As Jake tells it, he had made the decision to propose to Ryan shortly before their October 2023 trip to Bar Harbor, Maine and Salem, Massachusetts. He felt, however, that the turn around time was too short for getting things together and wanted to wait until he had everything prepared, so he held off. In August of 2024, Ryan and Jake flew to Anchorage Alaska to spend several days visiting the state and hiking two of the national parks there - Kenai Fjords and Denali. This was right in line with their 7th anniversary, which is August 31st. Jake decided this was the right time, but since we would be hiking opted for silicone wedding bands for this particular proposal and trip. He packed them away in his hiking bag, and made a plan.

Our first part of the trip included a drive down to Seward, Alaska, followed by a boat cruise to the Fjords the first day, and a long hike up to the top of a glacier the second day. Weather was not our friend on this trip, however, and the hike day turned cloudy and misty, and the park rangers let us know there was no point making the long 8 hour hike to the top as we would not be able to see anything once we got there, in the rain and fog. Jake was heartbroken, as this had dashed his planned proposal spot. Ryan, unknowing, pushed ahead and the two did a lessor hike to the terminus of a glacier that was only a mile or so out. Jake did briefly consider proposing here, but decided against it due to the presence of others in the area. We moved on, and Ryan pulled up a list of backup activities he had saved for the trip, and suggested a rainforest hike in a town called Girdwood, up near Anchorage.

At this point, Jake had abandoned his plans of proposing this day, and when arriving to the short 1 mile hike, decided to leave the rings in the car. As it happened, this little rainforest exhibited the perfect mixture of everything Jake and Ryan love about nature - dense foliage, towering trees, vibrant colors, loamy earth, and mossy overgrowth. The entire mile to the waterfall both kept remarking at how amazing this spot was, and how much it matched their ideal hiking area, and was so different from the rest of what they had seen in Alaska so far.

At the end of the trail, and a bit beyond, a large boulder with a flat top stood out to Jake. He scrambled up, looked around, and made the decision. Having left the rings in the car, and given up on the proposal for this day, Jake had to improvise. He pulled Ryan up on the boulder with him, picked up a leaf off the ground and rolled it into a ring, and proposed! Everything worked out in the end, and, made for a wonderful and memorable proposal. Ryan saved the leaf for the trip duration and has laminated it now for preservation.