Last Thursday I was renting a car to go on a weekend trip.
The guy in front of me was turning in his rental but had missed his connection.
As a lot of you know, I live in a small town
just south of Yosemite National Park.
Needless to say, there is a huge influx of tourists, especially in
the summer months.
I offered to give the guy a ride, to see if he could catch the bus going into
Yosemite, since I knew it made frequent stops at local nearby hotels.
He was excited to have the extra help... after all, he was in a dilemma.
When I got my rental he hopped into the car and said his name was Mark.
(But it 's pronounced different... he was from Poland).
He said he had read the book Wild and
was so impressed that he decided to embark on the same journey.
He had been in Chicago
but he ventured out to hike 120 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail.
I told him I was reading the same book!
I shared that I had lived and worked in the
National Park for 10 years and two of my sons hiked part of
the PCT.
He was super thrilled and the next 10 minutes flew by...
talking about the adventure he was about to take.
Anyway,
we found his connector bus and he was on his way!
Here are some photos I found on Pinterest.
This one is actually of Cheryl, the author of the book.
When you help a person who is hiking the PCT, you are referred to
as a trail angel.
How fun is that? I got to be a trail angel!
When I returned to my office and told a co-worker about Mark...
she said that she had loved the book so much that she e-mailed the author!
She actually got an e-mail back too!
And after they corresponded, it seems
that my coworker actually knows a couple of the people in
the book... (because she had lived in that area)...
although the names had been changed for the book.
Here are my boys on the trail.
A great adventure for all who embrace it and are called to pursue it!
I plan on seeing the movie after I finish the book!
I wonder how Mark is doing.
7 friends stopped by to chat:
What a fun thing to become a PCT Angel! I read the book and then watched the movie. If I hadn't read the book, I would have had little idea of what was going on in the movie. It's one of those situations where the movie makers miss the mark and Was, I think, a great disservice to the author and her unique life experience.
How nice to be able to help that young man! My DH and I were just talking about the PCT the other day! I'd love to go explore parts of it, and that is a pretty funny thought, considering that I'm not a camper! :-) But it does sound like a grand adventure!
What a fun connection! Perhaps you'll hear from Mark someday that would be cool! Didn't read the book and don't know there's a movie but I check it out.
How cool that you could be part of someone else's trail adventure.
I read the book this summer as part of our library's adult summer reading program.
(The young man who died a few years after meeting Cheryl on the trail was from my area.)
Pam
I'm staying in Oakhurst with my mother and sister in mid September for a couple days to see Yosemite. Any quilt shops around we should know about?
Enjoyed the movie and have the book on my list to read. How sweet of you to be a trail angel!
Me too - I wonder how Mark is doing. I saw the movie, didn't read the book. I would love to hike part of it. Maybe someday. Thank you for being kind to Mark and helping him.
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