[pct-l] Background on Recent Hiker Heaven Announcement

[Donna Saufley]

I would like to thank everyone who has written with messages of support
regarding the recently announced changes to policies at Hiker Heaven.  Quite
a few of you have asked privately if the changes were a result of bad hiker
behavior (one hiker who stayed here recently called from Mojave thinking it
was his fault!), so I thought I would share why the changes were made.  I've
copied the contents of a message I sent tonight responding to such an
inquiry in order to provide some background . . . here goes:
 
I am most happy to say that the changes to our policies are not the result
of any bad hiker behavior or attitudes.  It is due to the large crowds that
are headed this way in a very short time frame.  Len Glasser reported on the
pct-l that 270 hikers began the trail in the period of April 1 to April 25,
with the preponderance of those starting after the 15th of April.  There
were 100+ hikers who started the trail between April 21 and April 25 (the
Kick-Off weekend).  That translates into huge crowds arriving here, all in a
very short time frame, which needless to say takes a lot of the fun out of
hosting hikers. The two night (three day) maximum stay will allow hikers to
take a zero and a nearo here if they choose, but then clear out to make room
for others.  I am hoping this will allow everyone to still have a
comfortable stay, and address all they need to when they’re here, which is
typically a lot.  Hikers have always stayed here as long as they needed or
wanted to, and we enjoyed that –it feels awful to limit hiker stays and
really changes our hosting style.   
 
In the last few years we have had climbing numbers – 50, 60, and over 65
hikers – here over Memorial Day weekend (generally four weeks out from the
KO unless  there is heavy snow like 2005 which put them at five weeks).  We
have every reason to expect that the numbers will be larger this year based
on the number of Kick-Off weekend departures reported.  We’ve got to set a
limit, and decided 50 is reasonable and tolerable.  Not wanting to pull the
rug out from under anyone this year, we are hoping that by limiting our
capacity to 50 starting in 2009 and in future years, people will spread
themselves out more.  There are no other services (no hotel, laundromat,
public transportation or host families) in Agua Dulce at the present time,
so those who choose to leave en masse may find they have few resources when
they get here and we have shut our doors after taking in 50 hikers.  We are
hoping everyone will plan accordingly. 
 
I’ve put this forth as factually as I can, but I can’t state enough how much
imposing limitations and being faced with turning away hikers disturbs and
upsets me – it has always been, and still is, our hope to meet and host
every hiker out there. It has been a joy doing so in the past.  But we just
can’t seem to fight the tide, despite many attempts to do so. So, it is with
great sadness that we make the announced changes.   
 
Bracing for the onslaught,
 
L-Rod

 


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