Ted Gies would have been 65 today. Where would he be living and what would he be doing if he were still on this planet with us?
I moved to Eugene in Feb, 1986 and met Ted at Saturday Market on the opening day of Market that year. Shumba was playing, and my eyes gazed out over the crowd dancing and swaying to the marimba beat. I saw Ted smiling. That evening I would give three people a ride to the contra dance in Corvallis. Ted was one of the three. He and I shared the closing waltz. That was the beginning of our relationship.
Ted’s 43rd birthday arrived a week later. I remember picking purple flowers from the yard at the house on Jay Street where I was renting a room, and going to a birthday lunch for Ted at the Gazebo Restaurant. There I met Joan and Janet. Janet had just learned she had won that year’s Bach Festival Poster Contest, so it was a double celebration. Ted introduced me as his new sweetie. I was proud to carry that title.
Here is the excerpt from my journal soon after learning of Ted’s accidental death in November 1995. I was in Japan at the time.
December 30, 1995 Kakegawa, Japan
I am in shock over Ted’s death. I received word of it via a Fax from Sue to Noriko, who handed it to Ananda, who handed it to Upali to give to me. When I read the line “Ted Gies died awhile ago…” I just screamed and fell to the floor in tears. I cried myself into an exhausted sleep that night.
On her last day in Japan, Maria and I grabbed a taxi to Fujimi Cemetery. There we found a cherry tree up on a hill and pushed some flowers into the ground at the base of the tree. We told a few stories about Ted, then ended our private memorial service in true Ted style by declaring, “Here lies Ted. Ted is dead.” Mt. Fuji can be seen from ‘Ted’s Tree’ on a clear winter day. Ted would have liked that spot. His tree should be in full bloom each April 11th, his birthday.
Ted creeps into my thoughts almost daily. I think of all the things I learned from him, all the fun times camping, all the emotional pain we went through together. I can’t believe he is gone. He had just driven up from California to visit me in Eugene on October 1st. He accompanied me to my various appointments in town and farewell parties, and then before we knew it, it was time to take me to the airport for my Ohio portion of my two-month whirlwind visit to the USA.
I called Bob J in Bishop to get more details about the circumstances surrounding Ted’s death. I talked to Irene, who was very helpful and comforting. Ted fell on a glacier in Esha Canyon in the John Muir Wilderness, near Nevahbe Ridge sometime about November 16th. When he didn’t show up for work on Nov. 18th, the search began. Bob J went up to the canyon with one of the Search and Rescue teams. First Ted’s truck was spotted. Then his backpack, still unpacked, was found beside a small, unnamed lake. The helicopter spotted Ted face down, and reported him dead for any lack of movement - there was no response to the sound or the winds caused by the helicopter. A friend of Irene’s inspected Ted’s body and assured us all that Ted died instantly from the impact of the fall.
Irene says that Esha is the Puite word for coyote. So Esha Canyon is Coyote Canyon. How appropriate, Ted. You, who first showed me the beauty of the desert, who first taught me to recognize the call of the coyote in the hours of dusk. You were like an antelope, bounding from boulder to boulder, fearless and flying free. Always urging me to try it, too, but I was timid, carefully making my way along the undulating paths. Is that how it happened, Ted? I remember your stories of close calls in the wilderness, those tales of getting caught in the dark, just trying to get over one more ridge. But even despite these tales, I never once feared for your safety. Your death came as a real shock to me. One month later I am still in shock. I can only imagine what sadness your parents must be feeling now.
Goodbye, Ted. But it is much too early to say goodbye! I am happy that you finally made the break from the rainy northwest and started making a new life for yourself in the high desert country. At least you were living where you really wanted to be in the end.
Esha Canyon snow field where Ted fell
Climbers going up snow field
Helicopter pilot
Search and Rescue Team
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Apr 26 2008