Beer and Oreos

Will just let me know that they found the infamous Cold Beer And Oreos Cache, just north of Big Lake Youth Camp. They had heard about it from a southbound hiker who had just been there, and weren't sure if there would indeed be such a treasure waiting for them on the trail. But oh, at 9:45am on this drizzly-but-not-raining-thank-goodness Wednesday, they have stumbled upon the oasis of all hiker oases. oasises? oasii?

See, there are these people called Trail Angels. Trail Angels are generally people who live near the trail, who provide services for free to hikers. This could be something super important like receiving a resupply box and meeting the hikers at a designated pick-up point (in sections where the town post office is closed, or there is no post office, this is crucial!), or something just awesome like leaving a cooler of cold beer and a package of Oreos by the side of the trail. Some Trail Angels, especially down in the Southern CA section of the PCT, go so far as to open their homes to hikers, feeding them a home-cooked meal, letting them camp out on a grassy lawn, and offering showers and laundry facilities. Who are these brilliantly wonderful people?

Well, here are just a few:

• Bob Reiss (San Diego)
  
• Scout and Frodo (San Diego)
• Bruce and Carol Wagner (Lake Arrowhead)
• Vermilion Valley Resort
• Pooh Corner (Bill and Molly Person) near Donner Summit
• JoAnn 'are we there yet' Michael (Lake Shastina)
• Dinsmore's River Haven (Skykomish)
• Meadow Ed (roving, more info on this guy here)
• And this PCT Wiki has a list of a ton!
• And more here.
• Wild vs. Domestic Trail Angels?
  

I just think it's so interesting (and awesome) that these kind people make themselves available to hikers, just for the love of hiking and helping. They provide their cell numbers and home addresses, so hikers can contact them 24/7 for help. They offer rides to and from the trail and towns, they maintain water caches in dry areas. They are just generally nice people who want to help out. And I think that's just great.

And so do Will, Tom and Chris, who are enjoying their cold beer and oreos!