Articles

On Monday, July 18, 2011, the eleven Pilgrims came from Michigan, Ontario, Quebec and Florida, and met up at the Jefferson Notch Motel & Cabins near the base of Mt. Adams, after traveling all day and in some cases, 2 days to get there. The next morning, they had an early breakfast and met at the Appalachia base parking lot around 9:00am. They made the strenuous climb up the Valley Way Trail which rises 3500 vertical feet in elevation in 4 miles, through the forest and over many rocks until you emerge above the treeline and into a sub-alpine zone where century-old trees stand waist high, to the Madison Hut, which lies in the col between Mt. Madison and Mt. Adams. This Hut is run by the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) as an overnight hostel for hikers, and it is interesting to note that on the AMC Mt. Washington Observatory website they mention that

“Mt.Adams has earned the unusual distinction by having been identified as a Holy mountain of the world by a group that calls themselves the “Aetherians”. The Aetherians believe that this mountain is charged with an alien force which can promote healing. Summer pilgrimages and ceremonies have been held here to help direct energy from the mountain out into the world to create peace.” The Hut sleeps 52 and had just been totally beautifully renovated and officially reopened June 2, 2011. On Wednesday, July 20^th, the eleven Pilgrims got an early start and headed up to the Peak of Mt. Adams, a mile hike along the Gulfside and Airline Trails which emerge into an alpine zone of rugged, steep, boulders following cairns or pyramid piles of rocks, to the top. The weather was amazing, a little windy on the exposed climb, but sheltered at the Peak and unusually sunny all day, even though the valley looked extremely hazy with little visibility. But because of the lack of wind, the Services were fantastic—everybody could hear and kept together very well and the mantra, as well as the prayers, were consistently dynamic and intense. We did 10 Twelve Blessings Services and 1 Absent Healing Service. On Thursday, July 21, the weather report at breakfast called for “chance of showers and severe thunderstorms; winds at the peaks 45-60mph increasing to 55-75mph plus gusts”. So after some deliberation, we decided unanimously that it would be best to not venture to the summit, and we would go instead out on Star Lake Trail around the south side of John Quincy Adams, one of the smaller subsidiary peaks of Mt. Adams to try to get some shelter from the wind coming out of the north. We found a relatively flat clearing for all eleven of us to stand close together. It was still quite windy there, and every now and then, a gust would blow you off balance and some of your stuff flying, while we were praying. It sprinkled a little and got rather cold at one point, but then turned warmer. We performed 9 Services of the Twelve Blessings and 1 Absent Healing, and some final Prayers of Thankfulness and Blessings for His Eminence before heading back to the Hut. We learned at the Hut, that gusts had been recorded at the Mt. Washington Observatory at 88mph! On Friday, July 22^nd, we made our descent back down the steep and somewhat slippery boulders of the Valley Way Trail, and the temperature rose steadily as we dropped in elevation, back to the 90F valley, making the trek arduous, but we felt an extreme sense of accomplishment having sent out vibrant spiritual energy during 19 Twelve Blessings Service over the 2 days to honour the 19 Holy Mountains around the World charged in the wonderful Operation Starlight. Even the Hut Crew, very experienced hikers, were in awe at the story of how our Master had climbed in the dead of winter in March, 1960, up and down this massive mountain on snow shoes, all in one day and with a dislocated hip. We send him our deepest gratitude and heart-felt love for giving to us this magnificent opportunity to be of Service to our suffering world in such a potent way!