Passages / Remembering Al Mader

Al Mader, a former hike leader for Crescenta Valley, died Thursday August 13, 2009. Al was 80 years young. He and his wife Suzanne were living in the Seattle area since leaving Los Angeles 4 years ago.

Al and Suzanne came to Southern California when they retired. Wanting to be closer to their 2 children, they settled in Huntington Beach. Al began hiking with CV because he wanted to hike with his dog. He came with his German Shepherd, Maddox, and later with Zap (another Shepherd). Soon, he was an O rated leader and was a frequent hike leader for our group.

Al and Suzanne lived in Southern California for 7 years and he was active with our group for most of that time. We spent lots of time in the local mountains and in the Sierras, on day hikes and backpacks.

Al was an enthusiastic hiker, never turning down an opportunity to hit the trail. He had bypass surgery in 2002 and was back on the trail within a couple of months. He had valve replacement surgery last year and was out hiking by this spring and had backpacks planned for the fall.

Shortly after he moved to California, Al discovered long distance backpacking. He backpacked the John Muir Trail and then began his quest to complete the Pacific Crest Trail. He had completed 2100 miles of the trail when he died.

Al is survived by his wife Suzanne, 4 children and 3 grandchildren. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him.