Trail Angels

Trail angels are wonderful people who aid thru-hikers on their treks by bringing them food and water sometimes miles into the wilderness so they don't have to exit to get replenished.  What makes them extra special is that they usually do it out of the kindness of their hearts, and usually they are backpackers themselves or retired backpackers.  What's cool is that since they are only backpacking for one day usually, they tend to bring thru-hikers long-yearned for junk food and soda, and sometimes beer.  I saw a documentary where a trail angel humped a pretty good sized plastic ice chest up to a junction on the John Muir Trail one season (he might have done it multiple seasons, he nor the documentary film makers specified) and then brought up beer to fill it with.  He kept them cold by keeping the ice chest filled with snow, and chatted up the hikers who stopped for a beer (or two, or...).

I've had experiences with trail angels and I agree with a couple of the people interviewed in this Pacific Crest Trail trail angel documentary trailer that they reflect what humanity is suppose to be (paraphrasing them), which is people helping people.  An experience that stands out because of a forum post I saw recently is my 2011 John Muir Trail jaunt through Independence when I attempted to continue on after a couple days of healing.  When I took a shuttle to Independence from Lone Pine, I intended to hitchhike up to Onion Valley where the Kersarge Pass trailhead leads to the JMT.  I ran into a trail angel named Uber Bitch that told me I could wait at her and her husband's motel while she waited for more hikers destined for Onion Valley.  A little later we all took a ride up to the Onion Valley campground, which was about a 15-20 minute drive up into the Eastern Sierras, and had a barbeque and campfire and plenty of cold ales throughout the night before beginning on the trail again the next morning.

I was reminded of this because this JMT forum post informed readers that a motel in Independence was recently purchased to specifically be converted into a hiker destination.  I assume it will be made to resemble the hostel in Lone Pine that caters to thru-hikers and Mt. Whitney hikers.  As stated in the PCT documentary trailer, transportation is provided to and from trailheads and houses are offered for rest time and showering, but trail angels buying a motel for hikers is truly awesome and takes the philosophy of "people helping people" to a new level.

Busted Knee and Busted Hike

     This past summer, I enjoyed my second attempt at through hiking the John Muir Trail.  I was able to complete it, but not in one outing, known, as mentioned above, as a through hike, or more commonly among backpackers spelled "thru-hike."  True to form, I got injured again, about half way through the 211 mile trail.  About noonish, I was crossing a shallow but very slick creek with large, smooth rocks covered in algae.  I was about a third of the way across when I slipped, and I reflexively shot my right leg out to prevent myself from falling, but I over-compensated and my knee locked very awkwardly.  It was no doubt due to the weight of my backpack, which was about 65 pounds, but I was able to stay on my feet and gradually walk off the funny feeling (not really pain) on the other side of the creek.

     I felt nothing after I got back up to a steady pace, but later that evening it started aching, but it wasn't significant enough to stop for.  The pain subsided that night and I woke up good to go, but this time the pain returned earlier than it did the previous evening, so I reluctantly took a couple Ibuprofen tablets and rested a bit.  It worked, but by the late evening it was pretty much throbbing, so I stopped and camped earlier than usual.  On the third day, I hadn't hiked more than a half hour before it started hurting again, and I tried to ignore it until I became a gimp, then began popping Ibuprofen every couple hours, which was becoming less and less effective.  Wanting to prevent long-term damage, I decided to hike out the nearest exit, rest and recover, and pick up where I left off near the end of summer.

     I did just that, and here are some cool pictures I snapped on those adventures.