Trail Grandpa

With megawatt smiles and beautiful hearts, there are some people that brighten the world, just by being in it. Meet, Roman...my little German Trail Grandpa (Opa).

Roman entered my life about 2 years ago on a particularly cloudy day. I was running down the ledge trail almost done with my workout. My mind noise was buzzing with the errands to run and tasks to complete and I was mindlessly jogging down past other hikers without giving them a second thought. Then around the corner pops this old German man wearing a little felt German trinker hat, complete with feather and looking like he belonged in a mountain meadow playing an Alphorn. His beaming smile lit up the forest and happiness was pouring out of him like beer at Oktoberfest. I had to stop. Roman tipped his hat and with a thick German accent said "Good day to you". I smiled back "Good Morning". "Say, how long does it take you to go up this mountain"? I told him my time and he gave a sudden head movement back as if in shock. The movement was followed by a big smile, and a "that's fast"! We chatted for a minute about the trail and finally we were both on our way.

Throughout the next couple of years, I ran into Roman often. We frequently stopped to chat and I learned so much about him. Roman was 85 years old and a neighbor of mine, living about 2 miles away. Boeing brought him and his wife to our town 30 years ago from a small town outside of Munich. His children were grown, their children were grown and now he's a great grandfather. He does all of his own yard work, cares for his wife by cooking and cleaning and told me lots of stories about his garden and his frustration with the elk eating his tulips. In his prime he'd been a mountaineers and scaled many peak, both in Europe and the US. At 85 years old, Roman was climbing the ledge three times a week. Three, unbelievable times a week! I found out, he's a bit of a local legend as he's appeared in books of Mt. Si and is pretty well known in the community. He walks slowly with trekking poles and takes lots of breaks, but is astoundingly steady on his feet.

Yesterday I hiked down with him and he and I agreed that since my beloved Grandfather had passed on some years ago, he could be my trail Opa. As we hiked, there was not one person that Roman didn't tip his hat to and bid 'good day'. Whenever possible, he stops and chats and lifts the spirits of everyone. People see him in his little felt, feathered fedora and smile long before he stops. Roman is humbled and kind without a trace of negativity in his spirit. As we departed yesterday, I told him to call us if there was anything he and his wife ever needed. He smiled and agreed he would. Then, he pulls out a little piece of paper and gives me his phone number and (ready for this) his email. With a twinkle in his eye he said "You call me when you are going up the ledge next. We won't be able to hike together, but give me a time and Opa will meet you at the top." He bid me "Tschub" and sang the tune of "Auf Wiedersehen" as he headed to his car.

He inspires me to be a better person and to continue living a healthy lifestyle. Everyone should have a trail Opa!

In this picture, he insisted we trade hats. He's wearing my sun visor and I have his little trinker hat. It was such a crack up.