[pct-l] Saufley's Hiker Heaven 2011

[Donna Saufley]

Hiker Heaven officially opens for the 2011 season on Friday, April 15.
Today the preparation begins in earnest, and it brings me joy to think of
the sweet sounds of laughter and hum of a hundred stories we'll soon be
surrounded by. To friends old and new, we look forward to welcoming you.  To
our dear Heitmans, you are loved and appreciated by all of us, and will be
missed this season.  We understand the joys and challenges of hosting many
hikers.  We are really going to need help this year to make it happen.  

 

While hikers have their minds and feet on the trail, Real Life (the sort
that hikers are escaping from) continues here at our home. Our business,
school and finals, Jeff's painting, our ongoing martial arts training, house
chores, and the daily keeping of our menagerie goes on in the backstage of
the hiker chaos. This year our beautiful niece is getting married Memorial
Day weekend in Tucson, and we've promised to be there.  Murphy's Law, the
wedding date coincides with the anticipated peak of hiker season.   

 

I'm seeking a few special volunteers who are willing to more-or-less camp
out here ala the hikers, and help run Hiker Ops. Famous for our corporate
efficiency, we have a training program that indoctrinates you in the system.
If you've got a car and are willing to shuttle hikers, that would be even
more outstanding.  I warn anyone and everyone up front that it can be
exhausting,  deeply gratifying, and there is real work involved.  There's no
pay, but the perks are great:  hiker stories and truly amazing people. Last
year it worked very well for there to three hosts (me and two other
volunteers), so we could work in cooperative shifts and give each other time
for other pursuits (or naps).  This year I'm thinking three plus me.  We can
also spread the love around a little more and harness hiker energy to help
out with various jobs -- laundry, mail, cleaning, trash, etc.  Hikers have
been unfailingly generous in their offers of help. 

 

Separate from those volunteers is a request for a person or couple who
really, really likes hiker mania and animals to do our personal chores with
the dogs, cats, horses, birds, and house from May 25 to 29. I need somebody
to be me for a few days while we're in Tucson.  Here at corporate Hiker
Trash HQ, Household is an entirely separate division from Hikers. As
managing all of these animals is no small task and is entirely out of the
realm of helping hikers, I'm offering $40 per day and our residence/main
house as quarters.  $200 is not very much, considering all the doggy dooty
duty and special skills in canine personality management required.  I'm
hoping it's someone who can be around, versus some who has to go to work or
such elsewhere.  It's important to note that my horses are huge drafts,
spoiled rotten, and my mare is moody and horse-aggressive at feed time, so
this person needs to be someone who is comfortable getting into the stall
with them and keeping them in line.  Sorry, I do not let anyone ride them
for liability reasons.  No manure pickup or stall mucking needed though.

 

Typically we start to get busy mid-May through mid-June, which is when I
need help the most.  But anytime between May 1 and June 30 there are things
to do for and about hikers.  Anyone interested in helping out, please
contact me off the pct-l at dsaufley at sprynet.com 

 

In the spirit of the goodness of that the trail manifests, much love and
thanks.

 

L-Rod