[pct-l] trail magic

[mardav at charter.net (Marion Davison)]

We got big  trail magic from a really unexpected source.  As a general 
rule, pack stations aren't friendly to llama packers.  Our critters can 
be a nuisance when skittish horses encounter us on the trail.  But the 
Cedar Grove Pack Station was an amazing exception to this rule.
We were doing a month long trip in Sequoia-kings Canyon, using the PCT 
between New Army Pass and Palisade junction as part of a loop that 
crossed 14 passes.  We hiked into Cedar Grove to pick up a resupply one 
afternoon.  We had hiked 14 miles that day, and the last 5 were from 
Roadend to Cedar Grove (flat, but 95 degrees).  We picked up our supply, 
then had to spend the night at the "stock camp" next to the pack station 
corrals.  The pack station guys gave us free beer, access to their water 
and sinks, and free fuel to fill our bottles (we couldn't find anyone 
selling white gas).  In the morning they loaded our llamas into their 
trailer and drove us back to Roadend so we could continue our hike.  
They wouldn't take our money for giving us the ride.  It was such an 
amazing experience of trail magic.  It would have been a really tough 
hiking day for us if we had had to hike that five miles of flat in the 
morning, then climb the 4000' gain to Granite Pass in the heat of the 
afternoon.  Instead we were over the pass before lunch, thanks to them. 
Marion Davison