[pct-l] A call to help our beloved trail angels!

[Garrett Cotham]

*Hello fellow hikers!*

*      We all know how important it is to the success of a thru-hike to
have the encouragement and support of our family and friends back home.
Equally (and sometimes even more) important is having the on trail support
of our fellow hikers and especially the trail angels. I'd like to put the
call out for those of us who can, to help out the trail angels that have
been working tirelessly to ensure that our hikes are enjoyable and
successful. *

*     Trail angels stock and maintain water caches, hold resupply boxes,
give rides, provide places for us to shower, sleep, and recover from the
punishment that we put our bodies through. Even though the work they do
amounts to that of a "real" job, they are not being paid for any of their
efforts. Rather, they do it out of a love for the trail and for hikers. In
addition to the work that they do as trail angels, they also have their own
lives outside of the trail community. Jobs, mortgages, bills, family
obligations, just as any of the rest of us have. *

*     In further addition to the work that they do and the obligations that
they have, some trail angels are also faced with the obstacles of people
tampering with and even stealing some of their caches. This has become a
major headache for the trail angels that have to deal with this, having to
constantly check on the caches, move them to new locations, and immediately
get the information out to hikers. This extra work only adds to the time
and financial expense of maintaining these caches, which over the course of
a single hiking season, can become quite substantial.  Unfortunately, this
situation has gotten serious enough that some of the trail angels are being
forced to consider cutting back their services, or stopping altogether.
  *

*     I know that many hikers already do donate generously, and the trail
angels are greatly appreciative of that. However, it is just not enough.
With the exploding hiker population, the trail angels are getting
overwhelmed and need extra resources. To that end, I'm putting out the call
for all hikers who can help any and all trail angels financially to do so.
 Send them $5, $10, $20, $50...whatever you can afford. Any and all
donations to them are welcome and will go directly to helping other hikers.
Thank you for your time and generosity!*

*Garrett "Ducky" Cotham*