I first met Chad in the fall of 2002. I had just
gotten a job with the U.S. Forest Service on
the Superstition trail crew. I was working on
the Mesa District and Chad for the Globe
District. That year both trail crews were to
merge together and form one large crew.
When I first met Chad and Matt, I wasnt sure
what to think. I was a city boy, and here
were these two dudes living out of their cars!
I was new to this kind of lifestyle, but these
dudes were about to fill me in on a lot of
great stuff. The three of us instantly clicked
and were the best of friends immediately. It
was like I had known these guys my whole
life. It was a great winter that year. We
accomplished so much work and had so much
fun. Living in the mountains was an amazing
experience. We were Living Rough out there,
but I had never felt so free. Chad and Matt
had totally changed my life as well as my
views and beliefs. It was just the kind of
experience that I needed. The two of them
saved my life. Over the next few winters we
continued to have amazing adventures and
came up with the Livin' Rough motto. Thats
how we would joke around about the job we
were doing or life in general. In between
seasons Matt and Chad would always head
to South America to hang out for a couple
months. I always get to hear some amazing
stories from them. The three of us dont get
to see each other as much anymore, but still
remain the best of friends.
In the fall of 2007, Chad flew home from
Panama with bad stomach pains that he had
been having for some time. The doctors
diagnosed him with cancer and began
treatment. Chad continued to Live Rough,
getting better and having relapses. Chad has
never lost his spirit or sense of humor. In
August 2008 the tumors had taken over
Chads body, still he continues to Live Rough.
Chad will always live on in the trails he made,
the peoples lives he has touched and
changed, and in our hearts. Chad is
beginning the great adventure and will
continue to Live Rough for all eternity. Ill see
you again buddy.
gotten a job with the U.S. Forest Service on
the Superstition trail crew. I was working on
the Mesa District and Chad for the Globe
District. That year both trail crews were to
merge together and form one large crew.
When I first met Chad and Matt, I wasnt sure
what to think. I was a city boy, and here
were these two dudes living out of their cars!
I was new to this kind of lifestyle, but these
dudes were about to fill me in on a lot of
great stuff. The three of us instantly clicked
and were the best of friends immediately. It
was like I had known these guys my whole
life. It was a great winter that year. We
accomplished so much work and had so much
fun. Living in the mountains was an amazing
experience. We were Living Rough out there,
but I had never felt so free. Chad and Matt
had totally changed my life as well as my
views and beliefs. It was just the kind of
experience that I needed. The two of them
saved my life. Over the next few winters we
continued to have amazing adventures and
came up with the Livin' Rough motto. Thats
how we would joke around about the job we
were doing or life in general. In between
seasons Matt and Chad would always head
to South America to hang out for a couple
months. I always get to hear some amazing
stories from them. The three of us dont get
to see each other as much anymore, but still
remain the best of friends.
In the fall of 2007, Chad flew home from
Panama with bad stomach pains that he had
been having for some time. The doctors
diagnosed him with cancer and began
treatment. Chad continued to Live Rough,
getting better and having relapses. Chad has
never lost his spirit or sense of humor. In
August 2008 the tumors had taken over
Chads body, still he continues to Live Rough.
Chad will always live on in the trails he made,
the peoples lives he has touched and
changed, and in our hearts. Chad is
beginning the great adventure and will
continue to Live Rough for all eternity. Ill see
you again buddy.
Matt, Chad and Nick
Living Rough 2008!
Living Rough 2008!
If anyone else has anything else to add to this page, please feel free to contact me at
nick@driveshaftclothing.com
nick@driveshaftclothing.com
Hey all,
Just thought I would drop you all a line to let you all know
that one of the brighter lights in the superstar cosmic
power posse has returned to his source.
Chad Palmer... backcountry rockstar, had been battling a
particularly malevolent, gnarly case of pancreatic cancer
for the last nine months... finally returning to the essence
and "meeting his Maker"
as he was prone to say in his final days, shedding the
garments of this world's corporal vehicle peacefully and
fearlessly in the company of family and friends this morning
at 11 am EST.
Chad was, and will always be, a real badass... he fought
back from death several times in the last several months,
positively impressing the whole of the Pittsburgh PA
medical establishment and all involved in his struggle
with his strength, resolve and relentless sense of humor....
living rough and selflessly bringing light and comfort to
others despite all, a true force.
"Fear does not exist in this Dojo" (Homey Chad... Two days
ago)
A friend, Nick Castro, has put up a memorial page with
photos and the like, on his clothing company's website at
the following link:
http://www.driveshaftclothing.com/chad.html
Please fell free to contact nick with any rad memories,
photos or whatever you would like to contribute to the
tribute to celebrating the memory of one of the more
enlightened, liberated souls I have ever had the pleasure
sharing company with.
Chad's final messages to his friends before he "returned to
nourish where it all comes from.. and to move on to be a
part of the next thing.. just more refined"
Were to "reach out to people that need help, whether it be
macking on ladies or spinning that 3, helping
disenfranchised youth, particularly those without father
figures",
and to help all to "Learn what it means to love and be true
to friends... Give a shit about the earth, care about what
you walk on.. and to go forth with good aspirations and
inspirations."
Chad has asked that his cremated remains be spread at
the top of the Gardiner Headwall in the Beartooth Mountain
high country on the border of Wyoming and Montana
above one of his favorite late season snowboard
shredsites and
at the very tip of Punta Cometa in Masunte, Oaxaca--- both
magical places where he felt life was lived to its utmost.
Hope the universe is treating you all well wherever it has
you..
"Light your incense and when around the fire, Whoop it up
into the night"
In memory of the raddest friend one could ever ask for....
Mr. Chad Nathan Palmer
Soul Brother Number One
Best Wishes for Peace, Love and beauty in your lives
-Matt
Just thought I would drop you all a line to let you all know
that one of the brighter lights in the superstar cosmic
power posse has returned to his source.
Chad Palmer... backcountry rockstar, had been battling a
particularly malevolent, gnarly case of pancreatic cancer
for the last nine months... finally returning to the essence
and "meeting his Maker"
as he was prone to say in his final days, shedding the
garments of this world's corporal vehicle peacefully and
fearlessly in the company of family and friends this morning
at 11 am EST.
Chad was, and will always be, a real badass... he fought
back from death several times in the last several months,
positively impressing the whole of the Pittsburgh PA
medical establishment and all involved in his struggle
with his strength, resolve and relentless sense of humor....
living rough and selflessly bringing light and comfort to
others despite all, a true force.
"Fear does not exist in this Dojo" (Homey Chad... Two days
ago)
A friend, Nick Castro, has put up a memorial page with
photos and the like, on his clothing company's website at
the following link:
http://www.driveshaftclothing.com/chad.html
Please fell free to contact nick with any rad memories,
photos or whatever you would like to contribute to the
tribute to celebrating the memory of one of the more
enlightened, liberated souls I have ever had the pleasure
sharing company with.
Chad's final messages to his friends before he "returned to
nourish where it all comes from.. and to move on to be a
part of the next thing.. just more refined"
Were to "reach out to people that need help, whether it be
macking on ladies or spinning that 3, helping
disenfranchised youth, particularly those without father
figures",
and to help all to "Learn what it means to love and be true
to friends... Give a shit about the earth, care about what
you walk on.. and to go forth with good aspirations and
inspirations."
Chad has asked that his cremated remains be spread at
the top of the Gardiner Headwall in the Beartooth Mountain
high country on the border of Wyoming and Montana
above one of his favorite late season snowboard
shredsites and
at the very tip of Punta Cometa in Masunte, Oaxaca--- both
magical places where he felt life was lived to its utmost.
Hope the universe is treating you all well wherever it has
you..
"Light your incense and when around the fire, Whoop it up
into the night"
In memory of the raddest friend one could ever ask for....
Mr. Chad Nathan Palmer
Soul Brother Number One
Best Wishes for Peace, Love and beauty in your lives
-Matt
I met Chad during the summer of 2003 and like Nick it was through working for the Forest
Service on a trail crew. As anyone who has done such work knows, it makes you tough both
mentally and physically. The physical toughness comes from swinging a pick axe into the
ground for 10 hrs and the mental comes from not loosing your sanity while 10 horseflies nip
at your leg. These work conditions also make for a great way to really get to know someone.
Chad happened to be a person that was easy to get to know, he was kind, he cared about
what he did, he had dreams larger than an average guy could imagine, he didn’t complain,
wasn’t afraid to admit the vastness of what there was to learn and salivated at the idea of
new experiences and travels. Chad was a motivator of life.
Chad was also a skier as most of you know and I had the opportunity to share in a skiing
adventure with him in the Tobacco Root Mountains of Montana in mid-July 2003. This trip
began the day after our trail crew “hitch” was over. We loaded up my truck with the
essentials, beer and more beer, skis, a snowboard and some sleeping bags and were off
back into the mountains in search of spring corn snow. Arriving at the Branham Lake
campground we were not impressed by the amount of snow still present so decided to take
a scramble up the east ridge of Leggat Spire. Later that evening after a few, what Chad
liked to call “cold frosties” we rambled up valley in search of more snow, and we found it!
The upper bowl had a couple good chutes holding a fair amount of snow and it made us
psyched on the thought of shredding it the following day. Hiking back down we passed a
family camping and it makes me chuckle remembering the look they gave us. Who can
blame them, we had beers in hand, feet muddied from thrashing up in to the upper basin
and electrified grins on our faces more akin to having just found a gold mine. The campfire
burned late that night, supplied by log rounds left from a previous camper and split in
quarters by us with rocks. If you need to kill a couple hours when camping give this stone
age wood splitting technique a try. The next day we aroused a little late but pumped for the
day ahead and began the trudge up into the upper basin to ski. After kicking steps up the
chute we arrived at the top of the ridge line and saw what Chad dubbed “Treasure Bowl”.
The next bowl over was chocked full of snow with a half dozen or so chutes descending
down to a lake and we spent the rest of the day skiing in it. Descending back into the
Branham Lake basin Chad and I skied ever thinner patches of snow until they ended at a
small clear stream draining the upper basin of its winter snowpack. We unstrapped our
snowboard and skis and sat in the green grass with the glacier lilies and reminisced on what
a great day we had.
Chad is a great friend to have and I am so grateful to have shared adventures with him. To
you Chad, I will never forget how precious life is, how one should never stop exploring,
never not question how we as a society can be better, how to be a better friend, how to live
every day to the fullest, just as you so modestly presented yourself to everyone around you.
You are a “make the world a better place” person and with out the inspiration and dreams
that souls like you instill in others the world would certainly be a less dynamic place to live.
The picture below is from the last time I saw Chad. He stayed with me in Bozeman last
summer and we did an awesome bike ride. This was the only picture that I got that day but
feel that it depicts what it was like to be a mere mortal when biking with such a talent as
Chad.
“Shred thee well, my friend, shred thee well”,
your friend
Chris Runyan
Service on a trail crew. As anyone who has done such work knows, it makes you tough both
mentally and physically. The physical toughness comes from swinging a pick axe into the
ground for 10 hrs and the mental comes from not loosing your sanity while 10 horseflies nip
at your leg. These work conditions also make for a great way to really get to know someone.
Chad happened to be a person that was easy to get to know, he was kind, he cared about
what he did, he had dreams larger than an average guy could imagine, he didn’t complain,
wasn’t afraid to admit the vastness of what there was to learn and salivated at the idea of
new experiences and travels. Chad was a motivator of life.
Chad was also a skier as most of you know and I had the opportunity to share in a skiing
adventure with him in the Tobacco Root Mountains of Montana in mid-July 2003. This trip
began the day after our trail crew “hitch” was over. We loaded up my truck with the
essentials, beer and more beer, skis, a snowboard and some sleeping bags and were off
back into the mountains in search of spring corn snow. Arriving at the Branham Lake
campground we were not impressed by the amount of snow still present so decided to take
a scramble up the east ridge of Leggat Spire. Later that evening after a few, what Chad
liked to call “cold frosties” we rambled up valley in search of more snow, and we found it!
The upper bowl had a couple good chutes holding a fair amount of snow and it made us
psyched on the thought of shredding it the following day. Hiking back down we passed a
family camping and it makes me chuckle remembering the look they gave us. Who can
blame them, we had beers in hand, feet muddied from thrashing up in to the upper basin
and electrified grins on our faces more akin to having just found a gold mine. The campfire
burned late that night, supplied by log rounds left from a previous camper and split in
quarters by us with rocks. If you need to kill a couple hours when camping give this stone
age wood splitting technique a try. The next day we aroused a little late but pumped for the
day ahead and began the trudge up into the upper basin to ski. After kicking steps up the
chute we arrived at the top of the ridge line and saw what Chad dubbed “Treasure Bowl”.
The next bowl over was chocked full of snow with a half dozen or so chutes descending
down to a lake and we spent the rest of the day skiing in it. Descending back into the
Branham Lake basin Chad and I skied ever thinner patches of snow until they ended at a
small clear stream draining the upper basin of its winter snowpack. We unstrapped our
snowboard and skis and sat in the green grass with the glacier lilies and reminisced on what
a great day we had.
Chad is a great friend to have and I am so grateful to have shared adventures with him. To
you Chad, I will never forget how precious life is, how one should never stop exploring,
never not question how we as a society can be better, how to be a better friend, how to live
every day to the fullest, just as you so modestly presented yourself to everyone around you.
You are a “make the world a better place” person and with out the inspiration and dreams
that souls like you instill in others the world would certainly be a less dynamic place to live.
The picture below is from the last time I saw Chad. He stayed with me in Bozeman last
summer and we did an awesome bike ride. This was the only picture that I got that day but
feel that it depicts what it was like to be a mere mortal when biking with such a talent as
Chad.
“Shred thee well, my friend, shred thee well”,
your friend
Chris Runyan
Letters From Friends
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