Fatal shooting of hiker mystifies her family

OSO, Snohomish County — Troy Almli gave his mother a warning just before she headed off to Sauk Mountain on Saturday for a much-anticipated hike with a longtime friend.

"Be careful," he said. It was opening weekend of bear season, and "There'll be a lot of [people] with guns out there."

Pamela Almli, 54, brushed away his concerns.

An avid and accomplished hiker, she felt as safe and at home on the trails as just about anywhere.

But her son's fears were justified.

About 10:30 a.m., while Almli was bent over on a marked hiking trail, she was fatally shot by a 14-year-old boy who mistook her for a bear.

"How could anybody think a 5-foot-2 Swede was a bear?" Troy Almli said. "We just can't see it."

He said the family is not anti-gun or anti-hunting, but the shooting was befuddling. So his aunt and grandfather on Monday retraced his mother's last steps to see if they could make sense of the tragedy.

Police said the 14-year-old and his 16-year-old brother, both from Concrete, were dropped off in the Sauk Mountain area near Rockport, Skagit County, on Saturday morning by their grandfather, but he was not with them when the shooting occurred.

The teens told investigators they were on a ledge overlooking the trail and were "convinced" they were looking at a bear when the shot was fired from about 120 yards away. Almli had stopped to put something in her backpack.

Chief Deputy Will Reichardt of the Skagit County Sheriff's Office said both boys are licensed and experienced hunters and are said to be from a "nice family."

He said investigators have spoken with Skagit County prosecutors, but no decision has been made about filing charges in connection with the shooting.

Bear-hunting season opened Friday for the entire Sauk Mountain area, including trails that are popular with hikers. The season goes through the end of the year.

Sgt. Bill Heinchk, of the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, said he always tells students in his hunters' safety class: "Once that gun goes off, there is no taking it back; everyone's lives are changed forever."

According to her only son, Almli was a wonderful, headstrong and "ornery character" with an unceasing lust for wilderness adventures.

Every year, she marked the passage of time with sport. In the spring and summer, she hiked and kayaked. In the fall, she climbed to mountain meadows, where she captured the season's glory with her photography.

Last year, she and her sister spent several weeks in New Zealand base jumping and white-water surfing.

"She had strong opinions on things like politics," her son said, "but she wouldn't want to talk about them if there was powder on Mount Baker."

She met William Almli, her husband of nearly 40 years, when the two of them attended Arlington High School.

He worked with the county's road department so she could "do her things," her son said. Those things included tending the home and yard, and passing on her deep love of the outdoors to her grandchildren, 12-year-old Alexandria and 3-year-old twins Kjell and Helena.

Saturday's tragedy stunned Skagit Valley residents. "Everyone around here felt it. Everyone's hearts go out to the kids and to the lady's family. Everyone is praying for them," said John Koenig, who operates a hunting-guide service based in Concrete.

Koenig, a guide for 20 years, said he doesn't know the victim or the boy who shot her. He said he hasn't seen any indication that the incident has cut down on the number of people hunting or hiking in the mountains. "There were a ton of people out there hiking Saturday and Sunday both.

"Something like this is extremely rare," he said. "It's just one of those damned crazy accidents that you hope you never hear about happening locally."

Christine Clarridge: 206-464-8983 or cclarridge@seattletimes.com.

Times reporter Jack Broom contributed to this report, which includes information from The Associated Press.