Today I'm hiking Mountain Mitchell, the tallest mountain on the east coast. And I'm reflecting on the subject of how hard it can be for a man to survive in the suburbs. Our wild inner selves goes slowly, subtly tame. We stop taking risks and grow soft.

It's no way for us men to live. We need to regularly put what we love at risk if we're to keep our inner wild man strong. It's not the tame man that confronts injustice and evil. The tame man has been trained in the way of self-preservation and comfort-seeking.

It's the wild men I know who, seeing the need for change, have the gumption to press into hard situations.

I've learned that I'm just as susceptible to the temptations of comfort as the next guy. I need to get out of the toxic and sterile softness of my office and living room.

In the wilderness you see God's transcendence. You see tall mountains and star-filled skies. You see yourself in context - you see your own smallness in the context of creation. You place yourself in a spot where you have to fight. Survival is not automatic. Food must be packed, water boiled, your limits noticed.

So I've joined 12 other guys this weekend. We've strapped packs on our backs. We'll reinvigorate that undomesticated part of ourselves that knows how to fight. We'll connect with one another and with ourselves. And if we've gotten onto a trail in life that is feeling wrong, perhaps we'll help each other find the trail God has marked out for us to walk on.