Last week my wife and I were at the Sol Duc River in Olympic National Park.  This park is filled with striking natural beauty, from alpine vistas and glaciers, to rain forests, to remote beaches.  However, what captured my attention (and respect) most in the park were the returning runs Coho salmon.

We happened to be in the park when these magnificent fish were making their way upstream to reach their home waters to spawn.  There is a section on the Sol Duc called “Salmon Cascades” where you could watch the salmon move from the deep pool below and being ascending this swift current between them and their destination.  It was a mesmerizing site to see.  On one stop, we spent 90 minutes watching, yet it only felt like we were there for just a few moments. 

What impressed me most about these salmon was their determination in the face of such a formidable challenge (a swift rapid in this case).  They’d make an attempt at ascending a rapid and either bounce off a rock or not quite make it, yet you never saw a salmon give up and head back down stream to the calmer water.  Instead, they’d reposition and try again, and again, and again, as often as was necessary.

For the salmon, I think that determination is hard-wired into them.  (I’m not a fish biologist, so I’m not certain, but I have a feeling that’ show God made them.)  However, for us, when we face significant challenges, we can set our minds to be determined to reach our goals, or we can just to figuratively drift back downstream.

I was once again inspired in the presence nature.