Greetings to 2019 PCT hopefuls! We’re Jeff & Donna (“L-Rod”) Saufley, trail hosts in Agua Dulce, California. We’re excited to say that 2019 will be year 22 hosting PCT hikers. To old friends and new, we look forward to welcoming you!
Hiker Heaven is at mile 454.4 nobo from Campo, at the end of section D and start of Section E. The official PCT register is here, and our garage serves as the mail pick-up for hikers in this section. You can send mail out from here as well.
In addition to being the mail drop, we provide camping and limited accommodations, showers, laundry, transportation hub, and tons of information to hikers about the local area. High-speed wireless internet access and telephones are available for you. There is no charge for any of the services we provide.
We’ll be open for thru and section hikers from March 1 through June 30, 2019 when we will close for the summer. We also host sobo thru hikers and mop up finishers from September 1 through December 15. To keep our sanity we do NOT host section hikers during the summer, fall, and winter months.
We encourage hikers to stay for and rest-up with our three day, two night limit. We host on a first-come, first-served basis, no reservations required or available. As a courtesy to us and everyone our neighborhood, please arrive between 6:00 am and 10:00 pm.
Due to the high volume of hikers the trail is experiencing (over 2,000 through Hiker Heaven in 2018), and in light of the fact that we are a private residence with limited resources, we will be enforcing the following policies this year:
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PERMIT HOLDERS ONLY MAY 18 TO JUNE 1 – this is the peak season for our region. Due to the heavy snowpack in both the Sierra and in the southern mountain ranges, it is anticipated that a large majority of hikers will be trying to get through our locale during this perceived optimum window. To keep the number of hikers here manageable for a better experience for our guests, only those who possess and present their permit will be welcome to stay overnight. Section hikers and non-permitted hikers will have to stay elsewhere, though we will hold a resupply box for you.
NO NON-HIKERS OVERNIGHT – your friends, family, and significant others are welcome to come and visit you here, but they are not welcome to stay overnight. This includes them sleeping in vehicles outside of our gates. If you want to spend the night with them, there are many other options other than here or in our neighborhood.
NO OVERNIGHT HOSTING FOR THOSE WITH OR ARRIVING IN VEHICLES – our goal is to serve the hot/cold, hungry, dirty, and often exhausted hikers who arrive in Agua Dulce on foot. In other words, PCT hikers who do not have options when they hike into town. Those who arrive in cars have options, and can find a place to stay for the night elsewhere. Note: this policy does not apply to the sick or injured that are delivered here for recovery. Nor does it prohibit hikers arriving on foot in town who get rides up our road from our neighbors. If you are planning to getting to Agua Dulce by vehicle and want to spend the night, check out the KOA on Soledad Canyon or some of the AirBnBs or hotels in our area. There are also places where you could camp undisturbed nearby.
PARKING CARS HERE MUST BE OKAYED IN ADVANCE – please contact me if you need to park a car here. With so many hikers on trail, and limited parking on and around our property, I need to know the dates the vehicle will be here, and the type of vehicle. We’ll do our best to accommodate everyone Please also see the paragraph above that there are no overnight stays for those arriving in cars, and arrivals between 6:00 am and 10:00 am.
These policies are in place to allow those who have a genuine need to find respite here. We look forward to serving you and helping you along your way. We’ve been told that a stop at Hiker Heaven is memorable part of the PCT experience. We hope you make a stay here a part of your plans!
