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[pct-l] From Today's LA Times
- Subject: [pct-l] From Today's LA Times
- From: Kevin Corcoran <kevin@hughes.net>
- Date: Tue, 7 Jul 1998 16:37:58 -0700
Tuesday, July 7, 1998=20
Blessed by 'Trail Angels'=20
For those hardy enough to take on the 2,650-mile Pacific
Crest Trail,
volunteers are the unsung heroes who often mean the difference
between
making it through and bailing out.=20
By DARRELL SATZMAN, Special to The Times
=20
Setting a tall glass of iced lemonade on the patio
table, John
Krall takes a look at his surroundings and
smiles. "This is
great," he said. "I really needed this."=20
One month into a planned four-month solo trek
from the
Mexican border to Canada, and one day after his first
shower and
cold beverage in more than a week, Krall looks as
though he is truly
in heaven.=20
And why not. Hosting his brief respite from the
rigors of life on
the Pacific Crest Trail are Donna and Jeff Saufley.
The Agua Dulce
couple, along with their 13-year-old son, Thomas, are
among the
newest and most gracious "trail angels."=20
Scattered indiscriminately from the Mojave Desert
to the
Olympic Peninsula, trail angels offer hikers a
lifeline between the
wilderness and the world they left behind. For those
hardy enough
to take on the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail, trail
angels are unsung
heroes who often mean the difference between making it
through
and bailing out.=20
From water, shelter and tips about local terrain
to rides to the
hospital for medical treatment, the Saufleys say there
is little they
won't do for hikers in need, as long as the visitors
leave a message
in the family's guest book. Perhaps most important,
though, is the
Saufleys' willingness to lend a friendly ear and offer
weary trekkers
encouragement to keep on going.=20
During Krall's 24-hour stay in Agua Dulce, the
32-year-old from
Mukilteo, Wash., showered, washed his clothes, ate a
pizza,
enjoyed some good conversation and, most important, he
said,
recharged his batteries for the long walk ahead.=20
"The description of the next section in the
guidebook sounds
pretty awful: hot, waterless and ugly," said Krall,
who left his job
with Boeing to realize a childhood fantasy of spending
months alone
in the wilderness. "Jeff and Donna are great," he
said. "They've
given me the break I needed to face that."=20
* "Relaxing on a soft couch. Rocking out to Jimi
Hendrix after a
warm shower. It doesn't get any better than this."=20
--Mike Rothery=20
* * *
'Welcome to hiker haven," says Donna Saufley,
greeting a
visitor. For two years, the 1 1/3-acre family property
has doubled
as a way station for more than 125 trekkers. "Some of
the hikers
have dubbed it the Agua Dulce Hilton."=20
With two of the family's five dogs at her heels,
Saufley proudly
shows off the air-conditioned two-bedroom trailer that
from May
through July is reserved for hikers on the trail.=20
Among its amenities, the 30-year-old trailer
includes fresh
towels stacked neatly in the bathroom, a telephone,
television,
refrigerator and stereo.=20
"One of the things they usually miss is music,"
Saufley said.=20
Two "hiker boxes" containing a trove of materials
left by
previous visitors trying to shed weight in their packs
are up for
grabs. The contents of the boxes range from tin plates
and granola
to powdered Kool-Aid and energy bars.=20
The trailer has no working kitchen, but the
Saufleys, who own
an electrical contracting business, often invite
guests to dine with
them or drive them into Santa Clarita to an
all-you-can-eat buffet.=20
"It's amazing," Jeff Saufley says. "These guys
come off the trail
and they have voracious appetites."=20
Most of the those who make their way to the
Saufleys have
been tipped off by other hikers or hear about the
trail angels at a
nearby real estate office that serves as a pickup spot
for supplies.=20
Stays can range from an afternoon nap to five
days or more in
the case of those slowed by injuries or inclement
weather. Most
hikers stay one or two nights. However long the stay,
the Saufleys
never charge for their hospitality.=20
"All we ask is that they write in our book,"
Donna Saufley says,
pointing to a small journal filled with thank-you
notes, poems and
drawings. "It's such an incredible journey that
they're on. To get
some kindness, some support, you can see it in their
eyes how
much they appreciate it. That's enough for us."=20
* "Dear Abby, Dear Abby, I've got poison oak.=20
I can't find the trail and my toes are all broke.=
=20
Each mornin' I wake to a terrible smell,=20
If I weren't agnostic, I'd think this was hell."=
=20
--Andrea Gabriel=20
* * *
"When you come out of the wilderness with only a
pack on your
back, and you smell like a week on the trail and for
all intents and
purposes you look like a vagrant, it's so important to
have someone
know who you are and what you're doing," says Bob
Ballou, the
executive director of the Pacific Crest Trail Assn.=20
The 2,600-member nonprofit group helped get the
trail built and
now exists to protect it from encroachment and provide
the public
with information about trail conditions.=20
Throughout its journey, the trail holds to the
crest of the
mountains and includes some of the most rugged and
breathtaking
terrain in California, Oregon and Washington.=20
According to Ballou, about 150 men, women and
children
attempt to hike the entire trail each year. Only a
dozen or so usually
make it all the way. This year's El Ni=F1o condition=
has
led to an
unusually heavy snowpack in the Sierra, making a
complete traverse
of the trail all but impossible.=20
Ballou said that without the assistance of trail
angels, even fewer
hikers would complete the trail.=20
"Having that kind of support along the way can
help you get
through the mental challenges, but it's also so
important from a
physical standpoint," he said. "When you've been out
on the trail for
500 or 700 miles, you can really use a little help."=
=20
Search the archives of the Los Angeles Times for
similar stories. You will
not be charged to look for stories, only to retrieve=
one.=20
Copyright Los Angeles Times=20
=20
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