuses another of heresy. Aren't we all brothers and sisters in Christ? Then, before I know it, I'm giving everyone the cold shoulder; I've embodied the traits that I hate and I've become a fellow grouch. Sometimes I just hate being human.
It was one of those times that I crawled back to my room in the dorms after a hard day of tests. My brother tried to give me some constructive advice but I accused him of being a religious parrot of doctrine and tried to ignore him as I crawled into bed.
I had made a promise to myself at the beginning of the semester that I would read at least one psalm every night. So I got to work on it. Immediately, the words of Psalm 116 started to convict me of my sin. I was desperate, and the psalm spoke my heart. I had been zealous for God when I saw wickedness around me. "I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy" (verse 1). I will always praise the Lord for his kindness to me. I cannot love him enough for what he does for me day to day. "Then I called on the name of the Lord: 'O Lord, save me'" (verse 4)! Sometimes I feel hopeless. It is only when I cry to God that I again feel at peace and he fills me up with his sustaining love and I overflow, splashing it back into his lap with joy. "The Lord protects the simplehearted; when I was in great need, he saved me. Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the Lord has been good to you" (verses 6 and 7). I am not a simplehearted person, naturally. I always try to reason my way through things. However, sometimes God just needs us to empty ourselves of our own knowledge and lean on him. Once we stop struggling to hold up our own head, God will hold it up for us. Why he would do this for a mortal man is beyond me, but he also sent Jesus to die for our sins, and that blows my mind. "And in my dismay I said, 'All men are liars.' How can I repay the Lord for all his goodness to me" (verse 11)? I have often been in this situation where I become so fed up with the shortcomings of men that I throw humanity to the wind. Of course, all men and women are going to let us down at some point, but we need to remember how good God has been to us for our many shortcomings. Let's demonstrate the same sort of patience for other men. There is so much more to this psalm, I encourage you to read the whole thing.