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| Karen Sykes - photo by Alan Bauer |
I first met Karen in 2007 - March 13th, 2007 to
be exact. It was a special day because
it marked my first time hiking with her and another new friend, Alan
Bauer. Little did I know that both would
become very good friends and colleagues.
I met them at the Preston Park and Ride on this morning, and
immediately knew it was going to be a fun day.
Karen was full of silliness, laughter, and many stories on that
drive. We all were, in fact. I credit Karen for starting it. Karen was also full of questions as she
wanted to learn about me. 3-1/2 hours on the road seemed
to fly by in 15 minutes.
Steamboat Rock was our destination, and it did not
disappoint. We met another friend, Kim
Brown, at the parking lot, and off we went.
For most of us, our goal was the view at the top. For Karen, it was all the exploration on the
way, as she elected to loop around the top, eventually meeting back up with us
at the viewpoint overlooking Banks Lake.
I’m sure she was thinking, “Why the hurry when there is so much more to
see? The views aren’t going
anywhere.” That was Karen.
Karen and I mostly stayed in contact via e-mail, which she
would typically sign Cairn, in jest. I
too became a follower of her Thursday write-ups in the pages of the Seattle
Post-Intelligencer. We didn’t hike
together as much as we would have liked, but we always shared our trip stories
and photos and found time to chat or get together. One of those times was a book party at the
Mountaineers to introduce their new Day Hiking series. Alan Bauer, Dan A. Nelson and Craig Romano
were being featured for their respective books, with each taking turns speaking
about them and later, signing copies.
Karen suggested we attend to support Alan.
We arrived early and ran into our friends Kim Brown and
Steve Payne. The silliness began. Karen stopped us before the door. She wanted to make a dramatic entrance that
would catch Alan off-guard and make him laugh – even embarrass him if
possible. She suggested we enter doing
cartwheels. And she was serious! We shook our heads and said we were NOT doing
cartwheels. So instead, we coupled up,
interlocked arms and walked in stiff as boards, chest held out, two by two, as
if we were royalty walking the carpet, drawing Alan’s laughter. But the moment I remember most is when an
associate we both new saw us, and hurriedly approached and pointedly asked me
how my wife and kids were, while looking at Karen, our arms still hooked
together. I don’t think I ever heard
Karen laugh so hard!
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| Karen Sykes - photo by Alan Bauer |
I also became Karen’s “go to” IT guy whenever she was having
computer programs. She had a very old
computer – an ancient computer, which was basically full and crawled at a
snail’s pace. Couple that with dial-up
modem that sometimes connected successfully at as high as an 18.8 connection,
and, well, you get the idea. She would
get so frustrated with it at times, and simply have to walk away to calm
down. But if she didn’t have time to
walk away due to a deadline she was working on, my phone rang. And my phone rang often! (And if I didn’t
pick up, well, that is what the redial button was for!) Eventually, my brother built her a new
computer as a gift with components he had laying around. It was nothing special, but to Karen, it was
a hot rod. She needed to wear a seat
belt when she sat down in front of the keyboard! (I suggested we paint flames on the sides.) Karen was in heaven, and simply ecstatic. I still got the panic phone calls
periodically when something didn’t go right, but not nearly as often.
It was while working on her computer one day that Karen learned of a photography book I had recently authored, entitled "Mount Rainier" through Hancock House Publishing. She asked if she could review it for the Seattle PI. I excitedly said yes, and furnished her with a copy. Karen gave it a wonderful review, supporting it with several of my pictures, and recommended it to all her readers. It was the first review of my book, and the one I most cherish to this day. I still have the original newspaper copy (the review can still be easily found online).
It was while working on her computer one day that Karen learned of a photography book I had recently authored, entitled "Mount Rainier" through Hancock House Publishing. She asked if she could review it for the Seattle PI. I excitedly said yes, and furnished her with a copy. Karen gave it a wonderful review, supporting it with several of my pictures, and recommended it to all her readers. It was the first review of my book, and the one I most cherish to this day. I still have the original newspaper copy (the review can still be easily found online).
Then one day, Karen’s walls came crashing down. She was notified by the Seattle PI that her services would no longer be needed.
Karen’s heart broke. She
contacted me right away and confided in me all her emotions and fears. She was surprised, hurt, angry, worried,
and…afraid. Writing about the outdoors
was her life and passion, and after 13 years with the PI, it was all being
taken away from her in one sudden swoop.
She didn’t see it coming.
Karen needed to write and she didn’t know what she was going
to do. She not only needed to write, she
needed to write with purpose. It had to
be beneficial and be appreciated by others.
She was afraid of being forgotten.
Once the storm and panic settled, Karen realized she needed
to keep her writing in the public eye.
She got the idea to start a blog, and enlisted my help to get it set
up. It was slow going at first, and
there was much frustration when things didn’t work or “disappeared when she hit
a button or something”. But the results
of her turmoil speak for themselves. If
you haven’t perused her pages, I encourage you to do so.
It was very soon after that Karen began hearing the rumors. Her termination from the PI was part of a
much bigger thing. The PI was closing
its doors. This was a tremendous shock
to Karen, and her hurt was replaced by sadness and concern for her friends and
colleagues that were about to suffer the same fate as her. The world could be cruel at times.
The PI announced a final good-bye party, attended by invite
only. Karen received an invite, but
couldn’t decide if she wanted to attend.
She felt uncomfortable with it, yet part of her felt the closure and
seeing others, some possibly for the last time, was important. At the 11th hour, she hesitantly
decided she wanted to go – if I would be her guest. I was happy to oblige.
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| Karen Sykes - photo by Alan Bauer |
The event was not what we expected. It was a party and it was festive! I wrote about it shortly afterward. Karen only knew a handful of people there,
since she freelanced from her home and didn’t have much interaction with those
in the office. But we quickly found out
that many, many people knew of her and were anxious to meet her! Karen was a bit embarrassed by all the
attention, but her spirits were soaring through the ceiling. Her smile was a permanent fixture on her face
the entire evening. I was so happy for
her.
As we all knew she would, Karen forged ahead with her
writing and picked up many new projects.
She began contributing to the Seattle Times and other publications. Visit Rainier soon became a favorite client
for her, offering her reason to get out on the trail often.
Karen had other interests as well. She liked to write poetry and aspired to
someday have it published in a book. She
was an avid runner around West Seattle, recently logging 13 mile runs. Yes, 70 years old and running the equivalent
of half marathons. Karen wasn’t one for
sitting around. She would go stir crazy.
On June 18th, Karen met her fate doing what she
loved. Her final adventure took place in
Mount Rainier National Park, on a hike to Owyhigh Lakes with her boyfriend
Bob. Karen did not return.
There are more questions than answers as to what happened on
that day. And most likely, many of those
answers will never come.
I will miss Karen. I
will miss her joyous smile and infectious laugh. I will miss her quest for adventure and
seeking to notice details along the way that others might overlook. I will miss her kind heart and goodwill to
those around her whom she found so important in her life. And, I’ll miss those damn phone calls.
Rest in peace, Karen.
You have touched the lives of more than you ever could have imagined,
and will be sorely missed.
Memorial Information
Celebrate the life and legacy of Karen Sykes at the Seattle Mountaineers on July 14, 2014. Share stories and experiences with friends at 6:30 PM, with a program beginning at 7:00 PM.
Please send photos of Karen Sykes for incorporation in a slide show to Heidi Walker at fotogirl.heidi@gmail.com
And don't forget to share reminiscences of Karen at NW Hikers Trail Talk or at https://www.mountaineers.org/blog/karen-sykes-shared-her-love-for-trails-with-thousands
See you there.
Please send photos of Karen Sykes for incorporation in a slide show to Heidi Walker at fotogirl.heidi@gmail.com
And don't forget to share reminiscences of Karen at NW Hikers Trail Talk or at https://www.mountaineers.org/blog/karen-sykes-shared-her-love-for-trails-with-thousands
See you there.
Don
