[pct-l] Donations to Mary Barcik's Water Caches- Bill's Death

[Monty Tam]

Hi
I just slipped my donation to Mary Barcik's two water caches in an envelope.  (PCT mile 616 and 631)  It felt very strange to only make the address out to Mary Barcik instead of "Mary and Bill".  I just recently got the word from PCT hiker friends Max and Lila that Bill had passed away from cancer.

When I called Mary she was in good spirits.  She says she will definitely be maintaining her two water caches again this year and treasures her moments with the few hikers she meets as she is maintaining these remote caches.

Mary's two caches break a 40 mile waterless stretch of the hot desert PCT into 15 mile segments.  I saw one of her caches save a life in 2008.  She is on a limited fixed income driving about 60 miles, often on dirt, each day she services both, which is every other day sometimes in the peak season.  She is worried about how the price of gas will affect her again this year.  Now in her 70's she still rides the dirt bike she use to use to service the first cashes years ago, but the amount of water she carries now needs a truck.  If you see her on the trail, please help her unload and clean the cache areas.

If you would like to send her a message and/or gas money, her address is below:

Mary Barcik
5400 S Kelso Valley Rd.
Weldon, CA 93283

Thank You

Warner Springs Monty

PS  Please pass this on to her hiker friends from the past. I know she is particularly fond of a veteran hiker named Scrawny Chicken, who was the first hiker she supplied water for years ago, but I don't have his contact info.  

The Fun Goes Up when the Weight Goes Down
-Warner Springs Monty Tam
Lightweight Backpacking
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