[pct-l] Strider (Greg Hummel) has passed on

[CHUCK CHELIN]

Good morning, and Happy New Year,

Reflecting on Strider’s passing I was reminded of the ALDHA-West annual
Gathering several years ago when he was the group’s president.  The
Gathering that year was at Wemme, Oregon, about 10 miles from my home so I
met Strider at the Portland airport and he spent the night with us.  In a
previous discussion he said he had always wanted to revisit Eagle Creek –
not seen again since his ’77 thru-hike – but he had to be at the lodge in
Wemme around noon to help get things started.

We set early alarms, and were on the road by 4 AM for the hour-long drive
to the trailhead and a 15-mle speed hike up to Tunnel Falls and back.  Daylight
is in short supply at that time of year – particularly in that very narrow,
north/south orientated, 4,000-deep canyon -- so we hiked about an hour in
the dark; arriving at the first fondly-remembered site, Punchbowl Falls,
with barley enough early light to see.

Continuing, we visited Tunnel Falls, and the next slick-water falls
upstream, before heading back to the car.  After another hour’s drive to
Wemme we arrived at the lodge at noon.  That was a good warm-up for a
hiker’s Gathering.

It’s easy for us to put off revisiting cherished sites such as Eagle Creek
– after all they'll always be there – but the problem is, *we *won’t always
be *here*.  I’m glad he could scratch that item off his “bucket list” while
Strider was still striding.

Steel-Eye

-Hiking the Pct since before it was the PCT – 1965

http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye
http://www.trailjournals.com/SteelEye09/

On Fri, Jan 2, 2015 at 8:24 PM, Brick Robbins <brick at brickrobbins.com>
wrote:

> Long time list member, thru hiker 1977, ADZ organizer, and all around
> great guy, Strider, AKA Greg Hummel, moved on to his next long trail
> on New Years eve past, after battling ALS.
>
> He will be missed.
>
> There will be a service in the Diamond Bar area of Los Angeles Sunday,
> February 8. Message me off list if you want more information
> _______________________________________________
> Pct-L mailing list
> Pct-L at backcountry.net
> To unsubscribe, or change options visit:
> http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l
>
> List Archives:
> http://mailman.backcountry.net/pipermail/pct-l/
> All content is copyrighted by the respective authors.
> Reproduction is prohibited without express permission.
>