[pct-l] Saufley's Hiker Heaven 2011

[Bill Burge]

Wow!  A chance to "be L-Rod during Hiker season" for five days!

As someone who has, for the past two years, watched the Hiker Heaven Show  (a cross between a dusty Cirque du Soleil with a little Blue Man Group mixed in and the occasional Treasure Island pirate show [the original one])...

That sounds terrific?  No wait, terrifying!  No wait...  intriguing?  wait - -  uh...  incapacitating?  ;-)

Maybe we can get a Seal Team to deploy and cover....

With the right Hiker Ops people, it might be doable by someone with a much better disposition that myself!

It's fun to be a part of for a couple of days as a hiker;  but it is TRUELY amazing to watch over an entire season.

BillB


On Apr 10, 2011, at 2:40 PM, Donna Saufley wrote:

> Hiker Heaven officially opens for the 2011 season on Friday, April 15.
> Today the preparation begins in earnest, and it brings me joy to think of
> the sweet sounds of laughter and hum of a hundred stories we'll soon be
> surrounded by. To friends old and new, we look forward to welcoming you.  To
> our dear Heitmans, you are loved and appreciated by all of us, and will be
> missed this season.  We understand the joys and challenges of hosting many
> hikers.  We are really going to need help this year to make it happen.  
> 
> 
> 
> While hikers have their minds and feet on the trail, Real Life (the sort
> that hikers are escaping from) continues here at our home. Our business,
> school and finals, Jeff's painting, our ongoing martial arts training, house
> chores, and the daily keeping of our menagerie goes on in the backstage of
> the hiker chaos. This year our beautiful niece is getting married Memorial
> Day weekend in Tucson, and we've promised to be there.  Murphy's Law, the
> wedding date coincides with the anticipated peak of hiker season.   
> 
> 
> 
> I'm seeking a few special volunteers who are willing to more-or-less camp
> out here ala the hikers, and help run Hiker Ops. Famous for our corporate
> efficiency, we have a training program that indoctrinates you in the system.
> If you've got a car and are willing to shuttle hikers, that would be even
> more outstanding.  I warn anyone and everyone up front that it can be
> exhausting,  deeply gratifying, and there is real work involved.  There's no
> pay, but the perks are great:  hiker stories and truly amazing people. Last
> year it worked very well for there to three hosts (me and two other
> volunteers), so we could work in cooperative shifts and give each other time
> for other pursuits (or naps).  This year I'm thinking three plus me.  We can
> also spread the love around a little more and harness hiker energy to help
> out with various jobs -- laundry, mail, cleaning, trash, etc.  Hikers have
> been unfailingly generous in their offers of help. 
> 
> 
> 
> Separate from those volunteers is a request for a person or couple who
> really, really likes hiker mania and animals to do our personal chores with
> the dogs, cats, horses, birds, and house from May 25 to 29. I need somebody
> to be me for a few days while we're in Tucson.  Here at corporate Hiker
> Trash HQ, Household is an entirely separate division from Hikers. As
> managing all of these animals is no small task and is entirely out of the
> realm of helping hikers, I'm offering $40 per day and our residence/main
> house as quarters.  $200 is not very much, considering all the doggy dooty
> duty and special skills in canine personality management required.  I'm
> hoping it's someone who can be around, versus some who has to go to work or
> such elsewhere.  It's important to note that my horses are huge drafts,
> spoiled rotten, and my mare is moody and horse-aggressive at feed time, so
> this person needs to be someone who is comfortable getting into the stall
> with them and keeping them in line.  Sorry, I do not let anyone ride them
> for liability reasons.  No manure pickup or stall mucking needed though.
> 
> 
> 
> Typically we start to get busy mid-May through mid-June, which is when I
> need help the most.  But anytime between May 1 and June 30 there are things
> to do for and about hikers.  Anyone interested in helping out, please
> contact me off the pct-l at dsaufley at sprynet.com 
> 
> 
> 
> In the spirit of the goodness of that the trail manifests, much love and
> thanks.
> 
> 
> 
> L-Rod
> 
> 
> 
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