Wilderness Ranger Jimmy Pardo checks in with his last blog of the season:
It’s hard to believe that this summer is just about over. It has been a blur of hard work, hard laughs, and great memories with great new friends. It really does feel like the page is turning and another chapter is about to begin. For Mack, Andrew, Ryan, and I, where ever we go, whatever we do, we are coming at it from an incredible summer in the wilderness, undoubtedly stronger, happier, and perhaps even a bit wiser. For me I’m heading back into Portland for October and will most likely visit family in Texas for a week somewhere in there. I do hope to return to the Barlow Ranger Station for winter, but depending on the need I may find myself in Portland. The only word that seems to really sum up this experience, for me, is gratitude.
[gdl_gallery title=”jimmy” width=”130″ height=”130″ ]Gratitude for:
- Brendan Norman for being the pleasant guide into this summer’s adventure.
- Jim Thornton for being the arrow that never hits the ground, whose work is enjoyed by countless trail users and looked after by countless trail builders.
- Mack Baxter for putting up with the telling of all my dreams and for sharing an incredible summer with me. It’s awesome to know that I can revisit the flurry of situations we got into and never run out of laughs. High Prairie Trailhead: “BEES!!!”
- Kristyn Frey for coming out to Dufur… EVERY weekend to enjoy this awesome place, with me. After a hard week of work on the trail it’s a joy to go right back to those very trails and camp under the stars getting to see a very special side of nature.
How could any of this happen without the natural world? I have to thank the whole of creation for all its creatures, meadows, forests, fungi, fire, water, and weather, everything from the smallest of sub atomic particles to the most galactic forces without which we might not exist. Though our little planet is seemingly fraught with apocalyptic doom I can’t help but be hopeful that, like spring, there will always be some organic matter reaching towards the sky reflecting all the colors imaginable bringing life to everything inside and out.
With Love, Love, Love,
PEACE!
Jimmy