Picking daisies

COEUR d'ALENE - Whenever Lori Barkley saw a daisy on the final leg of her Appalachian Trail journey this summer, she picked and put it on her backpack to remind her of Tom McTevia.

"Tom used to pick me armfuls of daisies," Barkley said. "It was my way of keeping him with me as I hiked."

McTevia, 42, was a tireless advocate for improved handicap-accessibility in Coeur d'Alene who died in an April ATV accident. Barkley, an instructor at Portland State University in Oregon, first met McTevia 25 years ago when she moved to Orofino and began working at a pizza restaurant.

"I think Tom got a job there too because he liked me and wanted to meet me," Barkley said, "that he decided if he got a job washing dishes at the pizza place he could meet that new waitress."

If that was in fact his plan, it worked.

Barkley said as she was from the plains in Montana, she hadn't had exposure to the kinds of outdoors activities that McTevia was accustomed to.

"He knew all kinds of great places to go," she said. "One of the cool things about Orofino is it's right next to Dworshak Reservoir so after work we would go up there and swim around. We'd hang out at the river and go hiking up in the woods on our days off."

The two fell in love and dated four years while McTevia was in the Navy and Barkley was studying at the University of Idaho. Distance and youth kept the duo from marrying, Barkley said, but the close bond never faded.

"Throughout our lives we remained friends and people that reminded us of who we were when we were younger," Barkley said. "When either one of us was down and out about something, we'd call up the other one and were always a support for each other when it came to our dreams."

For McTevia, who broke his neck 11 years ago, the dream was to walk again, Barkley said. But in the meantime, she said, he was an equal opportunity dreamer and began working as an advocate for others in the form of increasing handicap accessibility.

His efforts will be seen by countless individuals at Tubbs Hill. For the first time, residents and visitors using wheelchairs can use a new 1,500-foot trail - specially designed with a 5 percent slope - to view Lake Coeur d'Alene.

"He was somebody who was very fair about things," Barkley said. "I think he just wanted a fair shot to enjoy what everyone else did and he wanted that for everybody. When he started doing that stuff, I feel kind of corny saying it but I just felt so proud of him."

One of Barkley's dreams was to tackle the 2,200 mile Appalachian Trail, which spans from Georgia to Maine.

She said she completed the first 1,100 miles in 2000, and did another 500 miles two years later.

When it came time to begin planning for the final stretch of the trail in February, Barkley said she recalls telling McTevia she didn't think she could do it.

"He was all, 'Yes you can. I take photographs of a 70-year-old woman who runs cross country and if she can do it, you can do it,'" Barkley said.

While McTevia was pushing Barkley to embark on the final leg of the journey, she said they also discussed finding a cause she could support through the endeavor.

She found that cause, the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, shortly after McTevia died.

"I was staying with his sister just right before the funeral and I said 'You know, I think I found my cause' because they asked everybody to send donations to the Reeve Foundation instead of sending flowers," Barkley said.

She began the final leg of about 600 miles on June 23, picking daisies along the way. For the most part, Barkley said, she hiked by herself, which gave her time to think a lot about the decisions and choices made over the course of a lifetime.

But on Aug. 14, Barkley felt a sense of release while standing atop Mount Katahdin - Maine's highest peak and the traditional completion point for the Appalachian Trail.

"It felt awesome," she said.

She was also able to raise money for the Reeve Foundation, and honor the memory of a dear friend.

"Tom just always wanted to encourage people to think past their limitations and what they thought they could do," Barkley said. "That helped me a ton and I would encourage people to get out there and try and think about more than just yourself when you're doing that."