[pct-l] Terwilliger, Anza, Hiker's Oasis, Pat and Paul

[be hope]

Hi everyone,


Just a comment on Hiker's Oasis.


Their legendary trail angel-ing was a prime motivation for me to swing by
their place in March of last year.   I really wanted to meet them.   I left
the trail above Anza and trekked down the jeep roads for their address given
in the WP guide book.  The folks answering the door informed me that Bear
and Ziggy no longer lived there.  Rats!  But trail magic waited around the
corner.  Heading out of the trailer park, I met them.  Poor planning and
good fortune turned into a special afternoon for me as Bear and Ziggy shared
their warm hospitality, their wonderful personalities, trail stories, and
more.  And, no, they were not getting too old.



The report that they “. . . quit hosting hikers, it got to be too much for
them” is probably a polite spin on something more complicated and sensitive.
Bear and Ziggy conversed with me about specifics and details as to why they
were no longer hosting hikers.  Ouch.  The reason “it got too much from
them” stems from . . . . . . . . .  . ahhhhhhh. . . . . . . hmmmmmm. . . ..
. . . . . (how can I communicate this in an vague way?) . . . . . . .
.ahhhhhhh. . . . .  .   let me just say it has something to do with the
institutions of hosting hikers.  Here, "institution" is used as it is used
within sociology; for example, all of this has nothing to do with an
institution such as the PCTA.  Sorry, I won’t expand as that conversation
was clearly private and not intended for list-serve distribution.


I wish some of the thru-alumni privileged to stay with Bear and Ziggy for
more than a couple of hours would post some stories about the legendary
trail angels that used to host in Anza.



Best wishes to all for a pleasant holiday and may a trek take you someplace
special on the PCT in the new year!



Barney