As the years go by, it gets harder to climb to the mountaintops to sprinkle Dave’s ashes in the the absolute best spots, but Fred and I were bound and determined to climb the mountain to Grassi Lake.
When we started up the mountain, we huffed and puffed up the steep incline. We stopped now and then to catch our breath, but didn’t feel too badly, though, because we were taking the “difficult” trail; not too bad for folks our age. Right? Wrong! As we neared the summit and met up with a fellow hiker, we learned we had been hiking the “easy” trail. What a blow to our egos! That’s ok because I’m sure Dave was still proud of us.
We may have taken the easy route, but it still brought us to the top and that was truly spectacular. Dave would have enjoyed the views along the way, but he would especially love Grassi Lake with its blue-green water with reflections of the trees, mountains, and blue skies.
We sprinkled Dave’s ashes in a private area thick with pine trees with a beautiful view of mountains in the distance and the lush valley below. A rushing brook completes the picture. At the top of the mountain, I built a cairn that also overlooks the valley, but from a higher outlook.
This is the first time Dave’s ashes are in the Canadian Rockies. I hope he’s smiling.
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Today is Dave’s 40th birthday. It’s a fact that I just can’t wrap my heart around. In these eleven years, the lives of friends and families have changed in so many ways. People have married, divorced, started (and finished) their families, settled into careers. Everyone has aged… everyone, except Dave. It’s so sad. He will always be 29 to me.
Happy Birthday, Dave
RTLV
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