A first generation Irish immigrant to California’s far north, Tommy took my family, replacement mom Krystof, and fourscore some odd additional new close friends for an unforgettable expedition down the Colorado River and into the Grand Canyon.

The start of the expedition.

On the last day, Kat and I were set to hike out of the canyon so I was up at around 4 AM to get ready. Tommy as already up, boiling coffee, prepping bag lunches, organizing the rafts and doing innumerable little things to get his passengers and guides off on the right foot.

A day in the life of organizing the expedition. Tommy was the conductor coordinating this controlled chaos.

Every day he was a whirling dervish of activity, coordinating the disparate needs of humans who had never rafted before and charting a path through very serious terrain. Tommy had to navigate not just the river but also the flow of people’s needs, wants and conflicting desires.

Throughout he made time for the little things, like picking up micro-trash that did not belong in the Grand Canyon, or really anywhere on our beautiful planet earth for that matter.

Rafting with him was a true treat. He shared stories with little lessons, sort of like Aesop style folk fables that illuminated what is important in life, the little things like home grown tomatoes and true love. It’s very easy to confuse wealth for the number of digits in your bank account.

Storytime with Tommy. Photo courtesy of Krystof.

It’s much harder to have the hard conversations with your family, friends and yourself about what’s truly valuable and then do the hard work to achieve it. Tommy inspired me because he was such a clear leader, in every sense and really the best sense of that word.

Sometimes people confuse leadership for issuing a lot of edicts and telling others “thou shalt” do this or that. The backcountry has a way of stripping away all the trappings and status that come with fancy titles. All you have