Camas Native Summits 100 of Washington’s Highest Peaks in One Season

On June 18, 2023, 20-year-old Andrew Okerlund, of Camas, set out to summit his home state’s 100 tallest peaks, as catalogued by a group of mountaineers in the 1970s who called themselves the Bulgers. The list of mountains has since been known simply as the Bulgers, and Okerlund, an avid outdoorsman since childhood, set out to become the youngest person to climb them all in one season. His trek is chronicled in a documentary film sponsored by promotional partner Range Meals Bars (founded by fellow Camas High School alumnus, Zach Hein) and released last summer in a series of screenings around the Pacific Northwest and California. Okerlund climbed with a variety of experienced partners and photographers throughout the summer, ensuring he was never alone on a climb. “On my first day of the project I had climbed 10 mountains in my life and I started rock climbing a year ago,” Okerlund says in the film. “To most people, I was ambitious and inexperienced. I knew that, but I also knew I could learn.” He painstakingly mapped out an order and system to reach his goal. Eighty-five days after starting, Okerlund successfully summited the final peak, completing the journey in time to return to his studies at California Polytechnic State University, where he is now a senior. During the summer of 2024, he put his mountaineering skills to use for the state of Washington as a wildland firefighter, climbing recreationally as much as possible when he wasn’t working. What’s next for Okerlund? “Up next is to graduate college,” he says. “[And] I have a mountaineering goal in the Sierra that involves the number 100 but isn’t the 100 highest peaks. I don’t want to say what it specifically is.” Here’s hoping another documentary film will reveal and document his future adventures.

“100 Summits: Bulgers in a Season” can be viewed for free online at rangemealbar.com/100summits.

Trick-or-Treat Event at Evergreen Memorial Gardens Cemetery

Spooky season is here, and what better place to celebrate it than at a cemetery? Last year, Evergreen Memorial Gardens, a cemetery, funeral chapel and crematory in Vancouver, held its inaugural trunk-or-treat event, and the organization will host it again this year. Evergreen’s president, Lindsay Fisher, says the idea came from one of her team members, Angela Ball, a family service counselor. “[Angela] had worked at a previous funeral home who had coordinated a trunk-or-treat in the past,” says Fisher. “She thought it would be something that the community and the staff at Evergreen Memorial Gardens would all really enjoy.” Fisher says she was initially concerned that people would find the idea disrespectful or distasteful, but Ball assured her that wasn’t her experience. “During the planning process we were very focused on making sure that decorations were not spooky or scary. We wanted everyone to feel welcome and that the decorations were light-hearted and fun.” Each department within Evergreen Memorial Gardens staff chose a different theme, then dressed up in costume and decorated their cars within that theme. “The cemetery office chose a Candyland theme, grounds crew did a construction theme, family service counselors were M&Ms and funeral home chose various movie themes.” The response, says Fisher, was overwhelmingly positive. “We didn’t know how many trick-or-treaters to expect for our first year holding the event. However, attendance far exceeded our expectations. We had to make a quick trip to the store to get more candy to make it through the event! We estimate that there were 400 trunk-or-treaters.” She adds that they didn’t receive any negative feedback at all. “The event was held around our funeral home in the parking lot, so it didn’t infringe on any burials or people visiting their loved ones.” This year’s second annual trunk-or-treat at Evergreen Memorial Gardens will take place on Thursday, October 24, 5:30-7 pm. The event is open to all ages and there is no cost to attend. A face painter and hot chocolate bar will be on site, as well as plenty of candy.

Read the full October 2024 issue here: