We met in 2001, my rookie year for the Poudre Wilderness Volunteers in Fort Collins, Colorado. His name was Ras Erdal. He was assigned to mentor me on one of my first hikes patrolling the trails of the Canyon Lakes Ranger District for the National Forest Service.
When I saw his name next to mine on the schedule, I figured I would be hiking with a fellow from India. When I met him, I was surprised to see an energetic 69 year old Norwegian man. We seemed to hit it off right away, due to his easy going manner and our mutual love for the outdoors.
We hiked a few times the following season together and then I decided to drop out of the organization after the 2002 season. The years past and I decided to reapply to PWV in 2010. I was told I missed the deadline. Little did I know at the time that I did not need to reapply.
In the spring of 2011, I attended a meeting for PWV and recognized an old friend, Ras Erdal. He looked at me kind of funny and then greeted me warmly, remembering our brief friendship a decade earlier. It was at that moment I pinpointed what I liked about PWV, Ras Erdal.
I hiked exclusively with Ras in 2011 and looked forward to our time together on the trails. In 2012, we attended PWV's Spring Training event and shared a tent for the weekend. We had become great friends.
Ras has encouraged me to write and I have encouraged him to hike higher and farther that an 80 year old man is supposed to. Ras isn't your typical 80 year old man though. He skied Arapahoe Basin last season and he leads this 52 year old up the mountain.
So, at the end of this hiking season, I wanted to thank Mr. Erdal for being a little hard of hearing and putting up with me and my sometimes outspoken opinions. I have enjoyed our adventures and look forward to many more in the years to come.
Keep hiking to the clouds Ras.
