By 9:40 a.m today, I should be in Colorado. Seven of us guys are going on a three-day hike that starts tomorrow through the Lost Creek Wilderness.

It's supposed to be spectacular scenery. The trail winds in and out of boulders the size of houses (photo at right is one and is a metaphor for what I discuss below) and along the creek that at times is flowing and at times goes underground.

It's remote, so don't look for any twittering from me.

The name "Lost Creek" is somewhat appropriate for the theme of our hike. Almost all of us can relate at some level to feeling like society wants to squelch our masculinity. As men, we were born with a certain wildness in us. The Grimms' fairy tale Iron John illustrates our fight to deal with something inside us that at times feels like a raging river. And apologies to you women: If you're not a man, you can't really know what I'm talking about.

We live in a culture that creates little space for men to work through what it means to be a man. We get plunged into careers at 22 years of age, are chained to desks at work and made to sit in pews at church. Where do we get to express the Braveheart stuff that churns down deep? It gets suppressed and too many men find themselves dying inside. It becomes a lost creek. It goes underground somewhere in a rocky wilderness.

And the sad thing is that not only do men lose touch with themselves, but women lose out in the process too. As men fail to be men, women often have to step in and fill the gap, doing stuff they were never intended to do. They even may come to resent the way men have abdicated their responsibility. It becomes a vicious circle.

Scott Molgard went on a World Race a couple of years ago and has been wrestling through the issue (hear his angst in this blog from the race). As a power lifter and a beer drinker with a surprising tender side, I've asked him to share a few of his thoughts on the matter - here they are. Scott's provocative on this subject - I recommend you read his take on the issue here and here.

And I'll let you know when we return from the hike what God helped us figure out.