Lauren Achtemeier: The Mountain that was God

Lane’s discussion of Tahoma and its majestic effect on the landscape left me reminiscing. My whole life I have been affected by spiritual encounters in natural settings. I used to live in the shadow of Mt. Rainer, and have many memories of biking through our very hilly neighborhood in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains. I rode up a steady collection of hills to reach a point that was high enough to see over the tree line, to view mountain looming overhead. At age 10, looking upon the great glaciered mountain the definition of “awe” comes to mind, because it truly was inspiring! It was especially shocking to see in the winter, since most the winter a layer of clouds shrouded the great peak from eyes below. I feel drawn to the wildness and life they mountains exude, but Mt. Rainer is something different altogether. A series of mountains such as the Appalachians feel like a continuous interconnected unit of life and glory, but no one mountain tends to beckon or dominate. In the Cascades, the green mountains that surround Rainer harbor their own magic, but dwarfed once the contrast of Tahoma is seen. It almost as if the Cascade Mountains are a place, and Mt. Rainer lives there as its own presence. The Native Americans in the area have dubbed Tahoma correctly, as “The Mountain that was God” since it has its own supernatural presence capable of dominating the entire area.