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    Trail Angel Mama: Tales of a California Trail Angel
    Trail Angel Mama: Tales of a California Trail Angel
    Trail Angel Mama: Tales of a California Trail Angel
    Ebook119 pages1 hour

    Trail Angel Mama: Tales of a California Trail Angel

    By Trisha Faye

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Trail magic; kindnesses from the hearts of strangers add magic to hiker’s journeys. This magic is often small – a bottle of water, a ride into town, a candy bar. Sometimes the generosity is a meal or a bed for the night.

    The Holman’s, day hikers themselves, live near the Pacific Crest Trail. They searched for a way to give back to their community. When they gave another hiker a ride into town and he asked about a laundromat, it opened up a new journey for them. Opening their home for washing clothes, eating a hot meal, and offering a bed (or a couch) for the night gave them more than they ever expected.

    Their world expanded as they met hikers from across the nation, and from around the world. Hearts were warmed with the sharing of evenings tales and the hikers soon gave Sue her own trail name – Trail Angel Mama.

    Step inside and see the Pacific Crest Trail from the other side of hiking, as Trail Angel Mama tells her story of this new and exciting venture. The Holman’s discovered a new world in this journey as the hiker’s appreciation touched their hearts in an unexpected way. They set out to share their blessings with other hikers. Instead, they discovered that they were the ones being blessed.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTrisha Faye
    Release dateOct 1, 2015
    ISBN9781310049743
    Trail Angel Mama: Tales of a California Trail Angel
    Author

    Trisha Faye

    Trisha writes from north Texas where she spends her spare time gardening and rescuing abandoned kittens.

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      Book preview

      Trail Angel Mama - Trisha Faye

      TRAIL ANGEL MAMA

      Tales of a Pacific Crest Trail Angel

      by Trisha Faye

      Smashwords Edition

      Copyright 2015 Trisha Faye

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy.

      Thank you for respecting the hard work of authors everywhere!

      TABLE OF CONTENTS:

      Chapter 1 Let the Journey Begin

      Chapter 2: Eight of Them?

      Chapter 3: A Houseful of Hikers

      Chapter 4: And Sniff, Then They Were Gone

      Chapter 5: We’re Stalking Hikers

      Chapter 6: Kensuke

      Chapter 7: A Warm Fire in the Snowstorm

      Chapter 8: When the Cat’s Away

      Chapter 9: Another Full House Night

      Chapter 10: Another Busy Weekend

      Chapter 11: No Holiday Here

      Chapter 12: A Zero Day for Us

      Chapter 13: Poptart & Yorkie

      Chapter 14: The Top 10 Things I Learned

      Chapter 15: As the Season Comes to a Close

      Chapter 16: Want to Be a Trail Angel?

      Peak Periods

      Leave No Trace

      Water Caches

      What to Do?

      Chapter 17: Major Hiking Trails in the United States

      Hikers Blogs and Websites

      Chapter 1

      Let the Journey Begin

      My granddaughter is an Angel.

      She is. Angel Elisabeth. It says so on her birth certificate.

      It turns out, I’m one too. A trail angel. Or, ‘Trail Angel Mama’, as I’ve been named by the hikers.

      My husband, Mike, and I began helping hikers on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), which runs through our hometown of Wrightwood. We wanted to be of service to the thru hikers – to share of our blessings with kindnesses to others. We discovered something totally unexpected. We found that we were the ones blessed.

      Our journey started about two years ago. In my quest for a healthier – and slimmer – life, I started walking. My husband has always liked hiking. But did I go hiking with him? Oh no! I wasn’t one for woods and trails and hills and things such as lizards and snakes that slither along the path.

      I was a walker though. Or, I became one. Miles and miles I’d log at a time. Around the track at school. Around blocks and vacant lots. Up and down streets. I attended walks, runs and mud runs. I was walking daily, getting healthier with each step. Mike even began joining me at different events.

      Then the question surfaced. If my husband could join me on walks and at mud runs, why couldn’t I hike a few local trails with him?

      There wasn’t a good answer for that. So, hiking away the two of us went, occasionally joined by our daughter, Michelle, and her husband, Levi.

      On a day hike together:

      (Left to right) Levi Gonzales, Mike Holman, Michelle Gonzales, Sue Holman

      Mike and I were merely ‘day hikers’. After all, with both of us working full time, visiting with children and grandchildren, and our church commitments, we rarely had much time to spend on the trails. We’ve hiked on many local trails in our own San Gabriel Mountains, and on others that we had to travel to, seeing such places as Big Horn Mine and Vincent’s Cabin. We’ve hiked approximately 25 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail, but we’ve done most of those miles more than once.

      Some of the visiting family that keeps our lives full and happy:

      Grandson Ricky, DIL Holly, granddaughter Angel, son Dale, and grandson Tommy

      Being so close to the Pacific Crest Trail, we met ‘thru hikers’ – those that are walking the entire trail, or least a huge portion of it.

      The Pacific Crest Trail, or PCT as it’s usually referred to, runs approximately 2,650 miles from the Mexico border, up through California, Oregon and Washington to the Canada border. (The exact mileage depends on which source you check. Two different Wikipedia sites cite the mileage as 2,663 miles and 2,654 miles. The Pacific Crest Trail Association merely says 2,650 miles. They explain that the tread can change from year to year, causing the exact distance to vary slightly.) Each year many hikers try to walk the entire length of the trail, a journey that takes approximately five months.

      Most thru hikers walk from south to north, although a few hike in the opposite direction, south-bounders they’re called. A few – a very small number – attempt the trail in both directions on the same trip going first one direction, then reversing and heading back to the starting point; a yo-yo trip.

      Timing wise, starting at the Mexico border in early spring gets the hikers through the treacherous desert area before it becomes too hot and dangerous and positions them in the high mountain areas as the snow is starting to melt, hopefully. In years of late winter weather, or those with unusually higher levels of snowfall, these upper most peaks can still be hazardous, causing hikers to become disoriented and lost, often risking their life and limbs to the dangers of hypothermia.

      I first heard of ‘trail angels’, or ‘trail magic’ as it’s sometimes called, when I read some books about hiking the PCT and Appalachian Trail (AT). That’s where strangers do kind deeds for those hiking the trail. Sometimes it’s the gift of water or drinks to supplement the meager amounts of water the hikers can physically carry. Sometimes it’s buying them a hot meal to eat instead of the standard freeze dried trail food they’ve been consuming. The acts of sharing may be a ride from the trail into the local town, or from town back to the trail.

      One afternoon last year, while Mike and I were out for a short hike, we met a thru hiker and he asked if he could get a ride into town with us.

      On the route into Wrightwood, he had a strange question. Is there a laundromat in town?

      Nope, I replied. Sorry, we don’t.

      Clamping his arms down tight to his sides, he laughed. Too bad. I think I’m overdue for a wash.

      I couldn’t argue with him. Those who’ve been on the trail for several weeks by now can get a little ‘ripe’. But, in response to his question, God touched my heart. We have a perfectly good washer and dryer at home. I thought about volunteering the use of our house so he could do a load of laundry. I didn’t speak up though. It seemed that inviting a stranger into the house was something Mike and I needed to discuss first. Springing it on him in the car, unannounced, probably wasn’t a good idea. So, we dropped off our new smelly friend and went on about our business.

      Later, I brought up the subject about volunteering our home as a resource to hikers. Mike was open to the idea of having hikers use our home for this necessary task. Helping the homeless is a cause

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