A Mountaintop Experience

We were about to make the climb to Clingman’s Dome.

At 6,643 feet, the Dome is the highest point in the Great Smoky Mountains and a favorite of hikers. There’s a steep half-mile long paved path from the parking area to the top, but the observation tower at the summit offers spectacular 360-degree panoramic views of the mountains that make the hike well worth the effort.

So we started the ascent.

Right away, I knew I couldn’t do it.

While our friends Herb and Lorraine, along with my wife Sandy, headed up the steep grade, I fell behind. My chest was burning and I had a hard time catching my breath. Somewhat embarrassed, I told the others I’d rather stay below, enjoying the still-spectacular views from the parking area. The others went on to make the climb while I tried to come to grips with the grim reality that something was very wrong with me.

The “something” turned out to be coronary artery disease. Later sharing with my primary care doctor the uncomfortable experience I’d had at Clingman’s Dome – along with the admission that I’d been having this kind of chest discomfort for the better part of a year – led to a decision to undergo a stress test. They stopped the treadmill after about 5 minutes. An hour later I was in the hospital for a heart catheterization.

Five 90% or better blockages. “We usually see this sort of thing post-mortem,” the cardiologist said. He scheduled me for bypass surgery the next morning. Turns out one of the clogged arteries had grown some natural bypasses. So I ended up with a quadruple play instead of a quint. Lucky me!

Fast-forward to the other day. Sandy and I were about to make a new climb to Clingman’s Dome. 

A little more than two years had passed since that failed first attempt and the heart bypass surgery that followed. In the meantime I’ve worked hard at being healthy. Daily workouts at the gym, watching my diet ( a little), and retiring from the stress of leading a large church have left me feeling better than I have for years. I was ready and raring to climb that mountain that had so benevolently humbled me two years earlier.

The views were spectacular on the way up. Big white puffy clouds slid by in the valleys below, giving us the impression we were on top of the world. And in some ways, we were on top of the world, having worked hard to climb out of the lowlands of poor health to be able to now enjoy the glorious majesty of the mountaintop. It had been a long two-plus-year hike up to the observation tower on Clingman’s Dome.

But it was worth it!

Looking out over the beauty of God’s creation that day brought to mind the burning question of Psalm 121:

“I lift my eyes unto the hills; from where will my help come?”

And then the answer:

“My help comes from the Lord who made these hills!” (MartySingley translation)