I am sorry to hear of the passing of Jim. I am lucky to have met him down at Raystown, and as others have pointed out, he could definitely carry a campfire story circle. A great guy who lived a good life.
A memorial for Jim was held last Saturday at Wilderness Voyageurs in Ohiopyle PA, where Jim had worked as a guide years ago. Folks from Jim’s various recreating passions, hiking, caving, skiing, paddling and biking, gathered to share stories.
The best of the stories was one told by a survivor of a young-and-stupid hike on Mt Washington. I cannot do his telling of the tale justice, but picture three guys in their early 20’s, atop Mt Washington in a blinding blizzard with near zero visibility, one of them expressing an interest to just lay down (die).
Jim was a map fanatic; I have some treasured ones he made for me. He had committed the topography of the mountain top to memory and managed to lead them, quite blindly, to the weather station door.
When they beat on the door the two guys stationed there greeted them not with “Hello”, but with a head count “One, two, three….”, followed by announcing the likelihood of another presumably lost party with “I guess we’ll find the other two next spring”.
They spent the night in the weather station bunk house and hiked back down the next morning.
Jim could tell a tale, often with wide-flung tangents, but I never heard that story from him. I guess he was too much the hero of that tale.
Other memorable memorial touches. One of Jim’s dearest friends related that Jim would always scold her for taking a stone or rock from some place they had visited. She brought a basket of flinches stones. The group walked to a river and rail trail intersection and built a cairn so that his many absent paddling and biking friends could stop by for a visit when passing through.
Another. Those who desired took home a gift bag of Jim. Some of his ashes were distributed into 2oz jars, each to be spread by friends in some place they had shared during Jim’s travels.
I will be there for a few subsequent memorials. Jim will be making an appearance at Raystown and on Assateague.
