[pct-l] Trail Magic - What's Your Story?

[radpin at gmail.com (Eric)]

Since I'm in San Diego....

Two years ago I was walking to my Bronco in downtown and saw two
extremely confused people with framepacks on. They were speaking
French, and pointing around, trying to read a map. I asked them if
they needed help. They said they were trying to get to the trolley
station to get to El Cajon to get to the bus to Campo. Well they were
way late for the last bus, and would have ended up at the El Cajon
transfer station in the middle of the night (not the best area, if you
don't know the place).

So I let them crash in my living room on the fold out couch, and drove
them to Campo the next morning. They checked their email all night,
made some phone calls back home, and we even went to the grocery store
that night to pick up some last minute stuff they needed.

They were pretty happy. I got an email from them nearly a year later.
They finished the trail just fine, had a lot of fun, and were back in
France..... well, French Canada... I must have heard them wrong the
first time.

Eric


On Mon, 20 Sep 2004 19:29:53 -0400, aztazer@netscape.net
<aztazer@netscape.net> wrote:
> Hi all:
> 
> Do you have a great story about a random act of kindness, or trail magic, that you experienced while thru-hiking the PCT?  Please share your story with us.
> 
> There's certainly a number of dedicated trail angels who provide tremendous support on an on-going basis.  They maintain water caches, house hikers, do trail maintenance, and countless other hard jobs to make the PCT better.  There are also thousands of folks who, on a one-time basis, do something wonderful for a thru-hiker.
> 
> As an example, I was hiking alone north out of Agua Dulce on the PCT alternate route through Antelope Valley.  I was about 15 miles north of Lake Hughes, road walking on Avenue 170 West.  It was a miserable day of hiking.  It was hot with a strong, dry wind blowing due south - directly into my face.  The wind was so strong it, at times, knocked me backwards.
> 
> I was still a few miles south of the Cottonwood Creek water source, so I was watching my water carefully.  I'd heard stories of hikers being harrassed in this area, so I was anxious to avoid any run-ins with the locals.  A couple of scary looking characters had driven by during the day, but I hadn't yet had any problems.
> 
> About 3:30 in the afternoon, I was hot, tired, and had low spirts.  The strong wind was exhausing.  I noticed an old, beat-up car coming towards me very slowly.  It stopped right in front of me - but I couldn't se inside because of the dark, tinted windows.  My heart raced!  I just knew I was in trouble.
> 
> The driver rolled down the window and leaned out and said "would you like a cold Gatoraide?"  Stunned, it took me a few seconds to say "thanks, that would be great!"  The woman jumped out of her car, opened her trunk, and handed me the very best beverage I've ever had!  She even waited until I finished it so I didn't have to carry the container.
> 
> Her act of kindness recharged my spirts and energized my pace.  Instead of feeling isolated and beat, I felt supported and strong.  A simple sharing of a drink will stay with me forever.
> 
> so, what's your story?  What randon act of kindness do you remember?
> 
> Lucky
> 
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