Ken Quade died this October in his home state of Wisconsin. But I’d bet his heart was still in Alaska.

The first Brooks Range trip I ever guided was a backpacking trip in the Arctic Refuge and it was just Ken and I. At 73 he wasn’t real fast, but as a new guide I realized that I had a lot to learn from a man who had worked across the state and who had been on more than 40 Brooks Range trips at that time. Ron Yarnell who owned the business before we did, took Ken on more than 50 guided trips during their many years traveling together in the Brooks Range and the Wrangell Mountains. Ken liked nothing better than to climb up to some rocky look-out and watch big Dall Sheep grazing. He also loved to talk politics and philosophy late into the arctic night.

I will always remember Ken as my first client and as the perennial record holder for the most guided trips in the arctic. Happy trails, Ken.