What Are We Getting Into? Tales of Gate Construction and Spiritual Significance
- Martin Chandler Welch
- 21 hours ago
- 5 min read
“…enter by the narrow gate…” Matthew 7:13
Gates represent a transition from one state to another. Gates are both an access point and a protective measure. They are intended to allow entrance, often from a public space to a private one, from somewhere wild to somewhere familiar and safe. Gates symbolize security and offer refuge. Gates may also infer imprisonment or present opportunities of escape. Spiritually, gates can represent the journey from chaos and trial to places of order and peace.
For years, the upper gate at La Cresta consisted of a repurposed steel tow cable slung between a pair of hastily installed, used T-Posts, held reluctantly in place by twin padlocks. To breach such a system would not be considered much of a feat for even the most lazy or hapless criminal, and perhaps it was because of its pathetic and unassuming character, it was allowed to dutifully demark the entrance without harassment during its tenure. What this system lacked in appearance, art, and refinement, it made up for with its economy and simplicity of material, its brutal honesty in its shortcomings and its willingness to exist with purpose until no longer needed. If only I could be so inclined. Steel cable, you will be missed.
Now in its place, we finally have a proper gate, a proper entrance and fencing that will hopefully fare as well as its humble predecessor.
Construction Begins
Plans for the fence and gate at the upper entrance began as early as 2019 and continued to evolve in the ensuing years. I exhaustively researched materials and techniques, meaning I viewed YouTube and Pinterest until my eyes bled. I harassed my fabricator friends until my phone calls went unanswered, my breathless voicemails left un-played, and late-night text messages mercilessly relegated to ‘Block and Report Spam’ folders all over the county. Finally, after blood promises and over-stuffed envelopes discretely delivered to smoky, grease-stained fabrication shops at undisclosed locations- and the ensuing personal heroics of some very strong, talented, and hard-working friends- my vision began to materialize.
The design is meant to be formidable, yet porous, substantial yet able to disappear into the scenery. The fencing consists of individual panels, each 20 feet long and constructed of 5x5 steel posts with 2x5 steel rails, with the top rail oriented horizontally which acts as a cap. The steel is untreated hot rolled mild steel that will be allowed to age graciously with a natural rust patina. A single smaller 10-foot panel is situated facing Red Canyon Park Rd and features an embedded La Cresta logo. Two panels form the driveway entrance and are decorated with Ute inspired crosses. Each panel weighs over 500 pounds. The panels are set roughly 18 inches apart, which allows wildlife to easily pass through without interruption or the potential for injury. Each panel is level, following the terrain, creating a staggered appearance that mimics the surrounding mountains and rock formations.
More photos can be found here.
ID Please
Prisons are essentially a series of gates. From the main entrance, through myriad hallways and control rooms, down to the individual cells, gate after heavy gate separate and define the more secure from the less secure. The very opening and closing of gates defines the entire careers of thousands of men and women employed in this system. But when an inmate is finally freed, it’s only the last gate that really matters.
Gated communities often have security guards tasked with separating those who belong from those who do not. Those without the means to employ an actual guard, but still want to pretend they are the types of people that could if they really wanted to, rely on contrivances such as keypads, typically positioned just beyond normal human reach, tempting you to risk serious auto body damage, just to get close enough to touch the keys without shoulder dislocation. In either case, only those with correct privileges are allowed in.
Nightclubs, galas, and VIP rooms stretch cheap velvet ropes, guarded by hulking felons and other underworld types, mercilessly enforcing the strictest, albeit arbitrary entry criteria, taking perverse joy in the humiliation of the rejected.
Jesus taught, "Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the WAY is hard that leads to LIFE, and those who find it are few. “
The gate Jesus is referring to is not like any other, for entrance into sacred spaces is not afforded through privilege or presumption. There is no bouncer, no secret password or handshake. There is no exclusive guest list, no genetic advantage or cultural clique. There are no rites or rituals, no magic incantations to unlock. Everyone is invited, with Faith and Humility the only prerequisites for entry.
Jesus describes the first gate as narrow and found by actively searching, whereas the contrasting wide gate is described as easy and popular. Those who hike or otherwise enjoy the outdoors, understand this intuitively. Jesus is contrasting the I-25 freeway with that of a serene singletrack trail. It is the difference between a smog-choked commute and a lung busting, quad-burning ascent to a view for miles and memories to last a lifetime. The choice seems absurdly easy, yet most prefer to be swathed in leather, 400hp under the hood, locked in traffic in the hazy heat, surrounded by thousands upon thousands of anonymous souls, totally alone.
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” Matthew 7:7
Even within the world of outdoor recreation, it would be the difference between the Croc-shod, summer hoards swarming over one another at Old Faithful, compared to finding a small, cool, forgotten stream all to oneself. It is the difference between the impossibly crowded, polluted sands of Rio De Janeiro, and a pristine, deserted archipelago. It is the obscure, narrow gate we are all instinctually searching for, those raw and undisturbed places that capture and revive us, yet we are easily seduced to settle for the expedient despite our better impulses.
What Are You Smiling At?
Our new gate was finally installed in February 2026, after some unexpected setbacks and truly unfortunate miscalculations that required the use of a large backhoe and hours of back breaking labor to remediate.
The middle of the gate features the La Cresta smiling face logo, laser cut from 1/8-inch steel plate. The smiling gate is meant to serve as an invitation to love, joy and serenity, not through promised comfort or convenience, but by embracing hardship and taking up the challenge to endure. It is both an invitation into, and an escape from. It is an invitation to sanctuary and the security of submission, as well as offering escape from the plague of material distraction. La Cresta is a place of trial, but also sublime rewards. There is profound peace in the relaxation of exhaustion, and the pleasure of hard fought, well-earned rest is unlike any other.
This logo on the gate is symmetrical, meaning it also smiles on those who depart, encouraging them to take their memories and experiences with them as they go, hopefully having grown in Spirit and become closer to GOD. It is a call to take joy into a depressed world, peace into a culture of war, and radical, illogical, transcendent love to every person and place we touch, for love is “the bond of perfect unity” and the truest manifestation of HIS grace.
Give Thanks
I am so thankful for all my friends who made this possible and who helped me bring this small part of our larger vision into reality. Michael Wixom, Jesse Mills, Bruce Lemoine, and Kerry, Kirk, and the rest of the Fremont Wildfire Mitigation & Outdoor Services crew! I am so blessed to know these guys. None of this would be possible without their manifest skills, hard work, and execution. Thanks Guys!
