Finding the Courage to Summit

At the start of 2023, Alyssa Ryser set a goal to go on 36 hikes that year. Every couple of weeks, she chose a different trail in her home state of Washington and pushed herself to complete longer and harder hikes. Just three months into the year, Alyssa’s brother, Preston, passed away suddenly. Despite his struggles with addiction, Alyssa always admired her brother’s bravery and enthusiasm.

When he died, she didn’t feel like hiking anymore.

Preston and Alyssa were very different, but they were both drawn to adventure. While Alyssa enjoys outdoor activities like hiking, Preston was obsessed with parkour, skateboarding, and jumping off the roof into the family’s pool. He also loved to travel. “He was always off exploring, trying to figure out where he fit into the world,” says Alyssa.

Shortly after his death, Preston’s family sat down to discuss whether he should be buried or cremated. Alyssa suggested that instead, they do some research into turning him into a tree. That’s how they came upon Earth Funeral. Transforming Preston into soil would allow him to return to the outdoors, which is where he was happiest.

They could plant a tree in his honor, but they could take him to other places, too.

Preston’s dad planted a memorial maple tree; it was important to his mom, Diana, that she have one special place where she could visit him. They also handed out soil at Preston’s funeral and asked everyone to send them the coordinates of wherever they brought him. Alyssa kept about two gallons of Preston’s soil for herself. Despite the grief that made her want to stop hiking, she decided to continue with her goal.

She would take her brother with her on these adventures.

Diana joined Alyssa to hike Bullitt Fireplace Trail up Squak Mountain, which ends at the former site of an old cabin where the stone fireplace still stands. The hike itself was challenging, but when they arrived at the stone tower in the woods, Alyssa realized she had a little further to go. She climbed to the top of the fireplace,

“It is exactly what Preston would have done,” she says.

She then left some soil on the highest stone. Alyssa’s most challenging hike so far was up Granite Mountain, a nine-mile trip with 3,800 feet of elevation gain. As she climbed, her legs aching, she asked herself again and again, Why do I do this? Why do I do this?

But then she got into a rhythm. She felt the focus that sets in when you’re doing something hard, and all you can think about is your next step.

“It was healing, just to be out there,” she says.

At the top, she felt proud. She sat down on the summit and took a moment to bask in her accomplishment, with her brother by her side. Before turning around, she left some of his soil on top of the mountain, in a spot with a beautiful view.

Alyssa says Preston wasn’t the sentimental type. He struggled with feeling like people cared about him. But if he knew how much he was missed, and if he could see how many people are now honoring his life in different ways, “it would bring him to tears,” she says. “We loved and cared for him so much.”