Trail Angels of the Pacific Crest Trail

August 28, 1:48 PMBay Area Hiking ExaminerSusan Alcorn

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Trail angels from Bend give support to PCT hiker Susan Alcorn

There are various terms that backpackers and long-distance hikers may use jokingly to describe their fascination with making long hikes. These reflect the fact that backpacking is not always fun and pleasant, but we do it time and again anyway. Are we addicted? crazy? masochistic? obsessed? hiker trash? Even though I've asked myself these questions a number of times  (I'm human; I get tired), or asked the flip side of the question of my husband Ralph, "And whose crazy idea was this?" there are a whole host of rewards associated with being a backpacker.

Near the top of the list of reasons that I enjoy backpacking the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) — the National Scenic trail that travels through the mountain ranges from the Mexican border to the Canadian one, is the people I meet on the trail. This trail community — which includes the other hikers, the people we meet in the small towns we stop in, the trail crew, and those we call "Trail Angels," I find to be a tremendous support.

My husband Ralph and I are celebrating having just completed almost 2,200 miles of the 2,650 miles of the PCT. We're section hikers — and just backpacked about 300 miles from central Oregon to just inside the State of Washington.  Most hikers consider Oregon's terrain easier than either CA or WA, but that doesn't mean it's easy. Some call Oregon's PCT trail the "Long Green Tunnel," but that hardly does justice to the variety of landscapes. Yes, there are lots of beautiful trees, but there are also incredible fields of flowers, myriad lakes, snow-capped mountains, etc.

There were many adventures along the way — sharing our accommodations with a bat one night, fording several streams swollen by glacial melt, and sliding down ice fields near Mt. Hood, but here I'm going to focus on our recent "trail angel" encounters.

Trail Angel 1.  A long time friend, Jeannine Burk, who drove us several hundred miles to the trail's beginning and then picked us up at the end point. We felt very lucky to have someone who would do this for us again. (There have been many times over the years that complete strangers have given us a lift to town for supplies and also several times that people have driven us hours to our trailhead.)

Trail Angels 2, 3, 4. These three individuals left an incredible cache left just off a major highway near Bend, Oregon. Hidden in the bushes just off the road were three coolers filled with sodas, beer, individual packages of Oreos and Snickers bars (full sized!), apples and bananas — all this maintained daily by local (Bend) angels for PCT hikers.

Trail Angel 5. This unknown angel left a 3/4 full bottle (1/2 gallon size) of Black Velvet Whiskey in the middle of the trail near Jefferson Park. We only had a capful each, but it  went down beautifully! What a boost for hot and sweaty hikers.

Trail Angel 6. An equestrian (one of a group of three riding beautiful Arabian horses) who dug into her saddlebag and gave us several yummy, homemade oatmeal cookie bars.

The amazing community of the Pacific Crest Trail is one of the remarkable rewards of long-distance hiking the trail. The east coast's Appalachian Trail has a similar cadre of trail angels. Not only are these sorts of treats and services greatly appreciated in the moment, they also reaffirm one's faith in humankind long afterward.

Beauty abounds on the Pacific Crest Trail ©2009. photo Susan Alcorn