Tyler on the PCT泰樂走太平洋屋脊步道: A word of thanks

One thing I'm sure every hiker realizes is that a successful and enjoyable thru-hike of the PCT just wouldn't be possible without the help, generosity and hard work of others. Many have said a thru-hike restores their faith in humanity, and I would have to agree. There is so much positive energy on the trail from hikers, and from those we come into contact with off trail. Random acts of kindness have a profound effect on hikers who have been deprived of basic comforts for days or weeks on end. The enthusiasm some people, who aren't even hikers, have for the trail is incredible. As I reflected on my thru-hike, I thought the blog would not be complete without a page thanking everyone who helped make this trip better. It ended up being quite a long list, with almost as many thank-yous as days on the trail. I'm not publishing this thinking anyone actually wants to read all this, but more as an exercise in gratitude for myself. Some of these items might seem trivial, but every single one was a big deal at the time to me; so much so, in fact, that almost the entire list was typed out from memory. There are no small favours. Now, without further ado, I would like to thank all of the following who made my 2018 thru-hike great!

Thank you:

To the people I worked for in Taiwan who gave me gifts I could use on the trail

To my students and the people I worked for in Taiwan, for showing understanding when I had to leave in the middle of the school year

To Kirk and Scott, two PCT veterans in Taiwan who shared their experience and advice with me before I started

To Gerry, for driving me up to Tatajia for one final training hike with him the day before I left Taiwan

To Brian and Lesley, for looking after my motorcycle, and my cell phone account, while I'm away

To Christine and Henry, for looking after the house, bills, and some last-minute mailing while I'm away

To Megan and James, for the Riders buff that I used extensively

To Mom and Jeff, for the UV pen I used to treat all my drinking water

To Amanda, for holding stuff in Canada that I didn't need while on trail

To Dad, for helping me buy a couple very important pieces of gear

To Scout and Frodo in San Diego and the volunteers there, for the rides, the place to stay, the meals, and the help with last minute preparations

To the woman who stopped and offered a piece of her birthday cake to me, Sinatra and Colleen the Machine

To Niko, who provided a shady spot, food and drinks on a brutally hot, dry day

To the angels who put water at Scissors Crossing

To the angels who put water at Third Gate

To whoever left the chips, fruit and drinks at Barrel Springs

To the lovely volunteers at the Warner Springs Community Center

To the sherriff in Warner Springs for the ride to the post office

To Mike, who let us crash in his yard, and Scott, who cooked us up some nice grub

To Mary, for the Crystal Light and the much-needed shade

To the Paradise Valley Cafe, for the water and for letting us camp there

To the laundromat owner in Idyllwild, for the loaner clothes, shampoo and soap

To Vera, for the Oreos and soda below Mt San Jacinto

To Ken, for the ride to and from the Taco Bell and In&Out on I-10

To the trail angels who left food and drink under I-10

To Big Bear Hostel, for the magical dumpster outside town

To Martin, who drove me and Olivia into Big Bear

To Coco at Cleghorn Picnic Area for the fruit, drinks and charging

To the Cajon Pass McDonald's for existing (!)

To Solo Not Solo for the strawberries, the beer, and the ride into Wrightwood

To Patti in Wrightwood for an unforgettable stay

To the gas station in Wrightwood for the free hot dog

To the hardware store in Wrightwood for the PCT pin

To the guy who gave me and Trash Bath a ride out of Wrightwood

To the Koreans who were handing out melon on trail

To whoever left chips and cookies along Route 2 for hikers

To whoever left a cooler of beer and soda on trail for hikers

To Jazz Hands, Madi, Matt and Daniel for letting me share the pizza you had already ordered at Mill Creek

To Ron at North Fork for all the food and the charging

To Acton KOA campground for offering a cheap hiker price for camping and pool use

To the Saufleys and all the volunteers at Hiker Heaven for everything you do

To whoever left water and a lawn chair at Bouquet Canyon Road

To the man who drove me and Mantas to Casa de Luna

To the Andersons for the great time at Casa de Luna, the bandana, the taco salad and the pancakes

To the man who drove me back to the trail from Green Valley

To the owners of Hikertown for providing a nice place to rest in the middle of the desert

To the trail angels that have permanent trail magic set up at a campsite just south of Tehachapi

To the man who gave me a ride into Tehachapi, and again around town the next day

To the guy who gave me a ride from the grocery store back to downtown

To Dalton at Wits' End for holding and mailing packages for me, and driving me to the trailhead TWICE, and everything else you and David do for hikers

To the angels that put water at Kelso Road and Bird Spring Pass so we didn't have to carry for 40 miles

To Ron (again!) for the turkey sandwich at Walker Pass

To Kennedy Meadows General Store for letting us camp outside and have a bonfire, and for generally putting up with the hiker trash day in and day out

To Kirk (again!) for bringing in my resupply and new shoes and a working USB cable, and then for accompanying me for 15 days on trail

To Scott for the incredible dinner and breakfast with wild elk

To Threader, Leapfrog and Sharkbait for the snow cone, and the gummy worm I found on the ground

To Feinschmecker, Chef and Hoover for another snow cone

To Muir Trail Ranch for the services you provide for hikers

To Mono Hot Springs Resort, for the amazing food and drink

To Bird and Mikey, for the ride out of Mono Hot Springs, and the wine

To Vermilion Valley Resort, for the free hiker beer and the free tent sites

To the man who gave me a ride to Bishop AND BACK to Mammoth Lakes so I could get a new phone

To Dani, for the coconut oil packs

To the three hikers doing trail magic on Route 4

To Scott (again!), for the ride out of South Lake Tahoe and for putting me up for the night

To Isaiah, for the ride to the Greyhound station

To Siskiyou County, California, for extending bus service to PCT trailheads

To Sana, for accompanying me for 10 days on the trail, and for throwing water in my face on a hot day, and for attracting all the mosquitoes to yourself so they didn't bother me

To the man who drove me into Etna

To the hardware store owner in Etna, for lending me a pair of needle-nose pliers so I could fix my tent zipper

To Darlene Sweeney, who sponsored the free swim day in Etna when Sana and I were there

To the man who drove Sana and me out of Etna and shared his roadkill stories with us

To Straight Mike and English Breakast, for the beer and for taking our trash

To the man who drove Sana and me into Dunsmuir

To Matt, who drove us to Mt. Shasta

To the Mt. Shasta library, for the use of one of their Chromebooks so I could work on the blog

To the man who gave me a ride out of South Lake Tahoe

To Stephan and Tim, for the ride to the trailhead and the Coke

To Donner Ski Ranch, for the 40 on the 40

To the Sierra City United Methodist Church, for letting us camp in the church yard

To the Sierra Country Store for holding packages for us (I had four here!)

To Fashionplate Dan, for recommending I check out the Sierra Buttes

To Howard Welch, Don Hoskin, Edward Forsthoff, Walter Hudson, and Norman Ellis, for risking your lives to build the staircase that now gives hikers easy access to the top of Sierra Buttes North

To the man who gave me a beer at Packer Lake

To Krista at Packer Lake Lodge for the delicious, cheap breakfast

To Ann and Gail for the multi-course meal and water at mile 1235.6

To the man who gave Hy-Gina, Merman and me a ride into Chester

To the Chester Lutheran Church in Chester for letting us camp in the church yard

To the man who drove me across town on a very hot day in Chester

To the Chester Library, for the unlimited use of their computers for three days as I worked on the blog

To Drakesbad Guest Ranch, for letting hikers clean up their buffet at a reduced price

To whoever installed the chairs and the treasure trove of food and drink along the Hat Creek Rim

To the man who maintains Cache 22

To Burney Mountain Guest Ranch for their superb resupply store and their pool

To Chris, for taking me and Redwood into Dunsmuir

To the owner of the Friendly RV Park in Weed, California, for giving me some laundry detergent and letting me use the dryer for free

To the woman who helped me carry 2 of my 8 grocery bags to the UPS center in Yreka, California, because 90 pounds was too much to carry all at once

To the Seiad Valley General Store, for holding packages for free

To those who have fixed up the Donomore Cabin and left a nice cot there to sleep on

To Callahan's Mountain Lodge, for the generous bottomless spaghetti they offer hikers at a good price

To Hyatt Lake Resort, for the ride to and from the trailhead, and for holding packages for free

To Mazama Village store, for holding packages for free

To the Mazama campground, for the unlimited free hot shower

To those who keep the water caches north of Crater Lake well stocked

To Shelter Cove Resort, for setting up a dedicated PCT area

To Big Lake Youth Camp, for the amazing facilities available to PCT hikers, and the meals, and for holding packages for free

To the man who cooked us supper at Olallie Lake Resort

To Timberline Lodge, for losing money on me as I devoured everything at the breakfast buffet

To Cascade Locks Marine Park campground, for the steeply discounted campsites for PCT hikers

To the volunteers that drove us into and out of Trout Lake, Washington

To my cousin Scott, for bringing me socks and pliers, and for accompanying me on the trail for 4 days

To Trout Lake Grocery, for holding packages for free and letting hikers hang out on the lawn

To Trout Lake Grocery, for forwarding a package I forgot to pick up

To the PCTA members that figured out, published and marked detours around the fire closures this year

To Kate, for the banana bread

To whoever put free oranges on the trail near Chinook Pass

To everyone that built and maintains the Mike Urich Cabin, a warm, dry refuge on a rainy night

To the people that left arugula and salsa at the Mike Urich Cabin

To the man doing trail magic in a huge tent between White Pass and Snowqualmie Pass

To the Washington Alpine Club, for letting hikers stay at the Guye Cabin

To the volunteers at the Stevens Pass Mountaineers Lodge for everything you do there

To Holden Village, for opening their doors (and their cafeteria!) to PCT hikers on the fire detour this year

To the man who drove me to the bakery outside Stehekin

To Dean for getting me a spot at his table for supper in Stehekin

To Chris, for coming all the way out to the finish line from Saskatoon to finish the hike with me, for bringing the Pilsner, and for taking me back to Vancouver

To Zak, for putting me up both in the middle and at the end of my trip, and for the celebratory drink

To Scott, for flying me to my sister's from Vancouver at the end of my trip

To every hiker who put something in a hiker box that I was able to use

To all the hikers I met along the way, for your company; whether it was for a minute, a day, a week, or a month, it was an inseparable part of my trail experience

To the volunteers who fund and maintain one of the best long-distance trails in the world, the PCT!

2 comments:

UnknownOctober 4, 2018 at 6:28 AM
Thank you. I can't hike, so I enjoy it vicariously. I don't suffer the elements and deprivation, so it's not quite the same. I don't live nearby, so I've angeled only once, the day I met First Row, maybe the same Sanna you thanked. I love that it's so appreciated! Congratulations on accomplishing such a feat--you're life will be different for it.

Tyler on the PCT
泰樂走太平洋屋脊步道

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A word of thanks

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