The human animal

It's amazing how being out in the wilderness can make you so aware of the goodness of people. We're now 266 miles into our journey (1/10 of the way to Canada!) and we've encountered such generosity from total strangers it's amazing. Here are a few examples:

1. We were packing up to leave the town of Idyllwild last Saturday. Dropping off a package at the post office was one of our last errands. To our dismay, this particular post office was not open on Saturdays. The package contained some souvenirs from Idyllwild and a Mother's Day card and gift Nolan was sending to his mom. We were standing outside the post office trying to decide what to do when a local couple started up a conversation (a lot of people in these small towns are used to hikers coming through, and we're pretty recognizable in our dirty clothes and with our packs). Nolan explained the situation, and without hesitation the woman offered to take the package and mail it on Monday. Nolan gave her the necessary postage and handed off the package (with some doubt in his eyes). It made it to New Hampshire with no issue.

2. We walked into a small diner that was recommended as hiker-friendly this morning. We had camped just outside of the town of Big Bear, so this was our first stop (before showers or laundry). Upon seeing us, the woman working exclaimed (in a genuinely happy tone), "Hooray! The hikers are here!" Later, in this same diner, a local man gave another hiker his copy of the newspaper, since he had just finished reading it.

3. Driving 3-5 miles takes a few minutes. Walking the same distance, especially with a pack on, can take an hour or two. On more than one occasion going into or out of town cars have pulled over and offered us rides. We've even gotten rides from some kind souls that were going far out of their way just to help us. All these people have eagerly asked about our trip and offered hints about their favorite local spots.

4. Most places we've stopped in towns have had hiker boxes. These are boxes, small or large, containing discarded items from other hikers. Anything in the hiker boxes is free to take, as one man's trash is another man's treasure. We've found some great food items, stuff sacks, flip flops, and socks that saved us in times of need.

5. In some of the long, waterless stretches of trail there are water caches left by trail angels. The best one of these we've encountered so far (although this one was a bit commercially-motivated) was left by the Adventure Hostel in Big Bear, where we are currently staying. At this cache in the middle of the woods we came across four coolers containing sodas, cookies, water, and fresh fruit. All of this is free for taking. There were also two plastic chairs for lounging.


Every day we come across more and more kind people. Thanks for everyone's support so far!