[pct-l] Thru numbers

[chiefcowboy at verizon.net]

On both my thru hikes I was able to take only minimal water at caches and 
when I felt comfortable not taking any that's what I did.  At the front of 
the pack there are a lot fewer "magic" opportunities but when we encountered 
them we made sure we  took a single piece of fruit, etc.  We felt frustrated 
at not feeling comfortable leaving a few bucks to offset costs, but as 
another post pointed out it could well be taken by someone behind us. 
Perhaps BEFORE the season kicks off next year, someone  defray could come up 
with a credible list of angels and their mailing addresses so we could pop a 
few bucks their way and defray costs.  From my experience there are mostly 
great people on the trail but I have encountered one or two I wouldn't 
invite into my home.  Most of who have hiked this trail would like to give 
something back but need a mechanism.

As a point of reference, last year Donna Sauffley's commercial washer went 
kaput.  If I remember, about $4,000 was donated within something like 48 
hours.

One thing we can do is spread good hiker etiquette.  We can speak up 
(appropriately of course) when we see someone washing their feet at a cache. 
We can remind hikers that we are  GUESTS at homes when invited.

Hiking the trail is a remarkable experience and we need to do all we can to 
keep the experience positive - for everybody.

Okay, off my soap box for now.

Burning Daylight
PCT 2009, 2012

-----Original Message----- 
From: Ann Marie
Sent: Sunday, June 09, 2013 1:42 PM
To: pct-l at backcountry.net
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Thru numbers

Believe me some of the trail angels are rethinking the amount of their 
support.  It is disturbing to read that some hikers are bypassing water 
sources to drink only the bottled water supplied. This year I limited my 3rd 
gate water cache assistance to only two trips (there are others who lead the 
efforts), but I paid for the $60 of water each time. Add my gas and the 5-6 
hours daily roundtrip commute thru heavily-congested San Diego traffic and I 
quickly became more disenchanted with the "magic" during this, my second 
year of helping. Don't misunderstand me, I think water caches in some areas 
are great. I'm positive they are all much appreciated. But I also think the 
extras (fruit, snacks, beer/wine, soda/energy drinks) are too much or should 
be reserved for the thrus getting to Oregon or Washington on their own 
efforts. Leave water only and leave a big sign saying 1 to 2 liters max and 
request  a $1 or $2 donation to defray the cost. It is no longer
UNacceptable to ask for that small donation - my only concern is that the 
money may be stolen. Heck, we had two hikers at 3rd gate give the trip 
leader $33 right there at the cache when we dropped off water. They wanted 
to pay for themselves and those hikers behind them. We expressed a ton of 
surprise and gratitude to them.
_______________________________________________
Pct-L mailing list
Pct-L at backcountry.net
To unsubscribe, or change options visit:
http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l

List Archives:
http://mailman.backcountry.net/pipermail/pct-l/
All content is copyrighted by the respective authors.
Reproduction is prohibited without express permission.