OCT Trail Angels

Hiking the OCT provides its own spontaneous moments of magic. There is also a type of "trail magic" that good Samaritan volunteers provide, spontaneously or planned: rides to eliminate a long highway stretch, for instance, or camping in someone's backyard (and the chance to refill water bottles)  on a long, dry stretch with no campgrounds. Trail angels are people who see an OCT hiker on US 101 and stop to offer a ride, for instance, or who are out boating on the bay and who offer a hiker a short boat shuttle to the tip of a sandspit. Trail angels are also people who offer up their backyard to thru-hikers to set up a tent, especially in a stretch with no legal camping.

Trail angels have long been a welcome fixture on the Pacific Crest Trail and other long-distance trails. Many are former thru-hikers themselves who understand how much a little trail magic means to a long-distance hiker. The Oregon Coast Trail is newer and doesn't yet have a deep bench of veteran hikers looking for ways to pay it back/pay it forward. But the Oregon Coast is full of generous and friendly people willing to help the best kind of tourists: self-propelled travelers seeking to leave no trace as they walk through this landscape we all love.

TRAIL ANGELS OFFER TRAIL MAGIC FREELY. Trail angels do not charge for their help to hikers.

HIKERS TYPICALLY OFFER A TRAIL ANGELS A SMALL DONATION to cover costs, such as gas (for drivers) or water/sewer/power/wifi to camping hosts.

Spontaneous:

Consider offering a ride or other help to hikers walking the highway shoulder.

Planned:

Post a comment on the OCT FarOut app that you are available to help hikers. This is especially welcome along longer stretches of highway walking, such as from Lincoln City to Gleneden Beach, or from Sparrow Park Road to Winchester Bay, or from Horsfall Beach to North Bend or Charleston, or south of Humbug Mountain. You set the terms (when you're available, how to contact). You can either ask a hiker you meet to mention your availability in COMMENTS in their FarOut app. Bettter yet, buy the app yourself and add your own comment; then you can change or remove it when/if you want.

Trail angels sometimes leave coolers of drinks, supplies of water, or other help to hikers along remote stretches of the Pacific Crest Trail. This is less of a need on the OCT; what OCT hikers appreciate most is rides to avoid hiking on the highway.

Someday ...

Maybe someday a coastal community will organize a volunteer corps to help out hikers, such as the PCT Angels of Trout Lake, Washington. Maybe a coastal town will someday put together a festival to show their love and support for OCT hikers, like PCT Days in Cascade Locks, OR!