BOOKS

TRAIL ANGELS:

Tales of Generosity and Kindness on the Pacific Crest Trail

In his Seventies, Glenn William Jolley solo backpacked long stretches of the Pacific Crest Trail, the entire John Muir Trail, and the Wonderland Trail claiming there is something compelling and seductive, rich, and extraordinary being alone in the wilderness.Trail Angels: Stories of Kindness and Generosity along the Pacific Crest Trail takes the reader over high mountain passes, along gentle moving steams, through meadows bursting with colorful wildflowers. But equally important, it is a recounting of the many encounters Glenn had with fellow hikers who became his Trail Angels: some saved him from heading down a path in the wrong direction, some stopped to offer words of encouragement, while others protected him from harm’s way. In the wilderness, so Glenn writes, we often become the people we have often wanted to be – kinder, more trusting, more generous – but for some reason fail to be so in our busy lives back home. Here are stories of how, given the opportunity, we can become our best selves.

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Trail Angles: Tales of Generosity and Kindness on the Pacific Crest Trail

ALMOST THERE

Stories and Musings along the Pacific Crest Trail
ALMOST THERE takes the reader on a journey of the heart, mind and body of G. William Jolley, who in the late summer and early fall of 2012, and at seventy years of age, solo hiked the Washington Section of the Pacific Crest Trail. Page by page, the reader experiences the PCT with its challenges and beauty, and is invited into an honest and vulnerable look at one man's reflections on life: relationships, influences, and meaningful moments. Beginning at the trailhead just yards north of the Columbia River Gorge, the journey covers hundreds of miles, crossing pristine creeks and rivers, trudging up switchbacks to high mountain passes, sloshing across snowfields, and meandering through lush meadows. And along the way Jolley encounters Trail Angels and other PCT hikers, while reflecting with candor, humor, and gratitude. ALMOST THERE will inspire the reader to rethink whether a person is ever too old to go into the wilderness. Indeed, "Old men and women ought to be explorers."
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Articles

Viewpoints: Gratitude for ‘trail angels’ and volunteers

Even experienced, prepared hikers sometimes must rely on fellow hikers, rangers and rescue crews.
The drizzle came just as I crossed Pumice Creek in the latter part of August, 70 miles into my Pacific Crest Trail hike to Stehekin, the small community on the shores of Lake Chelan that is reachable only by boat or trail. 

Fear and Lightning on the Pacific Crest Trail

I crossed Mackenzie Pass, Oregon at about 9:00 am on Day 33 in the late summer of 2013. I had just completed solo hiking 500 miles on the Pacific Crest Trail and in 200 miles would reach my goal at the Columbia Gorge. But now I faced a grueling five miles across sharp, uneven lava beds and charred treeless devastation from an earlier fire on the Pacific crest Trail. Utter silence surrounded me and black clouds loomed, giving an ominous and foreboding feel to the morning.

Trail Angel: Generosity on the Pacific Crest Trail

Thirteen days from the Columbia Gorge and fifty yards from Sheep Lake, I broke camp around 8:00 a.m. to begin another day of hiking. My goal was to reach Razors Edge before late afternoon shadows created even further challenges to my poor depth perception. At 72 years of age, that reality had to be factored in to any day of hiking on the Pacific Crest Trail.

Almost There: A Chance Encounter along the Pacific Crest Trail

It was the first day of September, 2013, and I was feeling a little impressed with myself. Starting at the Columbia River Gorge, I had been hiking the Pacific Crest Trail for nearly 30 days, 10 to 12 hours every day, and covered nearly 400 hundred miles. Along the way, I met some amazing people whose generosity and kindness were humbling, and I had a new pack that REI had switched-out for me simply on my word-of-honor over the phone. Indeed, trail angels abounded.