Peter Lewis
May 8, 1950 – August 26, 2008
It is with great sadness that we inform you of the sudden passing of Peter Lewis on August 26th, 2008. He was born on May 8, 1950 and raised in Rochester, New York. In 1970, Peter went to Yosemite National Park to work on a trail crew and fell in love with the 
mountains. He attended Columbia University and finished his graduate studies in Forestry at Yale University. He spent the rest of his life sharing that love with his family and friends. Peter inspired thousands of young people to follow him into the backcountry through his work with the California Conservation Corps for nearly thirty years. He was a great leader. In his work for the California Conservation Corps, he helped to create and sustain a backcountry trails program that is a national model. Graduates of this program have gone on to careers in parks and forests throughout America, advancing the stewardship ethic that they learned from him. He touched countless lives. He had enormous energy and an enveloping spirit. To meet him for an hour was to gain a friend for life.
Peter’s sons, Gabe and Forrest, have fond memories of their dad always sitting on the bleachers to watch their many sports events, hiking with him through the Sierras, his love of swimming in cold mountain lakes and rivers, his enjoyment listening to talk radio and the way he loved to play the harmonica around the campfire.
Peter is survived by his wife, Cheryl, his sons, Gabriel, 17, Forrest, 13, his sister, Barbara and brother-in-law Don Paulson, his brother, Scott Lewis and sister-in-law, Bernice Lewis, his nieces, Julie Sherman and Mariah Lewis and nephew, Walker Paulson. He was predeceased by his parents, Wolfe and
Phyllis Lewis. Peter will be greatly missed by his family and many dear friends.
A memorial service will be held for Peter at 2pm on September 7th at the Wharfinger Building: 1 Marina Way, Eureka, CA.
In lieu of flowers, an education fund/support has been established that will benefit the Lewis sons’ college/support needs. Gifts in this form will be greatly appreciated. Please make your contributions to The Lewis Memorial Account for benefit of Gabriel and Forrest Lewis at any of the Umpqua Banks in Humboldt, CA. or in Arcata at: 1063 G Street Arcata, CA, 95521. The Lewis family thanks you all for your overwhelming support.
Family and friends are welcome to gather for prayer services at 470 Lynn Street, Arcata, CA, followed by a potluck dinner from 6-8pm on the following dates: Sunday, August 31st and Monday through Wednesday, September 1st, 2nd, and 3rd.
All your entries are welcome. A celebration of Peter Lewis’ life is planned for midday September 24, 2008 in Yosemite Valley. Please access the blogspot in the days ahead for information and updates on this celebratory event.
The Lewis family appreciates your thoughts and prayers.
mountains. He attended Columbia University and finished his graduate studies in Forestry at Yale University. He spent the rest of his life sharing that love with his family and friends. Peter inspired thousands of young people to follow him into the backcountry through his work with the California Conservation Corps for nearly thirty years. He was a great leader. In his work for the California Conservation Corps, he helped to create and sustain a backcountry trails program that is a national model. Graduates of this program have gone on to careers in parks and forests throughout America, advancing the stewardship ethic that they learned from him. He touched countless lives. He had enormous energy and an enveloping spirit. To meet him for an hour was to gain a friend for life.
Phyllis Lewis. Peter will be greatly missed by his family and many dear friends.
Peter Lewis touched the lives of so many people. He will be missed by all of us who knew him and called him our friend.
ReplyDeleteI myself was a misled youth from L.A who knew Peter when I w
Deletes in the C.C.C. in 2003-2004. Was in klamath at that time and I first met him on the site of Wolfcreek.He was a good man and loved his job andwould take great pride and his time out to help teach and show us the ropes.
I will never forget this man and what he and so many others in the CCC did for me in my life. Pete, you will be greatly missed and oft remembered...
ReplyDeleteThere is a huge hole in the heart of CCC with Peter's passing. He was truly a remarkable individual. A vey genuine soul, who never said a bad word about anyone. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family. I beleive that Peter is building a trail in heaven for all of us to join him in our own time. He'll be waiting for each of us and you can bet the story he will share will be worth the wait. God Bless you Peter....we will miss you terribly.
ReplyDeleteI remeber when Pete came up to visit us in the Emigrant. He says "Clayton will you take my boy fishing, I've never been much for it but I think Gabe might get a kick out of pulling in a fish."
ReplyDeleteWell we caught plenty of fish that day, but thats not the point of the story. Looking back on it, I know that the reason he asked this of me was'nt for Gabe's sake or his own, but it was for mine. I missed my son so much while I was in the BC and Pete could see it. He was a caring man and was selfless that day in providing some healing for me.
I'm gonna miss Pete alot and will allways carry with me the things he shared. God bless you and carry you home Pete.
May the final trail be more peaceful & serene than any other trail you have traveled. Godspeed, Peter!
ReplyDeleteI'm goin to miss Pete he's a very inspring guy he was a man that can change anyone's day if they had there head over the hills he had a great heart and he was put in most of our lifes for a reason hey im speaking about it Pete you were Backcountry and you will be missed
ReplyDeletePeter graciously said he would come to my son's 2nd grade class, 14 years ago to teach the kids in Klamath, California, about the Jewish Faith and the Festival of Lights. Peter shuffled into the class wearing his skull cap, his prayer shawl, and carrying his Hanukkah menorah so he could tell the kids about the miracle of the one day supply of oil lasting for eight, whole days! Most of the kids had never heard of the Jewish Faith and Peter was quite the vision. They looked at him with some trepidation and then he started by introducing himself, briefly explaining the faith and the holiday with his typical Peter style, and those little faces lit up and they were mesmerized by this wonderful man just like I've seen Peter mesmerize countless Corpsmembers, CCC Staff and his friends. You were a festival of lights for many, many people Peter. We will truly miss you for you have lit many candles in the hearts of your friends.
ReplyDeleteWhat I learned from Peter is: I too, always want to be a gentle and compassionate human being. I too, want to do what I love and not waste time. I too, know I will return north someday. thank you and all the staff at Del Norte for teaching me these things...... Meet ya in the kitchen next to the wood stove for a good cup of French Roast buddy.
ReplyDeleteMy name is Chuck McDonald. I was at Del Norte 2002-2003. I regret that I never knew the man, a chance passing at the center was all the conversation we ever shared. However, I'm hard pressed to think of anyone that my fellow Corpsmembers spoke of with more admiration, respect, and affection. His name is synonymous with Backcountry. Everyone I ever met who completed that amazing program was changed for the better.
ReplyDeleteI have often had occasion in the past few years to remember the words in song of Billy Joe Shaver. Every time I think of those who have gone on before us, I can't help but play them in my mind.
"Nobody here will ever find me, but I will always be around. Just like the songs I leave behind me, I'm gonna live forever now."
I don't believe that we ever die, only that we change. I believe that Peter's spirit still resides, somewhere out there.
Peter, wherever you are now, you should know that you made an impact on my life and the lives of so many. You should know that we looked up to you, were inspired by you, loved you and were changed because of you. I doubt that you were aware of this. The humble spirit
ReplyDeletegod instilled in you probably did not allow an insight into the fact that you were so loved
and so cherished and so influential.
It's been very difficult to deal with the fact that you are gone and that I won't walk along another trail with you and that I won't gain from an insightful observation that you would have tossed out randomly along that trail without effort or thought. I will miss the fact that I can no longer pick up the phone to call you and ask you a simple question that should take less than 30 seconds to answer, yet turns in to a thirty minute conversation. Conversations I once took for granted that I now long for. I will miss your child-like sophistication that filtered your view of the world. I will miss the calming effect that your presence, your voice, and your spirit brought. I will miss the fact that no matter how much you pissed me off, annoyed me, frustrated me, I could never call you out on it...when I tried, I would hear your voice and be immediately disarmed. I hope you know these things now. I wish I had told you this last week.
This is very hard to understand and accept and I'm pissed off at god and jesus and buddah and mary and allah and krishna and joseph smith and satnam and yhwh and haile selassie and any other god that would allow a world minus you. I know that we all die and that everyone has their time, but this was not yours. You weren’t done. I wasn’t done with you. Cheryl and Gabe and Forrest weren’t done with you. Color me selfish, but I was looking forward to many more years of your friendship and now I don’t have that.
I hope you hear me. I hope you know. I wish you knew.
Peter Lewis will always hold a special place in my heart! He was so full of life! He taught me many things about myself and challenged me daily!(Trying to get an accurate timesheet!) All the stesses of the day fell away when He discussed His sons and His face would light up! He made me laugh and he made me cry, He made me know I was human! Working alongside him and preparing documents for the backcountry season was kinda like preparing for the hurricane season in Florida which I deal with now!
ReplyDeleteNothing is ever without purpose!!! Peter was so much fun! The debriefings, the orientations, the stories are unbelievable, the wisdom shared, the memories will carry on! I feel blessed to have known Peter in my lifetime! ...Monica
I can only say that having Peter Lewis in my life has changed my direction and purpose for the absolute better. To me, Pete was a person that could easily put a smile on your face, build your esteem, help you to find a purpose, and truly make a difference in the world.
ReplyDeletePeter has given me one of the greatest gifts in my life, an open door to the mountains and friends that I now consider family. I have always loved and respected him for what he did with his life and how he helped to change others. The Backcountry Trails Program and his family was the world to him and I am sure that we all know it. For every time that I talked to Pete, he had a new story to tell about his sons, or he would remind me (each new time that I would see him - after 13 years) of how grateful he was that I babysat Forrest that one critical time, so that he could spend time with Cheryl. He loved the fact that Gabe had to show a grown man how to change diapers.
My heart and prayers go out to Peter's family. Thank you for sharing him with us for so many years. I know that your loss is truly felt around the world. So many of us carry Pete with us each day, and are so grateful that such a person existed and we could call him our friend.
A giant of the youth-development world has fallen. Pete worked hard, hard, hard for everyone else. He had more heart than a lion.
ReplyDeleteSacramento, hear this: this is a wake-up call, get with the program. Love ya, Pete. Keep that silver tinny hardhat on everywhere you go.
Dear Peter, I had an interesting experience the night you had to leave. I didn't know you were gone yet. I was staring at my Backcountry Trails poster. (I have it in my living room and drug it all the way from Del Norte, it fell out of truck once when I was moving and I had to pull over and stop traffic, and the frame busted but the poster was alright!! ) I was staring at it thinking of you and my crew and Del norte. I leaned in to get a closer look at the small crew photo and I was searching for your smiling face and I couldn't find you. Maybe your not in the photo I'm still not sure, but I had a funny feeling and I shook it off. I just couldn't even imagine the Backcountry without you. I decided it was too long since I had last talked to you and that I would call you the next day. The next day early in the moring my backcountry brother calls with the news.... At first I was sooo angry and now I'm just soo sad. I could always count on you to be honest, but compassionate. You have helped my grow so much. I was always excited to introduce people to you, I was always so inspired by you!! Peter you are my friend. You have shown me what it looks like and how much you can change the world when someone does something that they truely LOVE. And the BC was your thing, and you Shined so bright!! And you still do! I miss you Friend and I'll be looking for you and listening for you in the mountains and in the trees! I LOVE YOU!! THank YOU!!
ReplyDeleteWe all love you SO much. The sun will never shine the same again without you in this world. I know we will all do everything we can to keep your spirit alive in ourselves and all the future generations of young people who feel that wild sensation to participate in the backcountry program. Thank you so much for your love, compassion, and selflessness that has changed so many lives for the better. I could never forget you, just as you never forgot me, what crew I was on, what year I was in backcountry, who was on my crew, what my favorite song was...and you remembered all this about every other backcountry corpsmember who participated... You truly are an amazing soul. Now we know for sure that angels are watching over us...
ReplyDeleteI am lost for words when it comes to peters passing. I havent seen peter for 8 years since I left Del Norte in 2000, I have spoken to him on occasion. When I think of peter I think of a hero, During my backcountry season in Kings canyon in 97, He tought us well, our crew struggled, we were 18 strong when we started and 11 strong at debriefing. Peter has always stood high in my mentor book, he told us nobody will understand what we did that summer, people still look at me like im crazy when I point out a nice rock. The one thing he instilled in us is to be our selfs and never give up. Peter never forgot a face of a backcountry corpsmember, and that stands out more than anything. I send my condolences to his wounderfull famly. I will never forget you pete you trully touched my life. If only I could bum you a pinch. - C.Cooper
ReplyDeleteI remember Peter, first time I saw him, diving in to a pool, relaxing with his crew on the east side because they were prevented from hiking back in to camp due to severe thunderstorms. “Peter Lewis. What a guy!” we would say over and over again. That was our mantra long before I ever met him. I had been hearing about this Peter Lewis for years, hints of stories about his escapades in the High Sierra, in Africa, at the Yale school of Forestry.
ReplyDeleteAnd there he was, all dried off from swimming, now approaching with … “is that an african yarmulka on your head?” would be among the first words I said to him. Stepping back surprised, he affirmed that I was right - that was exactly what was on his head, and he took his glasses off with a gesture of openness and curiosity that I later came to know as the Peter Lewis magic, and said, “So tell me about you…”.
My favorite story that Peter told me was when he was walking up a trail in the moonlight to visit a crew, and he literally ran into a bear. He described in detail what the bear's fur felt like on his face, and acted out how fast he ran back down the trail while the bear ran faster up the trail. I can't hike in the dark without thinking of that!
ReplyDeleteI have such fond memories of "carpool tunnel" with Peter and the Klamath CCC staff. Long after I stopped working there, I would run into Peter on the street or at a ballgame and he would listen and be so compassionate that it makes me sad to remember it. He was always so positive and caring - he let you know that he loved you.
Gabe and Forrest: he loved you so much and was really proud of you - he talked about you every time I saw him. I am so sorry for you, and for all of us out there who will miss his amazing presence.
Peter, of all the times you pissed me off you equally made me laugh. Your inappropriate comments towards others were shocking in the moment but always made for a funny story later on down the road. It hurts me that you are gone. I am delighted to have the backcountry family that you have helped keep together over the years. I am honored to be a part of Cheryl, Forrest, and Gabes lives - the family that you love so much. We will miss you more than ever. I want you to know this! Happy Trails.
ReplyDeletePeter, I can't believe you are gone. I am greatful to have met you. You showed me how much you loved the Back country and helping the crews realize this wonderful experience. You never forgot any of them and always had a story to tell. I will miss you and will miss your morning greeting. You always had a smile on your face and always asked how I was doing, how my family was or how my son was doing in football. You told me about your sons and how they were doing. Thank you for taking me to back country and to the debriefing, I loved it. My prayers are with you family. You will be our angel watching over us.... I love you Peter and will miss you.
ReplyDeleteI first met Peter in 1986 when I became the "Clerk" for Del Norte CCC. Peter was so welcoming and refreshing. I enjoyed his stories, his laughter, his common sense... I remember when he married Cheryl and hiking out in a dress with tennis shoes because the wedding was at the end of a trail in Trinidad. I have so many GREAT memories and I am blessed to have known him. I will miss you Peter
ReplyDeletePete my little buddy. I love you. I'm glad we always told each other that. You drove me nuts at times but I respect the fact that you were always you. The real deal. I figured you'd still be a constant joy/irritant in my life when I turned 80 and I'm sad that's not to be...
ReplyDeleteSo many stories.
You were my mentor when it came to service. You lived it. When I, or anyone called, you put down what you were doing and listened and served. You were kind to all even those who angered and frustrated you. If I can be as big...
You'll always be alive in me and I'll be there for your boys whenever they need me.
Happy trails Pete and say hi to Doug for me.
Johnny
Pete, you will be missed forever. I will always remember you coming into camp with a smile and big red for the crew. It was like a breath of fresh air had just blown in, the season seemed not as long, and days not as hot. You inspired us with your words and made us all laugh with you P.T. The mountains won't forget you, and neither shall I. We will all be listening for the the sounds of your harmonica playing in the wind.
ReplyDeleteHappy Trails
Sage
Peter, I am so limited by words as, in my mind, you were always beyond them. My heart is breaking for your family and the friends you have made over the years. I am grateful that I was able to know some small part of that as it has made all the difference in my life. I do love you and never could be angry at you despite certain flaws you possessed because in all your animation and spontonaeity you were always quintessentially yourself. It was pure ridiculousness yet captivatingly brilliant. You have done well to leave stronger better people in your wake and I pray that this will be true of your sons as well. I thank you for allowing me to intimately know the mountains and introducting me to the greatness they bring but also thank you for never letting us forget how insignificant we are. I appreciate the visits, the encouragement, inviting me into your home, and nothing meant more than the well done at the end of the season and the faith you had placed in me. I cherish the time we had and feel blessed that in some small way I will be able to pass them on to others. I will still be excited when I talk about Peter Lewis and tell people my stories. Your extended family mourns your loss as it has and will continue to shake us in unspeakable ways. I am finding though that even in death you bring us closer and as always have challenged us to rally, to live passionately,and embrace each other.
ReplyDeleteYou told me once that, "As long as you keep that shit eatin' grin on your face you'll be alright." And that is exactely this that I intent to do.
your pal,
Tim
Pete, I love you and your family, you are a true friend. You have helped me in so many ways and you will continue to do so.
ReplyDeleteMy first real memory of you... You came to my parents house, saw me laying on the couch, kicked my ass off and told me stories of the " Wild west". Later as you were leaving, still talking, you laced up those old dusty boots, but the way you did, real fast and with one hand, it had style. All the while you looking me in the eye saying,"if you want to give it a go give me a call." I am so glad I did, for it has opened up to me the life I now live.
Thank you
Happy trails Pete
Way out here they have a name for wind and rain and fire
ReplyDeleteThe rain is Tess , the fire's Joe, and they call the wind Mariah
Mariah blows the stars around, sets the clouds a'flyin'
Mariah makes the mountain sound like folks was up there dyin'
Mariah, (Mariah), Mariah (Mariah), they call the wind Mariah
Before I knew Mariah's name and heard her wail and whinin'
I had a gal and she had me and the sun was always shinin'
Then one day I left my gal, I left her far behind me
And now I'm lost, so gol-durned lost not even-God-can find me
Mariah, Mariah, they call the wind Mariah
Out here they have a name for rain wind and fire only
When you're lost and all alone there ain't no name for lonely
I'm a lost and lonely man without a star to guide me
Mariah, blow my love to me, I need my gal beside me
Mar-i-ah, (Mar-i-ah), MARIAH ! (Mariah), they call the wind Mar-i-ah
Mar-i-ah, Mariah, Mariah
They call the wind Mar-i-ah.
thank you for leaving us your legacy. everyday you were here serving us. thank you.
In the spring of 1990 my father dropped me off at the backcountry staging area in Stockton. We met Pete face to face for the first time and with his usual exuberence he introduced me to my C1 Mike Joyer, and some other corpies who would make up the Inyo crew. My father said as I walked him back to his car "Thank God for Peter Lewis, its men like that that make us all feel like giants."
ReplyDeleteHe didn't know how right he was. Pete gave us Giant respect for the wilderness and our place in it. Peter gave us the gift of Giant respect for ourselves, each other, and the amazing things that we could acomplish together. Peter gave us Giant joy and laughter through his foolishness, fun, and antics. Peter made GIANTS out of us all.
Twenty six years ago, or, as Peter would say, 75 pounds ago, we walked into each other's lives. Like many others here, our connection was the CCC backcountry program. I spent the 1982 and 1983 trail seasons in Yosemite. Peter, Dave Muraki, Mark Rathswohl and countless others from CCC and NPS helped to make those years memorable in many ways. With Peter, there was always a laugh and some campfire philosophy to go along with the sore muscles and smashed fingers. He was a friend and mentor, and although we have not had the pleasure to share each other's company these last 15 years, we did keep in contact. It was always good news to hear that the Backcountry program was still thriving after all these years. I had a cry hearing about Peter's passing. I have lived overseas now for more than ten years, but I still walk and sometimes work on the trails in this part of the world. When I do, I think of those High country days of the early 80's and of all the people I worked with out on the trail.
ReplyDeleteIt's up to us to keep his spirt alive. I looked up " legend" in the dictionary. I did not find a photo of Peter there, but I did note that a legend is " a collection of stories about an admirable person" This site is for those stories. Good onya' Peter!!!!!
Mark Dwyer
Proud CCC backcountry Alumni
Queensland Australia
mdwyer@cva.org.au
Peter, you died on my father's birthday. You also died the day our friend Bud Smith proposed to our friend Aleah Fraley; two Backcountry alumnis that will make a beautiful baby.
ReplyDeleteRemember when I came to the CCC Placerville Center in 1999 to apply for Backcountry? You told me I didn't seem ready, and that I should apply to work at a CCC center and try for Backcountry the next year. I ended up joining the Del Norte center, and it changed my life and gave me one year, in this life of shrinking years, that I'll cherish forever.
I don't know what to say to express my gratitude and appreciation of you. The speech you gave at the end of debriefing 2001 still sends chills down my spine when I think of it. Your passion and eloquence uplifted the spirits of a group of trail crews returning to civilization just days after 9/11.
For several days after I heard of your passing, I couldnt feel anything, and it bothered me. Emotions finally hit me when I was talking to my brother about you. Remember my bro? Anyway, I told him how you use to introduce me as one of your "favorite people in the world". I broke down. I'm sure you've introduced just about everyone you knew in that way, but you were sincere, and I'm certain you meant it about everyone.
Backcountry will live on, and the crews will have you watching over them. Say hello to Doug Andrews, and tell him I still have not found those damned rock bars.
I cannot remember Peter here without telling my long-ish story:
ReplyDeleteI don’t remember the first time I met Peter Lewis because the whole of my 1982 backcountry season was filled with strong first impressions and I came out of the mountains a changed individual. I know we met at debriefing. Since that first season, Peter saw to it -intentionally or not- that over the years our paths crossed, merged, and occasionally collided through the many ways we shared in life. I returned to trails after my CCC season and spent quite a few more in Kings Canyon where Peter sent crews. Once in a while he would cruise through our NPS camp and I got to know him as a joyful camp guest whose reputation as a seasoned trail worker way back then preceded him (even though some of those walls he threw together made me wonder!). When impending parenthood steered me toward cooking rather than rolling rocks, I welcomed Peter to our camp and got to know him as a passionate leader who cared deeply about his crews. He was also bent on knowing a bit more of my pregnancy business than seemed right. Of course I had to tell. I had the pleasure of cooking two more seasons with my little Kelsey in tow and got to meet the engaging, funny papa side of Peter who expressed sincere interest and delight in my young one while still grilling me on how I was managing to feed his crews with Kels as my helper. When I moved on from cooking I began teaching Wilderness Ethics classes to Backcountry crews I found another aspect of Peter: the academic, history-loving side. He occasionally barged right on in as I was teaching a class, his enthusiasm for the subject clearly overriding his good manners. The crews and I sat mesmerized as he spun his tales and we learned what he had to offer. I shared my second pregnancy with Cheryl; Huxley is mere weeks younger than Forrest. Peter made the details of this pregnancy his business with greater zeal than the first, surely because he was sharing the same excitement (and private details) with Cheryl. Of course I still had to tell him everything. I loved knowing our boys would grow up together. When Bryan and I stood facing the Pacific ten years ago and exchanged our wedding vows, Peter was there, bowtie and Bens, to stand for us and what we were beginning together. There and since, I found in Peter and Cheryl peers in the thrills, joys, challenges and rewards of being a married couple. When we returned from China with Wanda, Peter was here within hours stomping up the back steps calling hello to us, wanting to meet our new family member. His delight in Wanda was palpable.
Peter made it his business, perhaps his mission, over the last few years to keep us connected to the Backcountry program whether we could visit crews or not. He found time in his busy life to drop by and check in, tell about the crews and season as well as his own children. Of course he also asked about everything we were up to, too. He sometimes brought by odd or sentimental gifts. I know we were important to him because he made sure we knew. There seems to be no good way to conclude other than to say that Peter Lewis was my friend and my life is much richer because he was a part of it.
Gabe, Forrest and Cheryl, we are here for you always. Terri
I was one of the many that Peter inspired. As a member in the BC Trails Program and as a Del Norte Corps member, I have fond memories of Peter walking up Requia Hill waving to the CCVs as the crews went to the grade, demonstrating lizard push-ups in the BC, and for my pleasure Peter complaining the weights at the Del Norte gym were all too high after I had left. I am fortunate to have known Peter.
ReplyDeletedear Peter from me, and from some mutual friends of ours, some that are still in backcountry somewhere carrying on the lagacy of you, elaine garcia, dave nauman, sean gephart, sean kazen, matt vassell, shawn curly.. just to name of few...i just want to say thank you, ive seen first hand the effect youve had on these lives and there is nothing to compare your impact...again, thank you and dream well Peter Lewis...
ReplyDeletePeter Lewis
ReplyDeletemy friend I know
he AlWAYS cared,
it ALWAYS showed...
He would build a bridge
and people flowed,
dig deep he said,
follow that road.
Peter Lewis.
our friend we know.
...im so sad about this. the greatest spirit anywhere he was..Peter. i love this guy..now we have to miss connecting with him?? terrible this. awful. Dammit. this is why we're going to cry and hurt.
he always had great thoughts, more than even a rock's solidness of determination, trouble shooted stuff, idea advice, kind clear attitude, stories!, he is so funny, omg..
'how you guys doing?' he'd always ask..and MEANT it..i love this guy.
Trace
I don't think I spent more than six hours in the presence of Peter Lewis, but the short time had a definitive impact on my life. He was such a tireless, selfless, idealistic guy. A very bright light. Childlike, intelligent, insightful, kind. He was also an American original. Although I didn't know him personally, today i feel like I did after the deaths of Johnny Cash, Kurt Vonnegut and George Carlin. A giant has fallen. But what a legacy!
ReplyDelete…the cry of the hawk, a falling of a leaf, a sigh of the wind, as whispered the falling of a Redwood in the vast forest of the CCC…
ReplyDelete…as I fellow supervisor, I was honored and privileged to have worked with Peter Lewis at Siskiyou and Del Norte Centers (1980-85), on trail crews, forestry and environmental projects in the Klamath and Marble Mt. forests…My heart always opened by his sincerity and exuberance of life with nature. I treasure his campfires stories and his willingness to share life’s adventures with wit and knowledge, so that we all may know…
...But what I mostly enjoyed was his comradeship with corpsmembers, and their reciprocal smiles on their faces by the glow of his campfires…
…when crossing the trails in the forest and stooping to drink the waters of life, I raise my cupped hand to his family, friends and his fellow CCC comrades and listen as the wren sings his song in the mountain brush…
…as sun sets on our paths, the trail of life, we have but to look at the stars that come forth through the darkness, as we are that shared light, from Peter…
…may the four winds blow you gently home…….
I am sad to hear of his passing and my thoughts are with his family.
ReplyDeleteBecause of him, I chose to do the Backcountry program in Yosemite instead of CDF firefighting while at Butte Fire Center. He was a great guy-
emily
I will never forget you, Peter. My time in backcounty was the best thing that ever happened to me. You went out of your way, helped me out when I had to reluctantly leave my crew, and brought me back to debriefing to see them again. Words can't describe how much that meant to me. I know that everyone in my crew always looked forward to your visits and chicken push ups. My eyes would have never laid upon the majesty of Yosemite today if it wasn't for your help.
ReplyDeletethey call the wind mariah..
I knew Peter when we grew up together in Rochester. He was always a unique high energy individual who accomplished just about everything he chose to do. I remember him as an tenacious athlete, a friend, and a natural leader who was the valedictorian of our high school class during the tumultuous times in the late 1960’s. We both went our separate ways after graduation. I last saw him 10 years ago at a class reunion. He appeared to be a much wiser individual, but never lost his youthful enthusiasm for life and the pursuit of the great outdoors. A few years ago, I reconnected with him again via email after hiking the John Muir trail and summiting Mt Whitney. He was, once again, very enthusiastic to hear from an old friend who had experienced the grandeur and the wonder of the High Sierra. His presence will always be felt whenever I return to the mountains.
ReplyDeletePeter – We will miss you. You will always be remembered by those who had the fortune to know you.
I just heard about Peter's passing and feel shock and sadness. Peter was my first cousin and the one I had a crush on all through my teenage years. He had the kindest soul and was full of compassion.
ReplyDeleteBecause of a family rift from our parents' generation, I have not seen him for more than 35 years but have heard stories of the great things he has accomplished. I had hoped to connect with him this year, but once again life teaches us to DO IT NOW because you never know.
Thank all of you for letting me share in his life through the videos, comments and pictures. And my heart-felt sympathies to his wife and sons.
Peter Lewis changed my life. I know there are hundreds, (maybe even thousands?) of other people who can make the same statement. I am stunned and disbelieving that the world can go on without Peter Lewis in it. He was a force of nature, and my life was forever divided into Before Peter and After Peter.
ReplyDeletePeter picked me up hitchhiking in Yosemite Valley. It was my first trip west from New England, and by the time I met Peter I was ready to go home but I didn’t have the money for a bus ticket. My East Coast boyfriend had just broken up with me when we had rendezvous-ed in LA, and as I climbed into the brown pickup and took a look at Peter--- his filthy trail-crew clothes (he hung his clothes on a tree to get washed by the rain, and that was a drought year) and a Peterbilt cap with an orange flicker feather stuck in it, I breathed a sigh of relief that clearly this was not a man that I could possibly fall for, so my heart was safe. As it turned out, he was driving east to Connecticut to start Yale Graduate School of Forestry. He said if I could cook and I wasn’t too ditsy, I could ride with him. We spent one night in Bug Camp at Toulumne, and then embarked on the Peter Lewis Tour of America.
How Peter loved America! From Benton Hot Springs to the wineries of his native upstate New York, we stopped at every tourist attraction and savored every moment of Americana…Lehman Caves in Nevada, Buffalo Bill’s ranch in North Platte, Nebraska, bathing in the muddy Colorado in Moab, Utah, crossing the Mississippi in East Moline, Illinois. Of course, by the time we got to Colorado, camping by a creek in Glenwood Springs, I was inevitably in love. I knew how to tell time by the the Big Dipper, and had a new reading list of books about America, from “The Big Sky” to “Sometimes a Great Notion”. Who knew that this little man was the funniest, most interesting, most inspiring and encouraging individual on the planet? Peter could talk to anyone and make them feel that they had something to say. He always pushed me to the limit, overcoming my shyness. At Arches National Park, he told me to go ask the ranger “How did you get this job?” because I thought a mountain job was unattainable. Years later, when the Preservation Hall Jazz band played in Rochester, Peter pulled me up to dance on the stage. Dancing there, or on the pedestrian mall in Boulder, Colorado, or at the Evergreen Lodge, or at Blue Lake when my tape player sounded some pretty hammered-dulcimer music, Peter was in the moment and appreciated all of life.
Peter helped get me mountain jobs beyond my wildest dreams. Starting with a YCC job in Oregon with John Hoffnagle and Ken Olson, and after that cooking on the Inyo. My beloved East Side of the Sierras… George the Boot Fairy would visit, with Lynn, and legendary meals were prepared as Peter told his inimitable stories around the campfire.
Peter cared about everyone, and made everyone appreciate the richness of life. That he is gone breaks my heart.
I can’t even express how unbelievable the thought of Peter being gone is to me. It’s just seems like it must be some huge, horrible mistake. How could that happen to the unstoppable Peter Lewis?
ReplyDeleteI think I was somewhere between 18 and 20 the first time I met Peter around 1980 or 1981. I wasn’t working for the CCC or the state at that point, but my dad was working as a retired annuitant at the Siskiyou center. Peter became great friends with both my parents and my folks adored him. I soon understood why. Peter was truly just a wonderful person who cared honestly and deeply about others – a rare gem in this crazy world of ours. A little hyperactive to be sure, but he had an exuberance for life and the things he believed in that was absolutely catching. You always knew anytime Peter was visiting CCC HQ because you could hear his cheerful voice clear across the building. I always enjoyed seeing Peter – he really did light up any room he was in and brought a smile to everyone around him. He always made time on his HQ visits to stop by to chat with me and ask how my folks were doing. Anytime he called me regarding recruitment stuff for Backcountry, talk would turn to family. He’d ask about my boys and he’d tell me about his boys as well as what was going on with the Backcountry program.
His passing is such a loss in so many ways and to so many people. How many peoples’ lives did he change because of his vision and the Backcountry Program? I’m so thankful that I was able to see him again at the CCC reunion last summer. Of course the only picture I got of him has him bouncing on out of the frame on his way to gleefully greet more friends.
It gives me comfort to think Peter’s spirit is up there hiking the trails in the backcountry he loved so much. He talked in one of the videos about angels keeping watch over the Backcountry crews everyday and I know Peter will be the angel keeping watch over the crews now. In reading the other comments in this blog, it is also comforting to see that while Peter is no longer with us in person, a little bit of his soul will live on in each person whose life he touched.
Cheryl, Gabe and Forrest – My heart goes out to you and your family for your loss. Peter will live on in the wonderful legacy he leaves behind him and will be greatly missed by his CCC family as well as anyone who knew him. Truly an extraordinary man.
May the wind rise up to greet you my friend ~
Jeanne Hagen-Santiago
what is there left to say about the man who could scoop us up when we were feeling down?
ReplyDeleteThe man who could see good in all of us, (and some bad). Taught alot of people not to take themselves so seriously, laugh at yourself once in awhile.
To me, Peter Lewis was a great fisherman of good and potentially wayward souls, so for him I would like to share my favorite prayer.
"I pray that I may live to fish until my dying day and when it comes to my last cast I then most humbly pray... when in the Lords great landing net and peacefully asleep... that in his mercy I'll be judged...
Big Enough to Keep".
Love ya Peter
As the days pass I feel numb,stunned and sad a range of emotion.....I can hear Peter saying " Now Jimmy " and see him in all his Glory....it's hard to imagine CCC & BC without Peter. As I continue to wipe away tears and clear the lump in my throat I reflect back on all we have been through since the first days of Back Country. I was so lucky to stubble onto the Yosemite Crew in 1979! A dream come true for a teenager who loved the Mountains so. Who would of ever know 30 years later...a program so wonderful had been born. A program Peter Lewis embraced in it's early years and continued to raise and develope to be a national jewel. Many friends, family and coworkers are connected through the power of this experience...through the power of Peter's leadership...a network so great..many trails have been fixed and repaired as Pete would say...many life's impacted.
ReplyDeleteRest in Peace Peter knowing the legacy you leave. You will always be in my heart along with the CCC Back Country Trails.
I extend my heart to all your family & friends during this difficult time.
Your Pal,
Jimmy T
I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in. ~John Muir
ReplyDeleteThanks for sending us all "in" deep, Peter. Your spirit will live on in all of us and those we inspire, and those they inspire, and those they inspire....and so on.
It was the spring of 1988, and not long after I got my new Red-Wings for Backcountry that Phil brought me into Peters office for an introduction. The fuzzy high strung beast simultaneously knelt and lunged at my new Red-wings….”Now how are those boots fitting…..lemme see….uh ohh… the leather is already kissing…..look at those ankles….are you sure your ankles are strong enough. “ That encounter is deeply etched in my mind. I have met and forgotten many people over the years, but never my first encounter with Peter. Peter also encouraged me to eat grub worms, (which I have yet to try and I owe him for trying the Raccoon), attempted to teach me Rip-Rap, and of course lectured me about the proper way to do chicken push-ups. I will always miss him and his nasty grubsack. I didn’t spend enough time with him.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first heard the news, I did not feel much more than shock, surprise, disbelief. How could a man so healthy, so full of life and energy die just now? I kept living my normal life for a few days. And then as I started reading all the stories here, and remembering my own, the sadness finally hit me like a wave.
ReplyDeleteI remember the first time I saw him in the kitchen at the Stockton CCC center in 2002 as all the BC trainees were getting ready for our orientation. When someone pointed out to me the short fuzzy man wearing a warn out, sunbleached BC hat with a feather stuck in it, talking loudly with a sausage link in his mouth, like it was a cigar, I thought to myself "THAT'S Peter Lewis?"
His visits to our crew in Kings Canyon were always anticipated. Our crew that year had a few Mexican-American corpsmembers, but only two of us had actually lived in Mexico for the better part of our lives. I had only lived in the United States a little over a year when I joined the backcountry in 2002, and back then, I still felt very strongly that I was far from home, that I was a visitor, an outsider, and both Javier and I missed our home country very, very much.
On his last visit to our crew, Peter busted out the harmonica and played all the classic American songs that all but Javier and I could sing along to. Every one knew the words except the two of us, and while everyone else was deeply moved and singing, Javier and I just sort of sat through it while I foolishly tried to translate the songs. Well, this was not lost on Peter. After a few songs, he started playing a tune that no one in the crew could recognize or sing along to. But for Javier and me, it began to sound strangely familiar, and just like that, Peter was playing the Mexican songs that Javier and I had grown up with. And so just the two of us began to sing while Peter played.
"ay, ay, ay, ay,
canta y no llores,
porque cantando se
alegran cielito lindo
los corazones"
I was so deeply touched that he would go out of his way to learn these songs for us. He could tell what we were going through, he knew we were furthest from home than anyone else in the crew, he knew that once the season was over, we would be the only ones who would not get to return to it, but instead, we would stay in a strange new world and try to carve new lives for ourselves. But with this simple action, he made us feel at home. He brought a little bit of home to us. He was the only one who really understood and internalized this.
I will never forget that. Peter, thanks for devoting your life to young people like me, for showing us a whole new world that few in this planet get to see. The backcountry changed me in ways that no force on Heaven or Earth could ever change back.
And we all have Peter to thank for it.
This is still a shock to me I do not know how to feel about this, I am so conflicted with divisions of emotion about Pete's death. In life, I did not always see eye to eye with ol' Peter, but I could say that I could always understand where he was coming from.I realize that our differences were trivial and I regret that at times they would bother me significantly, but momentarily. It was all forgotten when he would show up at camp with his ol' external frame pack on a camp move, or at the end of a really bad storm, or after some crew drama that makes its way out of the BC. peter was the pulse for the heart of what made the ccc Backcountry seasons thrive. I can only wish that you, peter, can realizie what you meant to a great many of people and hopefully the ripple of this will not be to destructive. I can not help but feel anger on the inside, I can forgive you still, even though I don't know if I will understand what exactly happened on your last day on earth, all of the events that led to this; every action and its reaction, past, and present.I still don't have enough facts to trully form a definative feeling about all of this , but I just wanna say that in the time that I've known you Pete Ive loved you as a friend, and I will miss you coming around camp and fucking things up.
ReplyDeleteyour friend always
Douglas G Matheson
your friend always
My condolence to Cheryl, Gabriel and Forrest. Your husband/dad was an inspiring man. Peter always smiled and brought out the best in everybody he met. Peter's memory is legendary in the backcountry and in the CCC. I enjoyed Peter's cheerfulness and deep commitment to youth and conservation. I learned from Peter by his example. Peter walked the walk. Peter's special gift of joy and interest made him special among us. I will remember Peter because he made the world a better place for future generations. Peter never asked anybody to do anything he was not willing to do himself. I loved it when Peter made his yearly trek visiting CCC centers to interview and recruit corpsmembers for the next backcountry season. I knew Peter would provide those chosen few the best experience in the backcountry that they would never forget. Shalom Peter. Enos Flores, Ret. (CCC 1978-2003)
ReplyDelete"I have lost friends, some by death... others through sheer inability to cross the street."
ReplyDelete- Virginia Woolf
To Peter - Thank you
To Cheryl, Gab and Forest - Thank you, very much.
I knew Peter for many years when I worked in Washington with NASCC. Peter was always a breath of fresh air, a quick reminder of the real world and why corps are so amazing, transformative experiences. His stories, his enthusiasm and his dedication to his work made our work in DC so much more meaningful and important. More than anything, Peter brought to us his love of living. Peter, you will be deeply, deeply missed.
ReplyDeleteFirst and foremost I want to send my condolences to Cheryl, Forrest, and Gabriel. Your husband and father was a truly exceptional man who touched many, many peoples lives. I am so grateful for Peter's efforts and passion towards the Backcountry trails program. I can honestly say that without the opporutnity Peter offered me my life would not be what it is today. I was part of the King's Canyon CCC crew in 1992. I found my calling in life through this experience and went on to work for NPS trail crews for the next 13 years. I had the great opportunity to work in King's Canyon for 5 more years and help lead CCC crews. Afterwards, I worked in Yosemite NP, Big Bend NP, and ended up in Rocky Mountain NP as a trail crew leader for 7 years where I met my wife and have settled down. I left the NPS in 2004 and returned to school at Colorado State University as a graduate where I have continued working in National Parks doing research on visitor use/management issues. I am incredibly appreciative for the life I have and can trace this path back to Peter and the chance he gave me 16 years ago.
ReplyDeleteMy fondest memories are of Peter coming into our backcountry camps in Evolution Basin. It was obvious that meeting crews in the backcountry was his favorite part of the job. Peter was a people person and individuals always gravitated to him. Even as a NPS employee I would seek him out for a good laugh or advice. To this day I am still very proud of the crews I worked and the projects we accomplished. However, it is the people that were part of those crews that I remember most fondly. The CCC-King's Canyon experience was a really special part of my life and I firmly associate Peter with those times. I stayed in Peter's greenhouse When Bryan Little and Teri got married and remember sharing a cup of coffee with him one morning in there. He had a beautiful family, house, and life and was so willing to share it with everyone.
Cheryl, Forrest, and Gabriel, thank you for sharing Peter with all of us and know that you are in our hearts and thougts.
Peter Lewis alone changed more lives in a positive way than any other person I have ever known. The Planet is a little darker today without the without the wondefull light from Peter's eyes. The CCC will never be the same, and all of us will be forever diminished this loss.
ReplyDeleteCheryl, Forrest, Gabe, our hearts go out to you.
Joe and Suzan Neil
From Gonzo (Anthony) CCC - 1988 Back Country Klamath Trail crew
ReplyDeleteMy C1 was Phil LaFollette and my experience of the back country made me fall in love with it. I got transferred to Del Norte where I met Peter. His upbeat words and positive attitude, even when life seemed unfair, kept me going and let me see that this time was temporary and brought a positive outlook on my life and that there wasn't anything that could stop me from achieving any dream for my future. All the C1s like Peter Lewis and Phil LaFollette make you see your true potential and are great leaders. Phil got me the job I still hold today, helping to clean up the environment, doing my share to carry on what was taught to me by the back country leaders. I was shocked to hear of Peter's passing. I know it was 20 years ago, but it seems like yesterday when I was talking with him. He will be greatly missed.
Thanks Pete, your kind and salient words will be treasured. I know you embodied what all of us backcountry alumni felt, a call for something bigger than us, and a deep love for the the healing power of the mountains.
ReplyDeleteStill,
God damn it Pete, you died too soon. That's just how I feel. The world lacks what you had to offer, genuine and heartfelt enthusiasm and joy.
I'm grateful for having met you.
I would like to offer my condolences to the Lewis family on the loss of their husband and father Peter. I was a memeber of the 1988 Klammath crew and later transferred to the Del Norte Center. I will always look back on my time in the C.C.C. as a time of of many challenges and great joy. It was people like Peter who made this possible. It was his passion for the backcountry program that made it an incredible experience. It is Peter's enthusiasm for his calling that I will take with me. You need to love what you do and I believe Peter did just that.
ReplyDeleteand I tore off my shirt, breathed big deep breaths ( because I had to, the ones that carry the air of love and joy for life and a blessing that it is to know Peter. ) run down, belly flop onto the earth. Some tears, words mostly...beckoning his spirit onward and smiling to follow it as he passes through.
ReplyDeletePeter, thank you from every thing I am. You, among all the people I've known, carry with you the most undeniably strong good will and energy. A Teacher with a keen eye, a Healer with genuine care, and a Provider to so many...
we will miss you dearly.
I love you and I am sorry to see you go Peter...all I can think of is that if we are all cut of the same cloth, then Peter is the thread that binds us all together.
ReplyDeleteWhen my own father died many years ago,it shook my world view to the core. Suddenly,the unthinkable and irrevocable bad thing could happen, and there was no way to fix it or make it better. No way to make the hurt go away.
ReplyDeleteSince then I have lost another parent, and watched a beloved friend die of MS. Death is part of life, and we come to accept it.
But losing Peter Lewis has shattered me in the same way the loss of my father did...the world will never be the same. Even if years had gone by without an in-person visit with Peter and a look into those twinkling blue eyes, I always knew Peter was there. Like the Sierras...even if I couldn't get there for a visit, the knowledge that they existed always comforted me.
Peter, there are so many people that love you. We all mourn for the end of your life with us, but let our love travel with you wherever you are now. Not many people have left such a legacy --- many lives have been changed for the better, infinite numbers of giggles and guffaws have been laughed, and at least small parts of mountains have been moved. In the years to come, Peter Lewis stories will be told around many a campfire. It is important that we remember the essence of Peter, and the joy and appreciation of life that he shared with us. Please don't dwell on the pain...it will eventually become duller, and the bright memories brighter. We must honor Peter by exhibiting that joyous spirit that characterized him for so many years.
Peter, my heart grieves for your boys, and your brother Scotty. I remember one time you took a special trip to Africa just to surprise Scotty who was over there working in an international aid program. How many people would wander through the depths of Africa just to bring a joyful smile of surprise to the face of their younger brother? That was the Peter Lewis we all knew.
Peter, I have always loved you and always will. Godspeed.
Love,
El
My condolences to Peter's family. I feel like a chunk has been torn out of my heart...and I only interacted with Peter for a short time, back around '86-'89, with a couple of visits at Del Norte thrown in since then as I was travelling up the coast. I can't even imagine the loss you all are feeling.
ReplyDeleteI'm at a loss for words.
I think I'm gonna have to go bag a peak for Peter.
Peter, The fact I had the brief opportunity to be a part of your family through the Backcountry program will always be evident in my character. The experiences you shared with us, are the folk songs of painfully cleansing memories from the sole. I always wanted to be closer to your center of gravity. Thank you sir for teaching all of us, the lost boys and girls how to make things happen. SN
ReplyDeleteThere is so much to say.... Thank you for your friendship, warmth and wit. You had a gift for reaching out and making a lasting connection. The impact of which is so vast. Backcountry brought such monumental change to our lives.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the joy you brought to weary corpies, When ever you visited our camp. You brought inspiration that renewed our morale.
While its sad that you have passed from this earth, you are still bringing us together. In memory of your spirit we can embrace this growing family of ours and keep our connection strong.
Thank you for the strength you gave this program. And thank you to your family for sharing you with us all.
Love Bevin & Devananda
Fall of '83 with Peter Lewis and Doug Andrews up Orleans Mountain Trail. Brushing. Snip, snip, snip. Thousands, millions, of Sadler oak sprouts. A sysaphusian task (they just keep growing back). Yard after yard -- seemingly mile after mile -- of brushing. Peter, just smiling away. Me, 18, impressionable, all peach stubble and achne, wondering what I was doing crab-walking up that steep bugger of a trail with this ... wildman. "Chris ..." he said, snip, snip, snip with those cheap, dull loppers that needed (unholy) twisting to severe licorice even "... I love this kind of work", snip, snip, snip (twist). Day after day, hiding out at Forks of Salmon Forest Service trailers at night (hiding the breakfast dishes in the oven in the morning, Doug cackling all the while). 25 years later Peter was still in my life, not always so close as on Orleans Mtn Trail but never far away in my heart.
ReplyDeleteThat's Pete; a complex and shining planet of a man with a strong gravitational pull. Now Pete is a constellation in the heavens. Saddler oak snipper. Wildman. Constellation. I am so lucky to have known him. What a difference he made.
Bill Roberts, Packer and Poet from the Top of California, told this poem today at Peter's memorial service. It is re-written here with Bill's verbal permission, sealed with a hug:
ReplyDeleteLookin' Back
Sittin' by this fire
My thoughts go floatin' by
As I recall the fires
That I've sat by 'neath the sky
I watch the smoke go driftin'
Down the draw right over there
By the spring that’s in the alders
Where I saw that little bear
I gave him lots of room
‘Cause his mamma must be near
They sure do get protective
Of their fuzzy little dears
I hear the bells a ringin’
In that meadow right nearby
I can see those mules out grazin’
In the moonlight from the sky
The fires run together
In my mind they seem as one
Same as all the sunsets
Or the rising of the sun
The horses that I’ve ridden
The mules that I have packed
The miles that I’ve travelled
I sure like lookin’ back
It was so comforting to see all the friends and feel the love at the Warfinger yesterday. My friend Jon Sanstrom said I could post the poem he sent to me that I read at the service (with an additional verse) Be well until we meet around the next campfire. Johnny
ReplyDeleteFuckin Aye Man
An Environmentalist
He's not a big guy
about five foot, something
but he could eat
and talk
he plowed thru that plate of chimichanga's
and talked
and ate and talked
he polished off all those chimichanga's
and ate
and talked
and talked
A Conservationist
Who could remember the name
of every corpsmember
on every backcountry crew
for the past 25 years, or more?
who was where?
what were they doing?
who maybe smoked a little weed?
who was an all-star?
Peter's stars!
A Teacher
You gotta get down
and rub your tits in the dirt
you gotta feel
the earth
A Trail Guy
The corpsmember took him aside
and told him she was pregnant
but she didn't know
who was the father
because she slept with all the guys on the crew
and the whole crew went along with it
for a day and a half
until they told him it was a joke
they got him good, Doug would have liked that one.
The Keystone
The perfect rock to build on,
he is the center
of our universe,
with a special force
like gravity
that draws us close,
and keeps the circle together.
A Friend
When I would get a note from Peter
he would always sign off
Your pal, Peter
it was like Steve Martin in The Jerk
when he found his name in the phone book
and he was somebody!
I have a pal
and I felt like somebody!
I have a pal
Your pal, Peter
Fuckin Aye Man
I never knew Peter, but I know my husband who thinks so very highly of Peter...that Peter helped him to be the amazing man he is today. I have learned that Peter is one of those people that could help guide the change in others destiny. I love my husband, for his strength, his feeling of honor. I just wanted to thank Peter for helping to be a part of this man that I married's life experience, and not just any experience, but one that he holds so true to his heart...Yosemite. The Back Country. He went back when we first started dating. Now almost seven years later...I have the best friend, and most honorable man I could imagine.
ReplyDeleteMy heart goes out to Peter's family. This loss will roll in and will roll on. I hope that the comfort of family will help you through these truly tough times. Thank You Johnny Calkins for being our (as in the Crew, and the friendships that have followed) heart.
Jocelyn Wahlberg
Backcountry 89, scared and unsure about my future, never before had I even backpacked much less for 6 months with 16 complete strangers and John Calkins. It was one of those times in life where you look for the seasoned advice. It was orientation or post briefing, when I heard Peter Lewis say "all you have to do is put your boots on"...."you wake up and you want to quit, no matter how you feel, put your boots on, and the rest will follow".......I'm 40 years old now and in life I have days where things get rough and I think "all I have to do is put my boots on"....Thanks Peter! Great advice that sticks to the end of me time.
ReplyDeleteI was blessed to speak with Peter a month before his passing, we spoked of things of the spirit. I thank the Great Spirit for sending his spirit to be seen and felt in the form of Peter Lewis....I would say to all rejoice and know that you have been blessed to have walked with him...and to have been the presents of the Lord.
ReplyDeleteBecause I got pretty choked up when I tried to read this on Sunday at the memorial, I thought I'd go ahead and post it here:
ReplyDeleteSeptember 7, 2008
Hey everybody. Cheryl – Gabe – Forrest – Barbara - Scotty.
Well, I can’t think of anyone whose death could have bought together a group of folks I’d rather spend time with than Peter’s. Each of your presence here today, all our web postings - all of the comforting phone calls and e-mails we’ve shared with each other - all of the hugs we’ve given to each other over the last 12 days are such a wonderful reflection of and tribute to a very special and great man in all of our lives.
Like a lot of you I have experienced a fair amount of grief over the last 35 years that I knew Peter. Peter was always there for me as I lost parents, brothers and friends and like a lot of you I always tried to be there for Peter as he lost his parents and friends. One thing we agreed on in our grieving was that only time can heal. I encourage you all to give yourselves a lot of time to work thru your loss of Peter. This one will take time for all of us.
Most of my favorite people are here today or wish they could have been here with us because they are people who found Peter special and because Peter found them special. Peter discovered people for me to know over the time I knew him. I know I relied upon him for that. I bet a lot of us did. We all have strengths and quirks and Peter knew them all and loved us for them equally. Peter loved, I think more than anything, bringing people together. The more different from each other people appeared to be - the more he thought they should get to know each other and he made a life of bringing us together. And - of course -Peter found the perfect forum for his brand of friend making in the Backcountry Trails program – what a match of person to career. Almost all of us are aware of Peter’s just unbelievable web of relationships with his community of backcountry supervisors, sponsors and corpsmembers. Phenomenal. Some of us are aware of the less rewarding work Peter did back in his office each year to overcome every new beauracratic hurdle to pave the way and ensure another season of CCC crews in the backcountry. I mean outright hard work and long hours. Peter did whatever it took to pull off another backcountry season. He truly believed in the impact the experience had on people and the world.
Peter had the most genuine concern for each of our children – didn’t he? He made my kids feel really special and they just love knowing such a quirky, clearly special person. We’re all so lucky our kids had Peter in their lives.
I’m clearly trying to reflect the most widely shared feelings and themes surrounding Peter today. The one universally voiced sentiment that we have shared with each other is the pride in and love Peter had for his and Cheryl’s boys Gabe and Forrest. And he loved sharing his boys with his friends.
As I have started to try to fathom the depth & breadth of Peter’s impact on our world, as I’m sure so many of us have done since two Tuesdays ago, one thing I have concluded is that it is impossible. Impossible to ever quantify the lives he has touched and benefited. Yet, at the same time he was so special to me individually. Sounds familiar I bet. How was this possible? Maybe it was just so darned good while it lasted that it just wasn’t sustainable.
One of the true tests of Peter’s lasting impact on all of us - and our sustained tribute to his memory - will be that we carry on with these types of sharing and comfort and displays of concern for each other and concern for his and our own children as we carry on with our lives without him here.
You know, there are a lot of generations here today – a tribute to Peter as a bridge. My generation, with me at least, when I met Peter, I wasn’t a hugger. Pretty sure he’s the first guy I ever hugged outside of family. He didn’t really give me a choice as I remember it. But I feel so fortunate today that he did this for me ‘cause just a few Sundays ago, as I said goodbye to him for the last time - I gave him a real hug and told him I loved him – and it was really just another gift he had given me to help sustain me from here on out. Now, I’d like to pass around that last hug with all who count Peter Lewis as friend.
Thank you.
Tim Ludington
"Navigator, Navigator, Rise up and be strong. The morning is here and theres work to be done. Take your pick and your shovel and the bold dynamite, for to shift a few tons of this earthly delight. Yes to shift a few tons of this earthly delight."
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to see what your building in heaven Peter. Though I'm sad that your not here anymore, I'm glad there is another angel watching over us.
I was saddened to hear of the passing of a catalyst in my life, a person who brought change for the better, and helped me fulfill life goals when other doors where shut. I appriciated Peter Lewis for believing in me, giving me food for thought on how to be a team player, and sending me on my way to get a crack at this Backcountry Trails legacy I'd always heard so much about during my time at the great Del Norte Center. I always saw Peter studiously planning out projects months ahead, and I finally got to find my role in his big picture of B.Trails during my tenure on the Humboldt-Trinity Crew in 2004. I have fond memories of his visits bearing treats, his gladly joining in on the morning PT, and his salutations to the day with his hormonica around the campfire with us.
ReplyDeleteWhen I find myself missing the woods in the winter, I still fondly look and read back on my season: at all the photos I took from my mom care-packaging disposable cameras or reading my journal I gladly kept and was able to share with Peter a time or two.
My personal goal to complete B.T which Peter believed in so fully, allowed me to aspire to a life dream of working for the Forest Service. After those five months of trudging around the wilderness with strangers (and to think now they make reality shows out of such circumstances!)to accomplish great heights, learn and thrive....I knew I would be ready for anything the Forest Service trail jobs threw my way. And so it is to this end that I am late to get word of Peter's passing to be with our father in heaven, for I am continuing on in my trails endeavors working this summer for a forest in Montana. I wish I was there to attend the celebrations of his life, rejoin with my CCC family to mourn his loss, and tell his family how much he influenced my life. I know Peter would be happy to see I am still living out the legacy to pursue near perfection of the trail and to be connected with the wilds that surround these enlightening paths.
I picked up a lot of crew dynamic skills from my BCT days that I still use today in my crew work. I greive the loss of an important part of my CCC family, Backcountry & Del Norte alike. I am very thankful I was able to tell Peter the seeds he planted in me with our personal discussions and my work in B.Trails in the times I bumped into him around Arcata. I will forever be grateful to Peter for passing on to me a piece of himself in the enthusiam he had for the work, while always trying to see the best in everyone he worked along side.
Thank you Peter, I'll never forget my roots...
Respectfully,
Chris Bryan
I dont have the words to express my grief, and extreme puzzlement...why Peter? with all the love that so many folks have for you, why?? you will be deeply missed..With the passing of Doug, i felt empty for so long, and time helps heal, but this was so unexpected.im grateful for the many visits to the crews that you made, it was always a festive occasion, and the packs of gum you always brought, and the star walk, you knew all the constellations...thanks...the mountains just wont be the same without you.. ...nena
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, Peter Lewis was the most inspirational person in my life. He had a way of connecting with every person that crossed his path. It did not mater if it was only for a minute, an hour, a day, or years , but there was no doubt that u were gonna take something positive out of the time u had spent with him. Peter gave me and others the opportunity to experience something that would change our lives. The Backcountry was a dream for me. It is something that still lives inside of me. He once told me back in 95 " This is something that can never be taken away from u." Not a day goes by without thinking of the Backcountry. It was the best time of my life. When times are bad I close my eyes and go back to sitting around the camp fire with my crew along the Kennedy Lake Trail in Stanislaus. My life has not ben the same since then. I still pull out my photo albums and sit with my children 15, 6, 5 tell them the stories about my experience. It made and molded me to become the man and father that i am today. Thank you Peter Lewis! May god bless u and your family.
ReplyDeleteCarlos Gonzales
1995 Stanislaus Backcountry Trails
Peter,
ReplyDeleteI have been delaying writing how I feel about your passing. I've been remembering how you impacted my life and the lives of others. I think about how you would put words, thoughts, and situations all together to create some the best tales I ever heard. And, what a storyteller you were. Once I directed by Tom Buckner to write you up for not having a hardhat when you and your crew were 15 miles up Wooly Creek. You didn't even your silver bullet. In the memo I called you a "maverick" and you wore that word as a badge of honor. You told me you were so proud of being a maverick you still had the memo over 25 years later.
This week my son, Jake, called to find out how I was and of course, in need of more money for college. He noticed that I was sounding "different" as we were talking on the phone. I had been reading some of the blog entries and thinking about you. When I told Jake that a very dear friend from Siskiyou had died, he asked who. Not an unusual question since he grew up hearing Siskiyou storiese and had met some of the staff and corpsmembers from that lifetime ago. When I told Jake that I didn't think he had ever met you, Jake asked "isn't he the guy that told me about AmeriCorps?" I had forgotten that you had about 5 minutes with my son three years ago at CCC Headquarters. You were there to give one of your famous backcountry slideshows and my son met up with me at Headquarters. When I saw you on our way out of the building, I introduced Jake to you. I was so surprised that Jake remembered you but that's the effect you had on young people, on all ages. Your inspiration and conviction for service showed with your voice, your smile, with your whole being.
Peter, you made me laugh, think, be a bit devilish and now cry. I'm so glad your life touched my life and that we shared the glory days of Siskiyou together and I thank you for that very short meeting with my son. My prayers are with your family. Lin
A piece of me died and a piece of me came alive that I had forgotten when I heard you passed on Peter. You were 2 years younger than me when we met in high school yet you knew more about how to live life to it's fullest more than anyone. You taught me that life is to be enjoyed. You're wackiness and charm still fills me. It's been years since we've talked but this week in hiking the Montana mountains I feel your presence in the sky.
ReplyDeleteI'll never forget coming to NY to wrestle and you suggested we sleep on top of the dorm under the NYC sky. Well, it rained that night but that didn't stop us. And it didn't damper my spirit of competition, it only watered my thirst for life as you enjoyed it.
Peter, even when you weren't around I always felt welcome in your home. Your mom, your sister, your brother, your father...your family belonged to all.
I have missed your physical presence all of these years but you have lived on in my soul.
My blessings to your family.
Your wrestling buddy and friend,
Ed Brown
Shine On, for the people who are broken hearted,
ReplyDeleteShine On, from a place where all life has been started,
When you need fresh air go beyond horizons to your place in the Sun,
Shine On, let your heart beat boundless like your faith in the One....
Shine On Peter, Shine On
Did Peter tell you about "Gorilla Glue"? He use to tell Corpsmembers about it, to glue the soles back onto their boots (even if the boots are free). Many CM's bought the glue, even at $3.00 a bottle! They were buying Peter's pledge to be a true conservationist. Make those boots last longer! It was a "badge of honor". We'll miss you Peter.
ReplyDeleteJimi Cron
A candle that burned ever so bright, shining the path on moonless nights. A teacher a guide, a friend always on my side. I will miss you dearly. Your pal Dave
ReplyDeleteJanet said…
ReplyDeleteBack in 1991 Michael taught wilderness skills for the CCC/Backcountry crews during their evening curriculum. See www.earthwisdom.org/ccc.html The corpsmembers had commented on how they enjoyed being taught the earth skills at the end of the season. Peter being a good listener and realizing a good thing for the backcountry crews decided to have Earth Wisdom start presenting these wilderness survival skills to the CCC/Americorps Backcountry crews the following year. Earth Wisdom has taught the 18-hour Wilderness Wisdom Program every year since, to the Backcountry crews except in 2004. I believe it is because of Peter, his ambition and energy for these corps members that Earth Wisdom is still teaching the backcountry crews. He was always concerned about what was best for the corpsmembers while working and living in some of the most remote areas of California. Peter was truly doing a wonderful thing for our young generation. We send our heartfelt sympathies to family and friends. Michael and I will miss you Peter! We thank you for all the years you made it possible for us to be a part of the backcountry program.
Here is a poem I saw many years ago, posted on the barn wall while I was taking my first Tom Brown Wilderness Survival, Tracking and Nature Awareness class called the Standard in New Jersey. I loved this poem and it fits Peter perfectly,
Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there; I do not sleep,
I am a thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond glint on snow,
I am the sun on ripened grain,
I am the gentle autumn rain,
And when you waken in the morning's hush,
I am the swift uplifting rush,
Of gentle birds circling in flight,
I am the soft stars that shine at night,
Do not stand by my grave and cry,
I am not there; I did not die.
Anonymous
I just found out about Peter's death this weekend. I was blown away. I just always though Peter would live forever. You see, that is how I have him in my heart. He is there until I take my last breath. There are no coincidences in my life. I was telling Johnny Calkins today that I don't believe in perfect either...but I have to share with all of you that when I met Peter for the first time, well, that was perfect. It was our destiny to know him...I will miss calling him up and surprising him about a new adventure in my life...He was a keystone in my life. I am grateful for having had the pleasure to serve with him as my mentor, friend and am grateful to have had the opportunity to know Cheryl and his boys when they were young ones. My condolences and prayer for Peter's family and all of you out there. I love you Peter, and thank you for everything that is good in my life.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how many other people revisit this website again and again, gaining solace from the company of Peter's many friends. Today, it is a gorgeously sunny early-autumn day, with gusty winds floating a golden leaf or two to the ground. Of course with each warm whoosh of wind I hear Peter's (off-key) voice singing "they call the wind Mariah" Where Peter is now, (after circling the globe to say goodbye to all the people who loved him,) must be more beautiful than this gorgeous day, more luminous than Yosemite Valley in moonlight.
ReplyDeleteMost of us learned from Peter's life--- to embrace the richness and possibilities, to believe we could achieve,.... to go to the mountains. Now we learn from his untimely death---again he has brought us together, and reminded us that life is fragile and precious. Email that old friend, strike up a conversation with that stranger, take that vacation you can't afford, because you never know when it can all be cut short. Peter was poetic in his speech and his writing (and also completely tactless...is there any other man who would comment to a woman that she looks like she's put on a few pounds?) As Warren Zevon, another poet who left too early, said --- "Enjoy every sandwich."
I did not get a chance to meet John Muir,
ReplyDelete...but I was blessed with the opportunity to (all too fleetingly) experience Peter Lewis.
Your spirit still shines bright across the continent and, I believe, throughout the universe. ...thank you
A few days after I heard the very sad news about Peter Lewis(within the first week after the news), I was cleaning out my garage. I came upon an old journal, clipped in it was a letter, 19 years old, in a familiar script. Peter had written a beautiful letter and I had saved it. He wrote it to comfort me. My father had just died. He was a heavy construction carpenter. He had fallen, landed on his head, and died instantly.I never saw him,nor did my mother or brother, for he would have been unrecognizable. My mother had called me, and from her voice, I knew. Peter had an incredible way of writing, with his heart. In his letter, he said he had missed me ( at my satellite), and had wanted to give me a hug, and though he had never met my Dad, he knew he would've liked him for I had inherited the same character. I always like to remember that about my father, that so much of his strength, his heart, his compassion ( if I'm so blessed) is in me. I draw from that well. Compassion my father had always said was the most important trait. The sudden passing of Peter draws parrallels to my father's . My father was 59. He loved to write, was very physical, loved movement, loved nature and always loved people. He picked up friends everywhere. The common thread I draw from everyone's entries, is that Peter had so much care, concern and love for so many people. Upon reflecting, a friend said, "We all affect other people. Sometimes people learn what's important when a death or tragedy occurs." Peter and Cheryl came to Francisco and my wedding. I remember Peter dancing to the marriachi"s. We did not see each other, for lives were very far away. Xmas cards were exchanged, phone calls made. Enjoy the moments, love the people close by, and realize that life is precious and fragile. Negative energy is wasted. Sudden death is very difficult for those that are the closest. My heart goes out to Cheryl , Gabriel, and Forrest. As a family who went thru it, allow your feelings. People who love you are incredible medicine. Alisa G. Bernal , abernal3@sbcglobal.net
ReplyDeleteBecause of Peter Lewis . . .
ReplyDelete. . . I know what it is like to work deep in the Sierras,
pounding the trails in Redwing boots,
cursing them to break in,
cleaning waterbars and trimming manzanita,
rolling rocks with the crew for days,
nursing pinched fingers and sore feet,
hammering dirt into my pores and toning muscles of stone,
and feeling humble satisfaction at the end of the day looking at the trailwork our crew did as we hiked for home.
Because of Peter Lewis . . .
. . . I have chopped kindling, kindling, and more kindling for those
amazing meals by our Backcountry cooks,
hauling buckets, buckets, and buckets of water to the jungle can for
washing dishes, dishes, and more dishes,
even knowing that there was more work to be done
I always smiled at the end of every trail day to see those white tents of home.
Because of Peter Lewis. . .
. . . I lived close with strangers that I learned to love and struggled with like a family,
tackling with them miles of the hardest work that I have ever done,
huddling around the nightly fire talking and running from smoke,
learning that everyone has a story, a reason, and a purpose to serve in known and unknown ways,
recognizing that some days I lent a hand to someone in need,
and the next day they extended a hand full of calluses and a warm heart to me.
When I was in the Backcountry . . .
. . . I bathed in cold alpine lakes and rushing streams at the end of the day,
slept in moonlight on glacial slickrock,
awoke to hummingbirds flying in circles by pine trees,
saw views that brought me to my knees,
watched hawks spiral up above the high passes,
and gratefully knew that I was alive in "another beautiful day" in the Sierras.
So now I pound other trails in my broken-in-boots changed for the better because
of that Backcountry experience and. . .
. . . it was because of Peter Lewis that I had the privilege to do so.
My best to Peter’s family for the heartfelt loss we all share. He was a whirlwind of a man. He gave us his best and true self. We are all inspired to do the same.
Love and Light,
Cindy Larom
1995 Prairie Creek/Kings Canyon
CCC Backcountry Trails Crew
Pete's Sierra Shade
ReplyDeletechicory scold, buck snort, bear jaw pop
eye squint and wink
stream mist riffle, fish ripple pool
harmonica water music
white rock, sun smell, hammer chink, pry bar
sing, joke, laugh, wrestler's moves
Tiltill acorns, Foresta apples
big dipper clock
August twilight, season's change, alpenglow
evening wind, soft pine sigh
Excerpt from August 2008 Overview:
ReplyDeleteWe put Peter Lewis to work on a rock wall that he constructed beautifully. Peter’s wall we called it. Little did we know it was to be last rock project and his last visit into the mountains he’s belonged to for so long. Our crew’s biggest challenge, as well as everyone else’s I’m sure came at the end of August when we heard of Peter’s passing. The challenge was to proceed to the end of the season without falters, making out the summer in proper fashion – in the Backcountry Way.
For us, it wasn’t until we learned of Peter’s death, when we finally and truly realized just how powerful these mountains can be and just how empowering this program is.
We are in our final camp of the season, our most breath taking of camps yet set, high above on a bench just below Echo Lake and between Stone Wall and Little Stone Wall passes over looking Saw Tooth Mountain. It is here we have begun to heal. It is here we continue to grow. It is here we continue to laugh. It is here we say good bye to Peter Lewis, a person we all loved, admired and cherished while he was with us. A good friend, former BC supervisor, who had survived a BC season at the helm. He would say, “Well done.” So, Peter, for all you have made this program, for all you have done for others, we the Sinity Alps Backcountry Trail Crew 08 say to – WELL DONE!
INYO BACKCOUNTRY TRAIL CREW
Excerpt from August 2008 Overview:
ReplyDeleteThe Klamath crew was greatly saddened to hear of the passing of Peter Lewis. He is most fondly remembered in our hearts and our condolences go out to his loved ones. David Karplus showed us the Peter Lewis constellation, the Great Trail worker in the Sky.
KLAMATH BACKCOUNTRY TRAIL CREW
Excert from August 2008 Overviews:
ReplyDeleteWe are also going through the most abrupt change that I’ve heard of in the Backcountry Program, the passing of Peter Lewis. Peter Lewis was the director of the California Conservation Corps Backcountry program for many years and August 26, 2008 he passed away. Peter has been a legend in his own life, he spoke of the BC crews as part of his family and treated them like that as well making it a point to know not only everybody’s name, but also keeping track of their history and really who they were.
The ripple that came from Peter Lewis’s life produced waves of positivity and honesty so strong that there is no doubt in my being that they are and will continue to be felt world-wide for generations.
The Yosemite I Crew sends out full hearts of gratitude to Peter Lewis for all the ripples we had the opportunity to feel.
YOSEMITE I BACKCOUNTRY TRAIL CREW
Excerpt from August 2008 Overview:
ReplyDeleteThere is no understanding for what cannot be imagined. Our hearts and our prayers go out to our beloved Peter Lewis and his family. We all miss him dearly and his legacy of love for us and the Backcountry.
KINGS CANYON BACKCOUNTRY TRAIL CREW
Excerpt from August 2008 Overview:
ReplyDeleteA month to remember…
We lost our hero, friend and a true pioneer for youth development. Peter Lewis was a great man who changed the lives of so many. We are forever grateful for the opportunity to be a part of his legacy, which will carry on throughout our lives because of what we experienced this summer in the mountains.
The Stanislaus 2008 Backcountry Trail Crew sends our deepest sympathy to the Lewis family and very big thank you to Pete for all that you’ve done for us all.
STANISLAUS BACKCOUNTRY TRAIL CREW
Excerpt from August 2008 Overview:
ReplyDeleteThe Backcountry Trails Program is unique in giving people from all backgrounds and all states the opportunity to experience the clarity of living in a self maintained community in some of the most beautiful parks in the nation. Grinding out some of the toughest work, making family out of a wide array of strangers, and laying a foundation for respect and love of the natural resources in our environment, and its variant people are just some of the benefits of the Backcountry Trails Program. And for the dozens and dozens of Backcountry Alumni, thirty years after its start, there was a scrappy guy behind the scenes who believed in the program so much that his energy for it was contagious. Peter Lewis has given so many the opportunities to grow through the Backcountry program.
The wisdom, spirit, and tenacity Peter radiated could not be contained in his compact wiry frame, but spilled over into corpsmembers past and present. He passed on lessons learned in our backcountry microcosm that we can bring back to our larger communities, and share with others.
I am so grateful to Peter for the opportunity to live in the Backcountry Trails Program, and to have had the opportunity to absorb from his vast wisdom and experience. We will finish the season with Peter’s spirit in heart, and his family in mind. Thor had his hammer, Poseidon had his trident, and Peter Lewis had the chicken pushup.
YOSEMITE II BACKCOUNTRY TRAIL CREW
I like many, many, many people had the pleasure of knowing Peter. In 1995 I had just transfered from DelNortetoCamarillo when I got a phone call from Peter. Peter, with his distinct accent told me, "You know Dan, you know...I think there are moments thatchangelives You are in that moment. Think about coming to the B.C." ...and I did. I was shipped out to Yosemite and fell in love with life again. Because of that phone call my whole life changed.
ReplyDeleteMy clearest memeory of the 95 season is playing catch with Peter in Hetch Hetchy.
I will miss you and I treasure all you have given us.
Danny M. Umphlett dodgerdanny@yahoo.com
I write this evening having just heard tonight of Peter's death, filled with shock and sadness, sending deepest sympathy and caring thoughts to his family and friends.
ReplyDeleteI first met Peter when I was in the first grade, and he in second in Rochester. We played Little League together (I'm going to find that photo of us...), and he was my friend and mentor for twenty years. While we were only in periodic contact in recent times, everyone who has written on this page or has ever known Peter will understand that he was always with me, from the first day we met, and he's never left. Something about him - his way of making every person he met feel important, his way of talking and especially his way of listening - made him a permanent part of my consciousness...And maybe most of all, it was how unfalteringly true to himself he was in thought and deed that still sticks with me someplace deep inside.
There is so much more to write and tell, about that "look" in his eye that he had since the age of seven, like he was up to somethin'...the laugh, the unbridled sense of adventure, that he was always there to talk to, to ask of, to learn from...I can honestly say that there is absolutely no one like him in my life. How incredibly lucky I am to have known him.
To Cheryl, his children, Scotty...I send my love and sincerest sympathy. As always,
Bob Bernhardt
peter,
ReplyDeletewhat can i say that no one else has already said? although we haven't had any contact over the last 18yrs.(some people still haven't left good old Rochester, ha ha ha )my sisters and i still share our happy memories from the past. Now that you are up in the heavens watching over everyone(BEHAVE YOUR SELF , PLEASE, HA HA ), you may start to hear some familiar voices calling out to you" POO-FOO", YES, JESSIE?
your loving cousins,
Al & Bess Lewinson
Renee& Dan Eiseline
Linda& Mark Komenski
Michele & Ray Giordano
Scott, Lisa & Eric Eiseline
Jason, Aaron, & Suzanne Komenski
My friend Peter and I first met in 1977 in grad school. This poem is for him and his tribe of friends and family.
ReplyDeleteThe Layers
By Stanley Kunitz
I have walked through many lives,
some of them my own,
and I am not who I was,
though some principle of being
abides, from which I struggle not to stray.
When I look behind,
as I am compelled to look
before I can gather strength
to proceed on my journey,
I see the milestones dwindling
toward the horizon
and the slow fires trailing
from the abandoned camp-sites,
over which scavenger angels
wheel on heavy wings.
Oh, I have made myself a tribe
out of my true affections,
and my tribe is scattered!
How shall the heart be reconciled
to its feast of losses?
In a rising wind
the manic dust of my friends,
those who fell along the way,
bitterly stings my face.
yet I turn, I turn,
exulting somewhat,
with my will intact to go
wherever I need to go,
and every stone on the road
precious to me.
In my darkest night,
when the moon was covered
and I roamed through wreckage,
a nimbus-clouded voice
directed me:
"Live in the layers,
not on the litter."
Though I lack the art
to decipher it,
no doubt the next chapter
in my book of transformations
is already written,
I am not done with my changes.
Stanley Kunitz
Stanley Kunitz was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1905. He attended Harvard College, where he received a bachelor's degree in 1926 and a master's degree in 1927. He served in the Army in World War II, after a request for conscientious objector status was denied. Following the war, he began teaching, first at Bennington College in Vermont, and later at universities including Columbia, Yale, Princeton, Rutgers, and the University of Washington.
About his own work, Kunitz has said: “The poem comes in the form of a blessing—‘like rapture breaking on the mind,’ as I tried to phrase it in my youth. Through the years I have found this gift of poetry to be life-sustaining, life-enhancing, and absolutely unpredictable. Does one live, therefore, for the sake of poetry? No, the reverse is true: poetry is for the sake of the life.”
Kunitz was deeply committed to fostering community among artists, and was a founder of the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Massachusetts, and Poets House in New York City. Together with his wife, the painter Elise Asher, he split his time between New York City and Provincetown, Massachusetts. He died at the age of 100 on May 14, 2006.
I thought that I would include this b/c Pete always knew someone somewhere and he sure knew how to punctuate a story. Just about every note, email, letter he wrote can bring a smile to your face. He certainly knew how to make you feel good and part of something special.
ReplyDeleteSincere and best wishes to his family and friends. He surely will be missed.
Bill Luck
Bill,
I'm surprised the BC poster made it to Anchorage so quickly, especially during the Holidays. I was hoping you'd get it by Christmas.
One fellow you might bump into having something to do with trails in Alaska is Mike Fitzpatrick, better known as Fitz. He was a corpsmember at the old Siskiyou Center, and got picked up in 1985 as an alternate for my Klamath/Sequoia Backcountry Crew. Fitz was a real all-star. He worked a season or two on trails for the NPS in Sequoia, then heading up to the Tongass to work for the USFS out of Petersburg, where the fishing was much better. The last I heard, he finally got married, changed USFS districts, but is still living in Alaska, and working trails for the USFS.
If you happen to bump into him, give him my best regards.
Babe the Blue Ox at the Trees of Mystery had a recent mishap. His head fell off in a big storm. The good news: his balls are still proudly in place, and you get an even better view now that the Head is not blocking your vision. They're hoping to have the head back in place by New Years.
Your pal,
Peter
I suppose it's an understatement to say how much Peter Lewis will be missed - IS missed.
ReplyDeleteI knew Peter because he reached out to the local (community) conservation corps for back country participants. I know two kids who Peter touched, and whose lives are forever graced.
In the mid-90s, a kid named Peter Martinez from LACC, where I worked at the time, was accepted to the back country trails program. When Peter joined LACC he was a street cholo with a foul mouth (sorry, Peter) and very real concerns about avoiding gunfire in his neighborhood. Back country changed Peter - indelibly. He found out how big the world was, how beautiful, how powerful and how important. Peter Martinez went on the back country program repeatedly after that, even working as a crew supervisor. Peter Lewis had made room in his big crowded heart for our Peter, and coached him year by year to grow up hopeful, nurturing a sense of purpose in Peter Martinez... purpose and value.
Earlier this year, bouyed by experiences that Peter Lewis introduced him to, Peter Martinez, once a tough street kid dodging bullets in East LA, left for Botswana with Peace Corps, where he is helping serve individuals and families with HIV/AIDS. This sea change in Peter Martinez is a testament to the depth of love and faith in Peter Lewis' heart.
I now work for the Sacramento Local Conservation Corps. In past years, we had sent corpsmembers to back country, but without a great deal of success - the two or three SLCC youth who joined the program in past years didn't make it to the end. When Peter approached me about back country for our corpsmembers in January of this year, I lept at the opportunity to share this adventure-of-a-lifetime with our urban corpsmembers. Four applied, and one, LaMar Knight, was selected. LaMar just returned from back country. I'm thinking that LaMar only met Peter Lewis only a few times. LaMar finished the program, found in himself the strength and patience to learn and grow from the experience and has now accepted a position at Fortuna Center with the CCC. He (secretly) hopes to become a C-1 (not so secret any more). LaMar is dreaming and thinking bigger and better about himself, his life and the world. And that's because Peter Lewis reached out and offered him an opportunity.
Thank you, Peter Lewis, wherever you are. The umbilical link between you and the back country trails program is now severed, and we are on our own. Of course, we learned from the best. Thanks for everything. --Andi
I still think about the time I spent working with Pete on the western approach of the John Muir Trail to Mt. Whitney, Sequoia National Park. I was dealing with the stress of trying to maintain a long distance relationship that was doomed from the start. My reason and logic were being casted aside for emotion and irrational thinking. Pete was there to guide me when I lost my way and shoulder to cry on, when things got rough. That summer took a physical toll on everyone as we were working above 10,000 ft. on a regular basis. I worked on CCC & NPS trail crews for 6 years and never worked harder than that summer. I really admired Pete’s work ethic as it mirrored my father’s who continued to work as a farm laborer up into his late 70’s. As a crew we broke the retaining wall record and believe me it wasn’t easy. The Mt. Whitney Trail is not an easy place to set records. We had a lot of good times at the Crabtree Meadow Camp and even met Chuck Yeager during one of his annual fishing trip to Crabtree Lakes. I remember how much he enjoyed having Chuck, Andy Anderson and the rest of group over for dinner. There was something very magical about Pete. He brought people together who might not otherwise meet. The evening camp fires were extra special as he would read books out loud before a captivated audience. A favorite of mine was the short stories of Norman Maclean’s A River Flows through It. I still think that is the best way to tell a story while your audience is gazing into the fire their imagination is running wild with all the possibilities. Pete was a very old soul that made a big impact on thousands of people that he touched. He was part of a group of people that I have known and loved who have worked with the CCC & NPS trail crews. That period of my life still strongly resonates thru my soul and gives me hope during the more demanding periods of my life that find me currently deployed to the Middle East. Pete I haven’t talk to you since 1999 but I still think of you and miss you very much. Your Pal, Robert Edul
ReplyDeleteDear All,
ReplyDeleteI spent a day stacking firewood for the winter last week. With every stick of wood I thought of Peter being gone forever, all those conversations and aspirations for shared time that will never happen now. For most of us not all the leaves of tree of life have fallen at once. I am trying to understand the lesson of his passing. If we die young, enough of the people who knew us are still alive to come togather in our memory. But if we live into old age many of those we love and knew will be long gone. Sunlight is roaring through the windows of my home in Humboldt County today, a blessing in October. It will be a long winter in my heart before I can accept Peter's passing. Mel Kreb
Peter Lewis Caught me smoking once. It was my first cigarette in 4 months. I was KP that day he arrived in camp to vist us. I felt guilty for breaking my promise to myself to quit.
ReplyDeleteI wanted so badly to make Peter proud. He had that effect on me. Maybe it's that I knew he was paying attention. He looked people in the eyes and remembered their stories.
My name is Jason Higelin. I wish to express my sorrow and condolences to Mrs. Lewis, Gabriel and Forrest. I was in the 2003 Stanislaus backcountry program. I was introduced to Backcountry Trails by a chance encounter with Peter Martinez while hiking with my Dad in Northern Yosemite in June 2002. He in turn introduced me to Peter Lewis and the backcountry program. When I first called Peter Lewis about backountry, I told him where I met Peter Martinez (Pleasant Vallley) and he told me how he was building trail out there before I was born. I thought that was the coolest thing ever. He said that the CCC would work me within an inch of my grave. I disagree. It was more like a quarter inch! The next summer was spent in the backcountry. It felt like I grew up 10 years in those six months. Without the opprotunity provided by Peter Lewis and his forward looking vision, I would not be who am I today. Period. Without Peter Lewis I would not have met Peter Martinez. Thank you Peter Martinez for giving me the chance to live in the backcountry. I will be forever grateful for what you did for me. Thanks for making it happen, man.
ReplyDeleteOn the first day of spring, 2004, my father passed away suddenly from a heart attack at Rancheria Falls in Yosemite. When I told Peter Lewis what happened, he offered words of encouragement and hope. He told me that my Dad went home to the mountains where he belongs. He told me that I would carry my Dad's strong spirit in my heart now forever. A year later, on the second anniversary of my Dad's death, he remembered and sent me a card with more encouraging words. I remember thinking, most of my freinds don't even care or say anything and here is Peter Lewis reaching out and lifting my spritis up, just like he always does. Those words continue to provide me with hope and inspiration. They always will. He even gave a friend of mine the opprotunity to go into the backcountry program a year after me, changing yet another life. Thank you for your wonderful contribution to this world. The world is a better place for you having lived.
My friend Manu and I, both from Belgium (Europe) were cycling from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, in 1995, when one day we stopped at a supermarket in Trinidad, CA. A bearded fellow came to talk to us and after 5 minutes we got invited to Peter's place where him, Cheryl and the kids made us immediately feel at home. We stayed overnight and were friends forever. Before we left, Peter gave us the names of several friends of his in Lake Tahoe and Yosemite NP, and we followed his chain of friendship throughout our journey in California. Incidentally, that one night, Peter had us use his neigbour's outdoor jacuzzi without letting him know so when the neighbour came back hje almost called the police. All of this, we will never forget and Peter duly features in the book we later wrote about our 22,000 miles journey throughout the Americas...
ReplyDeletePeter, you've left our blue planet, I'm sure you know enjoy exploring the stars...
Take care,
JF
I kick myself every year when BC apps come out and know that I had a chance to go do this incredible job. I turned it down to go back to school and follow my heart in a different direction. Peter somehow managed to find me 15 years later to teach First Aid and CPR to the BC folks in Big Basin. This time there was no saying no and I jumped at it. One of the great things about Peter was he never had to be in your presence to be there with you. I would send him all the paperwork from the training and send a note about how great the cm's where and a few weeks later, here come that note back and on the bottom was a note from Peter, saying Thanks or your the best. Sometimes he would add more but it never failed to put a smile on my face. I have since looked forward to teaching that class every year and it would not matter if it was my day off or I was on vacation, I would make time for Peter. That is just how he made you feel.
ReplyDeleteI was on a fire in Hayfork when I found out about his passing and found it interesting that as I looked out of fire camp that I was surrounded by mountains and trees, and of course Peter. I felt the wind change and the clouds move over and knew he was at home.
It has taken me a long time to sit down and write this but the time has come to put the feelings into words and let Peter's family know that no matter where you go, you don't have to look far to see that he is right there next to you. He has an amazing spirit that surrounds us all.
Don't wait to tell each other how you feel and live your life to the fullest
Sincerely,
Janet Wohlgemuth, CII
My memories of Peter go back to 1969, when I ran into him while visiting Columbia University, NYC. I fondly remembered him in a previous incarnation -- an outgoing, amiable jock, a year younger than I, at Brighton High; but now I found myself newly enchanted by his limitless lust for living large and pursuit of new horizons. Peter turned me onto Jack Kerouac, who's spirit he then embraced. He spoke of journeys west, of riding the rails, and inspired me to use my hitchhiking thumb to unlock the magic of possibility. Much of what I did in my youth I owe to Peter's push.
ReplyDeleteThe last time I saw him, he had just begun apprenticing his Backcountry trails destiny. He passionately told me about learning to build paths from 'zen masters' -- how the teacher would finally nod with approval when he, the student, eventually figured out a rock's 'correct' position.
We said our goodbyes. Until I heard of his recent passing, Peter silently remained a cornerstone of my being. Today, I tip my hat to him and to the Golden Eternity.
This I will say about you, Peter: your enthusiasm for life was marvelously contagious. An inspiration to us all.
Look up the term "bodhisattva" -- and if there's not a photo of Peter there... Well, there damn well should be.
Thanks for everything Pete, you are missed! See you again! With great love and appreciation, the Yos Dos Crew, 2006
ReplyDeleteI knew Peter and Cheryl on 19 december 1989 in Costa Rica. We waited a bus for much hours and then we make hitch togheter. We traveled together in a small van. I have not met Cheryl and Peter, in all these years, but each year we have written each one. Cheryl and Peter have always lived in my heart. I don't know Gabriel and Forrest, but I could see their growth through the annual photographs. I miss Peter already!
ReplyDeletean embrace
Guido
Peter;
ReplyDeleteMy heart goes out to your family and friends.
I only recently heard of your passing indirectly from a friend of mine.
I personally only met you in passing,
but for many of those who I think of fondly as people of true worth; you were a shining example.
My time in Kings Canyon and Big Bend will always be a special time, one that I hold closely and dearly.
I have told stories of the mountains and the people there in spots across the globe...and I've shared this website with those that might understand, that they might know, and thank the Powers that Be for the likes of You.
It is tough to write with tears splashing the keyboard.
Tim Nagle
Peter,
ReplyDeleteThank you for giving me the opportunity to see and experience what most people will never do in their life time. It has been the best work and life experience by far compared to all the things I've done so far in life. Wake up early,hike,crush,fill in any weather..lol, learn to get along with 15 other crew members. It was the best! I enjoyed my time in the back country. You have helped to shape who I am today, and that I thank you so much Peter....1992 Henry Coe/Sequoia/Inyo back country crew.
Maikel Lusios( Where's my Money magazine!)
Well Peter, the crews are in the field and have just started to get the "deer in the headlights" look. You would be proud of Phil and Tessa, and all the others who have helped to carry on your legacy.
ReplyDeleteThey have served you well my friend.
We miss you
We do miss you, indeed.
ReplyDeleteBill
I have missed you so much this last year, Peter and my heart goes out to your wife and sons. You were my hero for so many years with your travels and your tales. You lived a life.
ReplyDeletePeer! i miss you so much! Right now for some reason I'm thinking of you and my heart aches! I just want to talk to you.. and truthfuly I'm soo mad at you still! I don't think I'll ever understand why you had to leave. I'm heartbroken! Your love for others and the backcountry was amazing and the day you left us was a sad day. A day I will never be able to accept. When I hike I think of you.. In fact I built some retainers off my back porch and I asked you to help me. I think you did cos they came out really nice and you would like them for sure. I will never forget you.. and will always try to do my best and be kind to others. I LOVE YOU! I have since the very first time you spoke to me..... I miss you! I wish you were still here. love Megan Hensley
ReplyDeleteI will never forget that scruffy smiling face, he treated everyone in the corp like we were his equal and also like one of his kids. I always felt like i had accomplished something great working for him. I would,nt be half the man I am now if it was,nt for him. i,ll never forget Peter Lewis.
ReplyDeleteAlmost a year, now. Still incomprehensible, a world without Peter. Still incurably painful, the void he left behind.
ReplyDeleteThere is a hole in the wilderness where Peter used to wander. We fill it with ourselves and our work and the time that has passed, with stories and our memories. Some days the hole he left seems to be growing bigger; other days it begins to feel a tad filled in.
ReplyDeleteI remember the last season that Peter recruited me for Yosemite; we had all met up at Del Norte Center for orientation week. I decided to go out for a brisk walk. At the lookout, below the center, Peter was dressed in his shorts and knee high socks, as he passed by me, he turned to look at me and said, “Watch out Izzy, the terrain is uneven, and you don’t want to faaaaaaalll….oomph”. He tumbled and rolled…and as the dust settled, he got back up and gave me that smile and began to laugh…that laugh was always endearing and full of mischief and love.
ReplyDeletePeter showed up the next day at orientation with a cast on his foot. I tried to keep a straight face. It was just so priceless.
Shortly after Peter’s death, I lost my little sister while she was training to be a firefighter in Virginia. What has helped has been time passing, being of service to others, remembering to laugh, stopping to enjoy the moment, trudging forward, and to never miss an opportunity to tell those that are close to me that I love them.
A year today since Peter left us.
ReplyDeletePeter, our memories of you are as strong as ever, our love undiminished. We miss you.
hi petey,didnt get my birth day card this year. first time in 20 years.buddy, you broke my heart. still love you,and honor our great friendship and brotherhood.shalom...
ReplyDeleteHey Peter. I'm reading a book right now that you'd love; "born to run", about ultra distance running in general, and a tribe of running people in Mexico's Copper Canyon in particular. Talks alot about barefoot running as well, and reminded me of you and your stories of the refreshing mule dung piles on Yosemite trails! My thoughts are with you today and always.
ReplyDeletePeter, it has been a year. No words can describe the void, the loss, our sadness. You were a giant among men. Regardless of our loss, we do wish you well upon your journey.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the lessons and the challenges.
Thanks for sharing that memory, Anon, Aug 24, 09 - the smile, the laugh, the mischief ... the cast on the foot - it captures the absolute essence of the man. I would only add that your prescription, "never miss an opportunity to tell those that are close to me that I love them" is definitely the take-away from this. That, for better or worse, is all we can do.
ReplyDeletetom barrett
a little more than a year after..
ReplyDeletei am still not sure how to express the influence that this man had on my life. i called him Petey and he called me naums. he took me aside in every camp we shared and had a how have you been conversation. he really wanted to know. he really cared. and he would tell you what he really thought about how you were doing. a very rare thing in this world, but Pete was a rare man.
i have spent most of my adult life living in the mountains and building trails. working with crews and building young people. when looking back on all those seasons including the one that is just ending, Peteys influence is everywhere. there has not been a crew that has not heard me tell Peter Lewis stories. the one that jumps to mind at this moment is how he would go fishing in the back country. catch a fish, bite its head and stuff it in his pocket. when his pockets were full he was done fishing.
the first time i met Forrest. he was just a tiny thing. 1991 at cliff lake in the marbles and it was really storming out. Bill Roberts wrote him a poem on the spot and resited it. i still ask to hear that poem when i see Bill and the time is right.
Peter Lewis had a positive effect on more young people than any one else i have known or even heard about and more than 20 years ago i was one of them.
thank you Petey, thank you for a life in the mountains, thank you for everything. i will miss you every time i watch a first year trail junkie forming a mountain habit and looking at me with wonderment at the relization that they can do it. they can do it all. they can do anything....
dave nauman
Klamath/Sequoia
1988
Bonvoyage Peter, we wish you a good journey and look forward to seeing you in the next life.
ReplyDeletePete! Your photo is on my shelf... and every time I move it... I hear you laughing. How you could've predicted such an eternal spot in my life! Not just a picture on a shelf (which is the irony of your laughter), but a place in my heart and many others. We miss you. I guess this is our place to tell you - or, more appropriately, out on the trail and under the clear blue sky.
ReplyDeletePeter,
ReplyDeleteThe Willow Creek Tradition continues. Good food, good friends and good partners all around. Much thanks to those who have kept this going.
We miss you pal
It is with great sadness that I learn about the passing of this man. I was a CCC member at Siskiyou Center when he was hired in 1980. I'll never forget the group bewilderment when the new C1 showed up for morning PT...this was unprecidented among all the other C1s.
ReplyDeleteHe proceded to do pushups like a machine with ratcheting gears in his arms, and worked circles around the corpmembers in the field when other C1s "supervised". I loved working trail projects in the Marbles with him, and he introduced me to the likes of Doug Andrews & Bill Roberts, both men I would go on to work trail crews with as a USFS employee. It was the start of a seridipitous path that had me working in the backcountry in many different capacities: fire lookout on the Klamath, 15 years as a river and flyfishing guide, four years working with at-risk youth in wilderness therapy programs, & ski instructor on Mt Bachelor. It was Peter who showed me that you can actually work in the backcountry without extracting resources other than the aesthletic.
Today I work with young men transitioning into the community from Oregon Youth Authority custody, and if I could be a hundredth of the inspiration that this man was among young people, I would consider mine a well lived life.
John Holt
Portland, OR.
Valentines Day, 2010
My-my, how time flies and crawls all at the same time. Not fair how people get taken away in life. Yes, and life's just not fair (dammit). But when things were good they sure were good with Pete. The guy could fill a glacial cirque with some kind of grubby handed bouncy goodness, in yer face and everything. I still look up at the gym most every day, Pete, expecting you to pass by with some kind of wordly weathered look on your face, strange bill-less ball cap atop yer head. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteGone but never forgotten
ReplyDeleteHey Peter,
ReplyDeleteStill thinking of the lesson you left us.
Wishing you peace, happiness and love.
Rambling through some photos and looking at some old Del Norte posts on the internet. Can't help but say hello.
ReplyDeletePeter
ReplyDeleteYour memory crossed my mind again the other day and looking at this site and remembering your life continues to inspire me. We all miss you bud.
Two years and you are missed just as much today. You touched our lives and our hearts and will never be forgotten. Your Pal,
ReplyDeleteRemembering Pete Today. The few times we got to hang out left such a great impact on me. In the words of Salt n' Pepa "whatta man, whatta man, whatta man, whatta mighty good man" We miss you!
ReplyDeleteI took my 15 year old son backpacking this summer; just the two of us. I thought a lot of backcountry times including Peter here and there. Little things and moments brought memories. Sounds and sights brought the younger days back while my older body still wanted to climb more, jump into the frozen lake again. I don't need to go to the mountains to remember him but going there brings my favorite meomories and puts into balance the still sadness of what he's missing. I'm glad to have the memories.
ReplyDeleteTwo years without Peter Lewis on this earth. The shock of loss has dulled a little bit, but the wonderful memories of the man are vivid as always. We will never stop missing you, Peter.
ReplyDeleteHey Peter,
ReplyDeleteEven though the posts on this site have diminished, you will always be held in high regard and greatly missed. Rest well my friend. Looking forward to seeing you, Doug and Jon for the next great trail project in the great wilderness beyond.
12/8/10 - from John Moran III Redding, CA.
ReplyDeleteglutenfreejm3@yahoo.com
I heard about Peter's passing about 5 months ago. I couldn't believe it. I had been meaning to track him down for years. I really really missed out. It then took me 5 months to find this memorial of/to him. I ran into several people who knew him much more recently then I had, since I was on his first Sequoia back country crew in summer -'83. That was a life-changing summer for me. He impacted my life in ways that still sway me to be a better person. I am sooo bummed that I procrastinated getting back in touch with him. It is a lesson to the rest of us; DON'T put off til tomorrow what you are wanting to do today. We are not guaranteed any more time in this God-given life than what is directly in front of us. Peter Lewis taught me, trained me, chided and corrected me, got frustrated at my rebellious and stubborn attitudes, yet allowed me to reap my own natural consequences instead of 'beating me into submission'. What a guy! What a legacy. I was able to hike back into the back-country twice (to visit him and his crews), after my summer with him; in '84 & '85. I went back and climbed Mt Whitney 3 years ago, in one day, while on dialysis for kidney failure. We made it up and back, 22 miles, in one day. The whole time I was having flashbacks to those times I was blessed to share with him and his witty humor and wisdom. I was also acutely aware of lots of evidence of CCC trail work along our hike, and kept wondering if it was Peters work with whichever crew was with him... Whenever I am able to get above tree line, I remember 1983 and how my life changed so dramatically by the influences of two men; Peter, & Jesus. I would like to and hope to, and would be honored to, meet his family someday. That would be cool. I look forward to seeing him again. it won't be longer, in the bigger picture. Hey Peter, save me a spot at the big table up there! That will be a grand feast with two of my favorite people. Cya soon Pete...
It's a wet, wet start to backcountry life this summer, er, spring ... but hey; it's June but "feels like" like April above 4,000'). Hmmm, somebody's been washing the dang cofee cup, if you know what I mean.
ReplyDeleteHi Peter,
ReplyDeleteI've been thinking of you these last couple days. In fact, I think about you every time I go into the backcountry. Thank you for everything!
Your pal,
Mike
Another year without the Jewish guy who loved Christmas. Miss you Peter. Think of you each time I listen to the same old Christmas music over and over. Will spin a top for you, pal. Shalom and Merry Christmas.
ReplyDelete2012 New faces, new opportunities, new muscle, new blood, new life, a new backcountry season.
ReplyDeletePete, the game is on!
Peter, I still miss you so much.
ReplyDeleteI just learned of Peter’s death and this website. I went to Columbia College with Peter circa 1969-73. I count him as one of my best friends during my college days. After college we drifted in different directions. I only learned that he had died four years ago. I offer my sincerest condolence to his family and friends.
ReplyDeleteI was close to Peter for only three or four years, but he influenced me as much as any person in my life. I owe to Peter’s example any art that I may possess for living in the moment or for treating others with openness and generosity. I never got the chance to tell him what he meant to me, so I will tell it to whomever may read this now.
Having read about the arch of his life on this website, I am certain that Peter lived a good life. And I am delighted that the account of the grown man was so reminiscent of the young man that I knew at Columbia. He was to his own self true.
I read with nostalgic glee about his sneaking into observatories to look at the stars and riding the rails in the 70’s. That was so Pete. We lived together briefly in an apartment that he had on 215th Street and Seaman Ave, at the very tip of Manhattan. The apartment was on street level and he would leave the windows open so that the paperboy or any neighbor or friend could just walk in and chat. Pete could talk to anyone. And even at 20, he was a switch that turned the light on in any room, as Mr. Muraki so aptly said in writing about him.
And then there are the trains, which his bio said he rode through the 70’s. He was hopping trains from Columbia to Rochester as early as I can remember. Peter had befriended a railroad watchman who sat with a shotgun in little shack where trains cross a bridge from Manhattan into the Bronx. No one but Peter would have or could have found this guy. (I believe that the shack is still there but abandoned). For a six pack of beer, the watchman would slow down a freight train leaving Brooklyn at midnight and bound for Chicago via Syracuse (where I came from) and Rochester. Peter and I hopped that train a couple of times to go home on holidays like Thanksgiving or Easter. We would sit in the heated third engine that was usually empty. And we would chew some tobacco (a vice he introduced me to) and drink beers and tell stories. We got caught once in Syracuse by a railroad cop who let us go after reminding us what they did to hobos in the Depression who hopped freights. Peter could get you into trouble, but he could usually talk his way out!
I am not quite sure if Peter had gone to Yosemite before or after he took me and some friends on a winter camping trip to the Adirondacks. Our objective was to climb Mount Marcy, the highest peak in the range. We were woefully unprepared for the cold and wound up camping a that base in 20 below temperatures, drinking cognac and certain that we would lose some toes to frostbite. I can see from his biography that he would later hone his outdoor skills to perfection. I guess that adventure was a beginning of a work in progress.
Peter was an adventurer. We did reckless things, dangerous things, and questionably illegal things, but all without malice, all with great fun, and all grist for Peter’s Kerouacian mill.
I never met anyone quite like Peter. I am sorry for the loss of Peter in the lives of his family, friends, and the California CCC community. Although he left life too soon, and before I could catch up with him about our old times, I can see that he left so much of himself behind in everyone who had the pleasure to know him, including me. Kenneth Bobrycki, Columbia College, Class of 1973. kbobrycki@gmail.com
Peter,
ReplyDeleteIt's been four years since you left,and I've been thinking about you all day, the sadness of losing you still an undercurrent. But by now I can see a picture of Yosemite and remember our times there with joy, instead of crying. But I'll never stop missing you.
Four years without Peter's smiling face - it's hard to believe it's been that long. You are still on our minds and in our hearts!
ReplyDeletePeter, still missing you.
ReplyDeleteThinking of you, Pete. You're in our hearts, still.
ReplyDeleteChicken pushups
ReplyDeletePeter,
ReplyDeleteGoing on five years now. Life is not the same without you. You are missed and loved and remembered.
You will always be in our hearts.
Miss that harmonica and Mariah. Good memories of days gone past. Wishing all of you treadheads out there a safe and productive trail season.
ReplyDeletePeter,
ReplyDeleteStill missing that sage advice and sound wisdom. 5 years, hard to believe time has passed so fast. Here is hoping that there are perfect rocks in heaven.
Hey Peter,
ReplyDeleteThe stock market is down. I might need another season. We miss you sir.
Peter,
ReplyDeleteThe crews have started and enthusiasm is in the air. We miss you my friend. You will always be the heart and the soul of this program.
Peter,
ReplyDeleteMissing you, Doug and Jon. I could have used a little more advice from all of you but....Thanks for the best years of my life.
Hello Pete. Give Doug a hello as well. And Bandit too if he is kicking around.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday Peter, wherever you are. I miss you and I love you.
ReplyDeleteWe all remember Peter, but do we understand the complexities of his life and relationships with people who claimed to be his friends? Peter was a deep thinker but fragile. Sometimes enough is enough, especially when your friends betray you for their own advancement.
ReplyDeletePeter my dear friend,
ReplyDeleteI hope and pray that you are looking over the BC program with a smile and love.
Karlson is doing a good job.
Hey Peter,
ReplyDelete8 years ago you went away, I still feel a bit of pain to this day. Your enthusiasm, laughter and sardonic wit...in my life there is still a hole; in my stomach a pit. I hope your afterlife is as good as the one in which we met, till I see you again my friend, I wish you all the best.
Hey Peter,
ReplyDeleteI am not going to let this fade away. You are, were, too important of a man to let this go away. Thank you again for the best years of my life.
Peter,
ReplyDeleteAnother trail season has begun. Young eager willing bodies to go out and continue your legacy! You sir, will never be forgotten.
Semper Fidelis
Another season has wrapped up. Always missing you, Peter. Know you are there in spirit. This is the season I miss you most.
ReplyDeleteHey Peter,
ReplyDeleteBill Roberts the Packer, Pilot, Cowboy Poet is retiring after 46 years with the Forest Service. Just thought you would like to know.
New Backcountry folks will soon gather, meet one another, form crews, and embark on the greatest adventure and challenge of their lives. May your spirit help them throughout the season. Happy trails.
ReplyDeletePeter,
ReplyDeleteI think you would be happy to know that your good friend Bill Roberts is retiring. This is certainly an end of an era and the beginning of a new one. Bill had a great party in Happy Camp that brought a good deal of old friends and new friends together.
Wishing you all the best,
An old trail guy
Peter,
ReplyDeleteYou are still remembered my friend. It was truly an honor to know and work for you.
We still miss you Peter. Lots of great young people continue to love the backcountry.
ReplyDeleteStill miss you, Peter.
ReplyDeletePeter,
ReplyDeleteDid not let that August 26 date pass without being out on a trail with a youth crew. Thank you again for the direction you gave me.
In 2009, as my wife and I climbed into the Trinity Alps on the way to Summit Lake and the 4 lakes loop, we topped Stonewall Pass, and there saw a beautiful, mystic wooden sign on the rocks that said, "RIP Peter Lewis". I have a photograph of her, now deceased these 7 years, next to the sign.
ReplyDeleteThe mystery is now solved.
Peter,
ReplyDeleteAnother trail season begins! Young bright people longing for adventure!! You sir, have kept my old tail working for the past several years introducing young folks to the mountains and giving them the opportunity to stare at dark starry skies instead of computer screens. The opportunity to hear the howl of a wolf instead of that of a police siren, to breathe fresh air and smell pine and fir, to sleep well after a long day of trail work.
Peter, thank you so very much for allowing me the opportunity to stumble, fall and learn from the mistakes I made as a Backcountry Trails supervisor. It has served me and society well!!
Peter, It has been 14 years my friend. I, and the trail-world, miss you so very much. Thank you for all the opportunties that you provided me and the thousands of other "corpies" that had the opportunity to be part such an incredible program called the CCC Backcountry Trails Program. We shall never forget you.
ReplyDeleteIt’s spring 2023.. around this time I’d be packing my pack for the season.. Good snow this winter so gonna be some front country time to start.. I’m 55 now and can’t do to many chicken push-ups but I should could when you lead me to the mountains. If only I knew then what I know now.. hope one day I can change a young man’s life the way you changed mine.. Peace
ReplyDeleteHey Peter Just wanted to say good bye. I am dying of cancer. The toughest words one will ever hear is; you have terminal cancer. I am off on my farewell tour soon. So many members of family and friends to say goodbye to.
ReplyDeleteI shall never forget you my friend.
The old, and soon to be, dead trail guy.
You’re not alone! Love and Blessings!
Delete