He also seemed to do stuff a whole lot more than anyone I knew. While I sat on the couch, he was either coming back from doing something, in the middle of something, or going off to do something. Any time he'd walk in or out, I'd think to myself, "Damn, I really should be doing something right now." And so I did. He motivated me in that way.

He didn't just motivate — he mobilized. It wasn't superficial Instagram influencer motivation. No "six steps to get yourself outside" here. With Jamie, it was "here's the route, we're taking 6 because 70 traffic sucks, we leave at 7 to skip traffic, park in the back lot because it's closer to the good trails, we're eating lunch at restaurant A because I don't like restaurant B and you won't either." I usually just went with it, and we always had fun, even when things didn't work out.

All of it, anything we did, he always seemed to have the plan. In fact, he helped me learn how to say "no" since I'm very agreable and can be a bit of a yes-man. His strong combo of preparation and sure-headedness (see: stubbornness) made it so easy to just follow his lead, for better or worse. So even though he usually had a plan dialed, I eventually learned that sometimes you just have to say "no," which is honestly a skill that I have brought into other relationships (especially in the workplace) that I can attribute to hanging with Jamie.

Even still, I aspire to emulate Jamie's sheer drive for doing. I deeply long for his company when I do the things that we used to do together. Go figure that just happens to be nearly... everything I do. But, the funny thing about Jamie is that he didn't mind much while he was doing stuff. Obstacles didn't phase him, didn't care much for frivolous guidelines, and definitely didn't care what people thought of him. So to honor Jamie, I'm going to keep doing just that and keep myself motivated and mobilized with a plan (good or bad) in mind. Sure was easier when he was around though, and I just wish he was still along for the ride.

I met up Jamie in Taos, NM when I was attending an earthship biotecture course in November. He was working at the local ski resort and we planned to meet up and ski a little backcountry around the area. As always, Jamie had the plan on where to go. Taos had just started getting snow, so the trail Jamie picked was a bit rocky, but that did not bother Jamie or his loyal pup, Zeke. They were happy to be out there, and I was, too. We made it up to the lake where the main skiable slopes drained into. From here, we proceeded to hike further up the slopes, scramble over a few cliffs (with our skis on) to finally get to the top of this steep, open slope. Just as quickly as I could make the transition to downhill skiing, Jamie was ready to go. He started off down the slope, aggressively carving and whipping down. I could hear his chuckles and excitement as Zeke followed his every turn. We both made it back to the trailhead safely but had to figure out how to get Jamie's truck back down the snow covered "road." Jamie was fully confident he could get his truck back down, and after a few bumpy slips and turns he did. This seemed to be Jamie's approach to life — live in the present and confront problems when they arise. After the skiing, I invited Jamie to the Thanksgiving Potluck with everyone from the earthship course. He happily joined and quickly became friends with everyone. All of my friends at the course asked me to invite him on more adventures and hangouts. Jamie could walk into a room of strangers and leave them as friends.

I learned quite a lot from the wonderfully weird Jamie Mcgahran: How to be weird and not care what anyone else thinks. How to live life to its fullest and appreciate every adventure, no matter how much it changed along the way. How to befriend strangers while staying true to yourself. And how to love life and everyone who becomes a part of it. Jamie, thank you for everything you taught me, for being my friend, and for showing me how to have a good time. You will always be in my heart and in my thoughts on every adventure.

Later on the hike I started running low on water, asked how much farther, and to my surprise we were on South Arapaho Peak. My first 13er (an ~8mi hike) and I was definitely not prepared. I gave Jamie some mild sass because he didn't warn me, and out of everything on this trip, I'll never forget the look in his eye. His notorious whimsical nature to shrug off arduous outdoor ventures like they're nothing. It was right there. Beaming at me. Call it feigned ignorance, a sense of boundless adventure, nonchalance, or believing that your friends are capable despite the circumstance. Either way, It always worked out. In fact, he packed extra just in case, cooked a huge stew once we finished, and we snagged a camping spot by the river and hammocked by the water.

Over the years he became one of my best friends and I learned to know that smirk. I have countless stories of camping, rafting trips, concerts, driving hours every weekend to hang out, holding my hand through Tel Aviv for a whole day because I didn't have contacts (I am blind), and it was always the most exciting and memorable experience. More than that, he was sweet; though not always agreeable in a way you hated and loved at the same time; pushed the limits, and cared about the people around him. His audacious and stubborn character molded me into the person I am today before and after we were close friends. He'll always hold a place in my heart, and still now, he pushes me to live my life to the fullest. I'll always truly and deeply miss his shining spirit, but I find comfort knowing he lives on through me and all the lives he touched.

Throughout the trip, Jamie was our resident geology expert and at one point our whole group of 50 sat down in the middle of a hike to hear him give a little lecture on the rocks around us. He was so likeable and fun to be around.

One day, we had a 'secret Santa' kind of assignment where we each drew a name from a hat and had to buy that person a gift at the market in Jerusalem, with a budget of like $5. I got Jamie and had no idea what to buy him as a gift. I ended up buying a tomato, peppers, onion, cilantro, and tortilla chips and wrapping them all up. When Jamie opened his gift, I explained I would make him salsa later that night. Anyone else might have been pleasantly surprised but Jamie was SO stoked about salsa, and we ended up cutting up the ingredients together and eating the salsa that Shabbat night. Everytime I eat fresh, homemade salsa I think about that memory.

Though I only knew him during that trip and briefly in Boulder after, he made an impression on me. He was a joy to be around.