[pct-l] trail angel donations . . .

[Bill Burge]

My girlfriend and I have been driving hikers for a couple of years now, and we've tried very hard to keep hikers from donating towards gas.

I've been pretty successful, except on my very first day of hiker driving.  Being a "noob", I made the made the mistake of not having a full tank of gas and had to stop to fill up.  One old guy forced some money on me try as I might to deflect it and...

Hey!  I remember YOU / it all clearly now...  ;-)

Dude!  If I drive you anywhere this time, you better keep your dang hands out of your pockets!  :-D

I'll see you then.  You won't be my first repeat...  We were hoping to actually be ON the trail this year, but life has a funny way of not dealing the cards straight sometimes.  Long story, knee surgery involved; tell you in May/June! 

BillB



On Jan 2, 2011, at 4:52 PM, Ron Dye wrote:

> I typically left $20 but on one occasion donated quite a bit more because
> (1) they went out of their way in feeding us wonderful meals and (2) I noted
> that some other hikers didn't (couldn't) contribute.  I always asked if I
> could donate toward gas but only one accepted it and that was after I pushed
> it on them.  Just think what a motel/meals would cost if you had to go that
> route and your wallet will not be so difficult to extricate.  I did notice,
> on a couple of occasions, a sense of entitlement but that was far and few
> between.
> 
> Side note:  In Dunsmuir I noted an older home was being re-wrapped with
> Tyvek as they were replacing the siding.  On my way back from dinner I noted
> a piece of tyvek had been cut out from one wall - interestingly enough it
> was the general size/shape of a lightweight tent.  I felt this reflected
> poorly on hikers.  I imagine the contractor might have given or at least
> sold a piece had he been asked.  Again, sad reflection on hikers.
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net [mailto:pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net]
> On Behalf Of Scott Williams
> Sent: Sunday, January 02, 2011 5:41 PM
> To: Paul Robison
> Cc: pct-l at backcountry.net
> Subject: Re: [pct-l] trail angel donations . . .
> 
> Great question Paul.  I think it's fine to ask, and did on occasion, and was
> more than once told of the expences angels incurred that I hadn't even
> thought of.  Gas and electric for heating and water, and even in the case of
> the Dinsmores, who are wonderful folks and didn't want to beg, having to
> rent porta-potties, which wasn't cheap, for the hoards of folks making the
> last jump toward Canada from their place.  I always left at least $20 per
> night for myself, but maybe I was being cheap.
> 
> I think it's also fine to ask the hikers you're with to try and be generous.
> At times you can feel a bit of an attitude of entitlement amongst the
> hikers, and that's not good.  The regulars like the Saufleys, Andersons,
> Heitmans, and all the rest should be compensated if you can possible do it,
> and I'm sure they won't tell you to leave if you can't.  They give us a
> tremendous service, and are really great folks.  Also, when being given a
> lift by someone, ask to chip in for gas.
> 
> What do others think about amounts.
> 
> Shroomer
> 
> On Sun, Jan 2, 2011 at 1:54 PM, Paul Robison
> <paulrobisonhome at yahoo.com>wrote:
> 
>> what is a good amount?  when someone puts you up, feeds you, etc.
>> 
>> or just if you camp on their lawn?
>> 
>> ... i want to be generous, but i don't want to run out of money at
>> milemarker
>> 2,000 either.  i swear finances are the hardest thing for me to figure out
>> about
>> this whole trail.
>> 
>> is 50$ a night good for a couple for a night and dinner??  80$?
>> 
>> people who have thru'd before,  what did you guys figure for donations?
> is
>> it
>> polite to straight up ask ?
>> 
>> 
>> thanks for the info,
>> ~Paul
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
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