I did not have the pleasure of meeting Pat at the Sierra Challenge last week. I vividly remember her bounding into the parking lot at the end of Saturday after about 10-11 hours on the trail, smiling from ear to ear. Her love of the mtns was shining through. I followed in her footsteps a few weeks earlier to Vagabond, but her stamina & endurance was quite evident with her bagging 2 other peaks on her solo trek a few weeks before us (Cloudripper & ? benchmark), while we retreated, exhausted after only Vagabond. I honestly cannot fathom how much strength Pat possessed. I am and will always be in awe of her. Condolences to her many hiking friends. May your memories comfort you during this very hard time.

Below is one of the articles from our local paper from Orange County. If I see anything for a memorial, I will pass on here.

Orange County Register
Quote:
Published: Aug. 25, 2013 Updated: Aug. 26, 2013 6:41 a.m.
Teacher who died hiking remembered as life-changer
By DENISSE SALAZAR / ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Pat Hadley, a longtime teacher and coach at Valencia High School who died in a hiking accident Thursday, was remembered Sunday for her generosity, friendliness and devotion to helping students.

“She was the most generous person,” Bob Hadley said about his wife of 20 years as he recalled how she would run around all the athletic shoe stores in Orange County looking for deals and often bought shoes for athletes who needed shoes but couldn’t afford them.

Pat Hadley conquers a peak named Middle Palisade on August 9.

PHOTOS »

On Sunday, Bob Hadley spent the afternoon looking through photo books that captured his wife’s sense of adventure, dedication and competitive edge.

“We were just going through our pictures and decided she has the world’s most documented life,” said Hadley, who was joined by two of his wife’s former students. “She was always doing something.”

Last week, Pat Hadley was taking on one more hiking adventure before the first day of school. But no one could have predicted it would be her last.

Hadley, 54, of Yorba Linda, died Thursday in a fall on a rugged hillside in the western portion of the Inyo National Forest near Fresno County, said Jeff Mullenhour, a deputy coroner’s investigator in Inyo County.

Hadley was participating in the Sierra Challenge that began Aug. 16 and was scheduled to end Sunday, Bob Burd, an organizer of the event, said in a blog post. Participants were to climb 10 peaks in 10 days. The remainder of the event was canceled because of Hadley’s death.

Hadley fell to her death while climbing alone along a ridge near Baxter Pass outside the tiny town of Independence. She was found about 2 p.m. by another hiker, Mullenhour said, adding that an autopsy performed Sunday revealed she died of multiple traumatic injuries.

Bob Hadley said he talked to his wife every evening, but he couldn’t reach her Thursday. The next morning, he got the news.

“It was just an accident,” Hadley said Sunday. “I think she slipped on a loose rock.”

Hadley said his wife was an experienced hiker who had climbed 90 percent of California’s 14,000-foot peaks, including Mount Whitney and Mount Williamson.

As the news of Hadley’s passing spread, about 200 students and fellow teachers gathered to remember the popular teacher during a candlelight vigil Friday night at the school where she touched and changed so many lives.

“Most of her coaching was not running-related,” said Tayyab Khan, 21, who was coached by Hadley until he graduated in 2001. “She turned people who were depressed into happy people.”

Bob Hadley was in Inyo County during the vigil but learned several students left their running shoes to memorialize “Coach Hadley.”

Jim Bell, the principal at Valencia High School where Hadley taught ceramics and coached boys cross country and boys and girls track teams for nearly two decades, announced the passing in a statement posted on the school’s website.

“Pat tragically lost her life doing what she loved,” he said. “She will be missed and we ask you for your thoughts and prayers for her family.”

The Wisconsin native had athletic achievements that included national titles in mountain biking, running the Catalina Marathon and competing in the first unofficial female World Cup Soccer tournament in Brazil, Bell said.

“The postings on Facebook are illustrative of how she touched everybody’s life from people she biked with or played soccer with. … she was just an amazing person to everybody,” Bob Hadley said.

A memorial service was not immediately scheduled.

Contact the writer: 714-704-3709 or desalazar@ocregister.com