[pct-l] Dinsmore's Hiker Haven Help

[ned at mountaineducation.org]

I know the word has already gone out that Andrea & Jerry need a little  
help keeping this "Trail Angel Oasis" able to supply the needs of PCT  
thru hikers, but I just happen to be here while all this is going on,  
so I thought I'd try to paint a picture of these two heroic  
philanthropists!

I've never been to the Dinsmore's Hiker Haven before. Back in 1974,  
Trail Angels were more rare than thru hikers! As a matter of fact, I  
only saw one thru hiker my whole summer hiking the trail!

Nevertheless, Andrea & Jerry have been helping hikers "fresh" off the  
trail since 2003 when Jerry brought their first, hitch-hiking  
hiker-trash to their home. That was their first home. Now, in their  
second location, they are better situated with more room, but they  
need the means to provide better facilities for the hikers, whose  
presence in numbers, as we all know, far exceed the abilities of a  
normal home!

So, Jerry is laboring to build (think pneumatic nail gun in hand  
trying to put up plywood panels and keep a cigar in his  
mouth)(pictures on the Mountain Education Facebook page) a small  
building to house a much-needed Hiker Laundry and Bath-House, both of  
which will be next door to the Hiker Dorm. Totally convenient!

The problem is they don't have the finances to do these improvements  
that will help both them and the hikers! Yet, it's time and has to  
happen. On top of that, over the last 11 years, they have opened their  
home, laundry, and bath/shower to all who need them and their own  
washer/dryer units have recently broken down! Now, the big-hearted  
Andrea & Jerry can't even wash their own clothes!

Help, Hiker Community! These fantastic, ever-loving,  
give-you-the-shirt-off-their-backs kind of people don't just need a  
replacement residential washer/dryer, they need Commercial-Grade  
machines that will handle all those muddy clothes, shoes, and sleeping  
bags that drag themselves in the door 15 at a time for the duration of  
"thru-hiker season" up here!

I can't say enough about Andrea & Jerry's sincere care of and  
determined support for PCT thru hikers and just at a time and location  
in the hiker's treks where they need it, since so many arrive here  
late in the summer and fear the first snow storms stopping them from  
getting to Canada! Andrea, called "PCT Mom" on her personalized  
license plate, bends over backwards to help hikers realize just what  
it will take to slog through snow. She knows this country, hikers, so  
listen to what she says. (Don't forget, she works with all the local  
Fire and Search & Rescue guys, so she knows what's ahead for you!)  
Shell even beg, then equip hikerswith more than enough food and gear  
to accomplish it. All it takes is not getting lost!

So, let's help them out, as a few of you have already announced, with  
sufficient financial support to provide for what the hikers need! The  
Dinsmore's Hiker Haven provides:
- a place to mail resupply boxes to and bounce boxes from,
- a place to sleep in bunk beds and sit on real chairs with guitars,  
wood stove, and music to listen to, and
- a yard with a campfire pit next to a river where hikers can pitch  
their tents a "sit a spell."

They need to replace and upgrade to:
- a durable, predictable, reliable Commercial-Grade laundry room where  
all that dirt and grime can easily be cleaned and
- a normal bathroom with a normal shower where all that hiker-trash  
smell can be refreshed.

Andrea and Jerry won't ask for anything, while they give all they  
have. There's some very special people here who need your help to help  
hikers in need of simple creature comforts...

Let's Roll folks!


Ned Tibbits
Mountain Education