One of my best friends is dying of cancer. Right before Covid hit, Eric Rheinhardt was diagnosed with cancer, initially it was in his hip and lungs. Since that day he has continued to live his life to the fullest. There’s been plenty of gallows humor, especially in the beginning. The refrain was always, this is my last ______ (fill in the blank).

He hunts and fishes like I mountain bike ride, which is all the time. A few weeks ago he got back from an eight day deep sea fishing excursion. I gave him a call to see how the trip was and to talk about the upcoming September 1st dove opener, which we affectionately call the world famous one day hunt. We’ve been doing this hunt together for over 30 years. He told me it was probably his last hunt. I could tell he was serious, but I told him you always say that. Then he told me the cancer is now in his spinal fluid and it wouldn’t be much longer.

Our relationship goes back more than 45 years. My brother and Eric were buddies in high school. They were both part of the infamous class of ’80 at Mt. Carmel. The first winter after graduation the two of them and a few others from that class moved up to Mammoth Lakes and went to work for the ski resort. He spent the entire decade there, got married, had a kid, then got divorced. The best thing to come out of it is his daughter, Brittany.

In 1990, he fled Mammoth and came back to San Diego. My brother stayed and had a thriving business as a tile contractor. Rheinhardt enrolled in paramedic school, became a paramedic, and eventually got on with the San Diego Fire Department.

When my brother died in a paragliding accident in 1994, Eric drove up with me to Mammoth. The time we spent together on that trip, mourning the loss of my brother and his friend, really cemented our friendship. I’ll never forget that drive. We were devastated, yet the world kept spinning. I remember pulling into a gas station, everyone was going about their day, oblivious to our pain. 

When we got to Mammoth and went into EJ’s condo we were in shock. We couldn’t believe he was gone forever. Our plan was to spend the night in his condo, but we just couldn’t do it. So we contacted Dave House and he let us stay at his condo. The next few days were and still are a blur, that’s how death is.

My girlfriend at the time and I introduced Eric to his awesome wife, Christine. Our weddings were four days apart. Amelia and I eloped on September 3, 2001. Christine and Eric got married on September 7, 2001. Then on September 11th the world forever changed. They have two kids, Nicolle, 21 years old and Zane, 16 years old.

The Hunt

This year’s hunt was special. We had 10 hunters in our group, including three fathers with their four sons. Three of the sons had never hunted. There was Rheinhardt and his son. Zane’s buddy, Patrick and his father, Jeremy.  My cousin, Kahl, and his son, my nephew, Chris. I’ve been hunting with Kahl’s other son, Thomas, for nine years. I got to see through all three of the dads’ eyes what it’s like to be proud of your son. They were beyond stoked that their kids took to hunting. The pure happiness and joy they were exuding really moved me. 

Apparently my excitable nature and frequent use of F bombs left quite an impression on the two sixteen year olds. It’s old hat for my two nephews. It was a slow hunt, but it didn’t matter, everyone had a terrific time. Even having one of the trucks get stuck in soft sand while we were scouting the day before, and being stranded in 112 degree heat for four hours didn’t dampen anyone’s spirit.

This what being stuck looks like. It’s Jeremy’s truck and he was really bummed.

It’s nice having a couple of sixteen year olds around!

Warning! F bomb in this video. While driving out to rescue us, the guy got stuck! (I knew that was going to happen.) He deflated his tires and got unstuck no problem. Then he pulled our sorry asses out. In case you are wondering, it was $500, and Jeremy is such a good guy he tipped him $100.

 

 

 

I’ve dug up a few photos from the years past.

LA Bay, Mexico 1996

Two wild game dinners hosted by Amelia’s mom, Jonna, circa 2005.

(Robin, Stevie B, Christine, Amelia, Eric and myself. Jonna with the three hunters)