Tim and Gabe with their daughter Riley hiking outside of Markleeville.
She was in a hurry to get to Markleeville, arriving over two weeks early, much to her parents surprise. “We did not even have our ‘Run Bag’ packed yet!” laughed Tim and Gabe Farr.
Their daughter Riley Gwen Farr, born on Aug. 3, is the newest star in the Alpine County constellation. Reflecting the true essence of her parents already, her favorite thing is to “be outside”. She breathes deeply and stares up at the wind blown treetops and deep blue sky with contentment. “Her motto is ‘Eat, Play, Sleep’ on about a three hour cycle.” reports her mother, smiling. “We are over the moon for her.”
Your actions reflect the thoughts you believe to be true. Choosing to have and raise a baby is a big statement. You have to trust in abundance and especially have hope, both for our world, and the future. Tim and Gabe manifest this uplifting outlook with thankfulness. “We both felt strongly about wanting to raise children, whether our own or adopted.” Gabe said.
There are a contingent of new families in both Markleeville and Woodfords. It is a small but significant renaissance. The majority have moved from Lake Tahoe, where it has grown too hectic for most true mountain folks to want to raise their children. But we have no banks, no hospitals, no big grocery stores, and not even any stoplights. Living is harder, especially when you have little ones to watch.
Fortunately, most already possess the qualities needed to survive in the least populated county in California. With just over a thousand people in all our varied communities in total, how each one of us chooses to spend their time can have a significant impact.
Tim and Gabe met in Vermont where Tim was teaching the Rock Rescue Course at the Vermont Rock Climbing Festival in 2020. “He did not notice me winking at him behind our sunglasses!” said Gabe. It was not until a year later that their paths crossed again. Gabe had tea when they met for coffee, and their connection was obvious. Each are very self-defined individuals but share the same values. They are quintessential backcountry people with a strong sense of adventure.
Gabe was the youngest of four, which allowed her to be raised in a home where she developed keen observational and listening skills. Born and raised in Santa Cruz and Aptos, graduating from Modesto high school, she immediately moved to Tahoe. She attended LTCC, receiving an Advanced B&W Photography Certification. Transferring to University of California at Santa Cruz, she found her niche, finishing with a BA in Film and Digital Media. She was also their sailing and rowing instructor there for four years starting in 2007.
For over eight years she distinguished herself first as a Camera Assistant and then as a Camera Operator. She worked for films such as Fruitvale Station and the reality series High Profits-CNN. She worked in NY, LA, SF, Tennessee, and Brazil, traveling from job to job.
“Then there were a series of unfortunate events,” says Gabe. Her car was totaled, all of her camera equipment was stolen, and she broke her leg. She decided to take a different direction. “People always told me I would be a good nurse,” she said. Just like Tim, she was already a Wilderness First Responder. She completed her Credential in Nursing from Montana State and got her first job in Vermont, which ended up being a COVID nurse. “It was very intense.” she said “But I made it through.” She ended up working at a Community Health Center.
Tim was a Michigan boy, graduating from high school and starting college focused on electrical engineering. He was greatly influenced by his grandfather, an attentive, soft-spoken man who was keenly aware of the environment around him. Growing up, Tim studied National Geographic books that inspired him. He created a long list of remote places he wanted to explore.
In 2005 he moved to Alaska and was awestruck. “For over 7 years I was working, playing, and going to school: all of them full-time!” said Tim. He received his Certificate in Outdoor Studies from the University of Alaska and was an instructor there in kayaking, swift water rescue, rock and ice climbing, glacier travel and crevasse rescue. In the summer he worked as an Expedition Kayak guide.
Teaching people how to camp next to glaciers and ice bergs, and how to cook in the wilds became second nature to him. “It is important to identify all the hazards and risks: to be totally engaged and to plan ahead.” Tim said.
Always on the lookout for “bigger climbs,” Tim made it to 23,000 feet in the Himalayas in 2006, the Brooks Range two years later, and traversed the Wrangell-St. Elias Range another two years after that.
He moved to Vermont, finishing his undergraduate degree in Adventure Education and Wilderness Leadership. He managed Petra Cliffs Climbing and Mountaineering School for nearly a decade, organized the state’s only Ice Climbing Festival, and worked as a faculty member for a wide variety of universities and colleges back East.
They came to stay with friends in Woodfords, taking a road trip to Joshua Tree and Red Rock, along with climbing and camping the Sierra. Tim asked if Gabe would be willing to move. “I’m always down to try new places!” Her response illustrates how perfectly suited they are for each other. Her time living in Tahoe gave her already existing connections to the broader area.
Tim landed a job with a company based out of Mammoth guiding technical rock, ice, and Alpine climbing adventures throughout the Eastern Sierra where a rope is required, in addition to some backcountry skiing trips. Gabe started work at Carson Tahoe Hospital in Postpartum and the Pediatric Care Nursery. They were married right here in Markleeville.
The perfect house came up in the fall of 2022, as did an opportunity for Tim to work in the Antarctica as Field Safety Coordinator and Search and Rescue Technical Member for the United States Antarctic Program, spending two months of this time in the “Deep Field” (500 plus miles from any services). So no matter how harsh the winter, our isolated, rural area is easy for him. Not many people have been to both the Northern and Southern Arctic as he has.
Gabe sings, playing both piano and guitar by ear. Tim is a skilled craftsman with a background in Timber Frame homes, construction, and metal fabrication. Both display passion and dedication no matter what they are doing, but still manage to
radiate a sense of calm. Perhaps throughout their lives, when confronted with changing circumstances they have adopted the same resiliency they see in the natural world. They remain grounded and unwavering in their responses.
Whether the activity is snowboarding, split-boarding, paddling, or using safety ropes on a climb, it is all about being outdoors for this family. “Whether we are in a couloir, crevasse, moraine, canyon, or gully, as long as we are in the wilderness, that is our church.” says Tim. Little Riley comes by her love of these Alpine lands quite naturally. There can be nothing better for our community than having a new soul enter our tiny mountain hamlet with such a luminous countenance.
