It seems that I typically start these posts with an
acknowledgement of my appreciation for the blessings in my life; that is not a bad thing, right? What I often realize when telling these stories is that I am not here
today, the person that I am and the life that I enjoy, without all of the great
family and friends that have been in, and are in, my life and the loving and compassionate lessons they have helped me learn along the way; narcissism here would be highly
arrogant. Thank you all for guiding me
into the person I am today.
On Friday 15 July, 2016, Michael and I took our loved
friend, Dana C. Durgin, who passed from our existence on 22 May, on a little
adventure into the Sierra Nevadas. We
felt it only fitting to put a small piece of Dana in the mountains he roamed
and enjoyed throughout his life. We felt
it more fitting to do this on Mt. Dana [ 37.899901553N,
119.2210926W ] at the Northeast boarder of Yosemite National
Park.
Now life never allows a schedule that is easy and both Mike
and I are in the middle of some very intense “adventure” planning but we knew
that we had to do this before he departed for Iceland/Greenland and I for
Bermuda so back in June when we did our Memorial Abalone Trip in Dana’s honor,
we put on the calendar, 15 July, to go visit Mt. Dana, take D on an adventure and
lay some of his ashes to rest.
We departed my home in Reno at 3pm on 14 July and returned
at 6pm on 15 July in what again turned out to be a marathon expedition; 27
hours door to door. We did not make it
far before he had to make our first stop.
Dairy Queen in Minden, NV only about 75 miles south of Reno. It was however an important stop preparing
our bodies for the effort that lied ahead.
Once back on the road, we effortlessly cruised into Lee Vining, CA
around 6pm and stopped at Nicely’s Restauraunt for a dinner in honor of
Dana.
Now I digress...plus it provides an excellent opportunity
for a new paragraph. Back in 1990, through
my SCUBA diving business, I began organizing an annual lobster hunting trip to
SoCal. In October of every year, we
departed Reno for a 4 day adventure aboard the dive boat Spectre. Every year we drove down highway 395; every
year we stopped at Nicely’s for breakfast; every year Dana was there. So it was very relevant to this excursion
south, for the reasons intended, that we stop for a meal.
Waking about 6am, we scurried around, organizing day packs,
putting on boots, sunblock (not), filling water bottles, etc. and then departed
for breakfast at the Tioga Pass Resort just about 5 minutes up the road toward
the trailhead. Being greeted by Tasia at
the café, with a smile I might add, was a great start. The food was good and the portions were
filling. Back in the truck and up the
road another 5, parked and by 8am we were on our way up to Mt. Dana.
As we hit the trail, the first thing that became apparent
was that the mosquitoes were relentless and massive in population! But of course, we continued. We had no choice. We were on a mission and had 3500 feet to
ascend. The first half mile or so was in
the forest and along some nice reflecting pools. Shady and cool but then it went straight
up. Once we exited the lower flat area,
the GPS said we had about 2 miles to go and a bit over 3000 feet of elevation
to surmount; steep! We continued and
after 1 hour we took a 20-minute break.
 |
| Looking SW into Yosemite at our first break - Dana resting peacefully and enjoying the adventure... I am carrying him! |
The beauty of this area is indescribable so the photos below
will tell much of the story but we continued our ascent for another hour, took 20
and then another 30 minutes of climbing and we were at the top.
 |
| Dana at the summit marker of Mt. Dana |
Things were pretty interesting at the top. We set Dana down on the summit marker and
talked with the other 8 or so hikers and then looking east we saw something incredible
in the clouds…a sun dog. Now these are
rare, usually not seen in the middle of the day and in all our hikes over the
years, we have never seen one. The
reason we were treated today? Dana was
there saying hello. Just like Dana was
there when we went abalone diving in June.
He is making his presence known, his happiness of our 35-40 years of
friendship and his approval of us handling his memory; doing the adventures
that we always have done; once with him and now with his memory.
 |
| Sundog - A rainbow in the clouds!!! Very rare...only one reason it happened! |
After spending an hour on top, taking photos and videos,
spreading his ashes, we hit the trail down.
Definitely a quadriceps buster.
Returning to the truck at 2:30 it took us 2 hours to walk down. The total hike was 5.25 miles with an actual
walking time of 4 hours 18 minutes. Time
from truck to truck was 6.5 hours so we spent 2 hours (one on top) resting along
the way up and taking photos. It was
truly a blessed day. Light breeze, 58f
on top, 84f at the trail head.
Thanks D for a great day.
Photos of the Day - "Our story continued."
 |
| Our Route up Mt. Dana - Not as flat is it looks! |
 |
| A panoramic shot at our second break - 12,500 feet looking west - Yes...that is Dana's hat! |
 |
| This way to Mt. Dana! We have a job to do...lets go! |
A little video clip of Dana becoming a part of the Sierra Nevadas on
Mt. Dana: Elevation 13,061 ft.
