There are many good things to be said for working for a larger company. One is the opportunity to find folks within the walls with whom to take on new adventures.

Too often we get roped into our own little circle and routine and don’t take advantage of the opportunity to bring others into our space or share someone else’s.

This week I stepped out of my own little circle and into another with six of my colleagues from various departments. Frankly, I’d not have considered these six (all younger than me – I’ve worked here longer than most of them have been alive) as folks who’d have wanted me to tag along on their adventure, but there was this poster on the wall inviting anyone along for the evening cross country ski expedition.

I signed on. We met about 7 p.m. Wednesday evening and had a wonderful outing in the lightly falling snow. And I appreciated the mercy factor, too. Every so often on the roughly four-mile trek the front runners stopped and waited for me to catch up. I felt a little like the tail end of a Slinky! It was fun, folks, thank-you for putting up with the old man.

Summit for Someone

Last April, just after the seventh annual Paddle Smart Safety Symposium I wrote a column about Shane Achey’s appeal for support for the Summit for Someone organization.

The Winterport native had hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2006 and had encountered various youth groups that were using the outdoors in a therapeutic way. That led him to develop an interest in the Summit for Someone program because of its support of at-risk teens and he decided to raise money for the organization by soliciting sponsorship for his climb of Mount Rainier.

I gave him some space on these pages and proceeded basically to forget about Shane. Well he’s reminded me a couple of times now that he made the climb and then some, but most of all he wanted to thank everyone who donated to the cause – that and some 1,800 words about his fantastic trip.

I don’t have space enough here to share all of those words with you, but I’ll try to give you a few of the highlights he shared with me in an e-mail.

Achey decided he’d make the trip memorable by setting a couple of months aside to bicycle to and from the mountain in Ashford, Wash., and invite his dad along for part of the trip.

It seems there was a little preparation necessary, he said. “First and foremost I didn’t even have a bike necessary to complete this kind of trip. Not to mention prior to this trip I had never spent more than 35 miles a day on the saddle.”

No problem, “I turned to a good friend of mine, Jasper Walsh who had considerable experience after completing a cross country tour from Astoria, Ore., to Bar Harbor after graduating in 2004 from the University of Maine. All I had to do was mention to him my idea and I walked away with a bicycle and all the gear required to make my trip a success.”

(You might remember Jasper. I wrote last October about his summer kayak paddle down the Mississippi River with friends Darian Higgins, 22, and Rachel Knobloch, 23, of Eddington.)

Achey planned his bicycle trip to begin in Missoula, Mont., and pedal north to Glacier National Park and then west on a cross country route called the Northern Tier to arrive at the Pacific Ocean in Anacortes, Wash.. From Anacortes he would ride south around the Olympic Peninsula and arrive in Ashford for his scheduled climb on Sept. 13-15, 2007.

His dad accompanied him for about 20 days on that part of the trip. After 16 days on the road and 1,100 miles that included days of smoke from some 16 western wildfires, they arrived in Anacortes, Wash., the western terminus for people who wish to visit the San Juan Islands. From here they turned south, crossing Deception Pass and onto Whidbey Island from which they caught a ferry to Port Townsend located on the Olympic Peninsula. Once in Port Townsend they continued west, circumnavigating the peninsula biking through the massive rain forests of the Pacific Northwest.

“Four days later we arrived in Seattle where I had to say goodbye to my dad ending our journey together.”

Achey’s Summit for Someone climbing party consisted of 13 people from across North America, ranging in age from 21 to 55. The first day involved learning self arrest techniques, rope travel and proper breathing for higher elevations.

“On day two we began our summit climb which departed from Paradise at 5,000 feet. Over the next five miles we traversed mountain meadows, loose rock and what seemed like endless glacier. When we arrived at our scheduled base camp, Camp Muir at 10,000 feet, people began to unpack and settle in to prepare for our summit attempt” at 1:30 a.m. the next morning. Sleep, he said, was evasive.

In the darkness the climbers readied for their assault on the peak. “I was roped into a four- man team which included three climbers and one guide. The temperature was in the mid-20s, but without a breeze it was comfortable climbing. Three quarters of our climb was in the dark with just the beam of our headlights used for navigation. Our route went from the south face around to the north in order to avoid various unstable ice falls. Although the mountain was in good shape the trail was treacherous with ice and fall hazards. The idea of traveling in teams is so if one member slips and falls the other members are there to arrest the fall.”

“Just when I thought that the mountain would rise forever we crested the rim and dropped down into the crater just as the sun was coming over the horizon. It was a great feeling of accomplishment when 11 of our 13 members were able to stand at the top.

Achey said the trip down turned out to be the toughest with intense sun and dehydration the enemy.

After his climb Achey continued biking south, through Washington, Oregon, and Northern California. Sitting in the airport ready for his flight home, Achey said he ran through his accomplishments.

“In a little less than two months I had pedaled 2,100 miles and climbed one of America’s most sought after peaks. Not to mention, I got a chance to have an unforgettable experience with my father who I hope has a new lust for adventure. And last but not least I got to participate in a program which invested in what should be our top priority, our future. With the 300 people who participated in the Summit for Someone program this year we were able to raise over $1 million dollars for America’s at-risk teen mentoring programs.”

jstrout@bangordailynews.net

990-8202