Hiker Heaven Was Paradise for Pacific Crest Trail Hikers—and Donna “L-Rod” Saufley Was Its Angel

This article originally appeared on Backpacker

Donna "L-Rod" Saufley's first encounter with Pacific Crest Trail thru-hiking came when she stumbled upon it on a Saturday night out.

The hikers who heard her tell this story around the campfire over the years know it well: On May 31, 1997, on a trip to the local pizzeria in Agua Dulce, California, Donna Saufley met her first thru-hikers. They were dirty, tired, and in need of a place to rest. Seeing one of the hikers attempting to rinse herself off in the bathroom sink was the sign she needed: Donna offered them a stay at her guest house, and the next morning she and her husband, Jeff ,made them a breakfast of pancakes, eggs, salsa, and more. The Saufleys' generosity so impacted the hikers that they referred to Donna and Jeff as "trail angels." At that moment, the couple knew those wouldn't be the last hikers they hosted.

"She just wanted to take care of people," Jeff says. "I was amazed by her generosity. She just had so much energy."

Over the next 20 years, Donna impacted the journeys and lives of thousands of PCT hikers who passed through "Hiker Heaven", her homestead-turned-oasis in the high desert of Southern California. Hikers arrived to showers, laundry services, rides to REI, and endless generosity from Donna, her husband Jeff, and the dozens of volunteers who helped run the place over the years.

"Immediately there was a sense of calmness that overcame them," Jeff says. "And it was because of what she did. Every year she would add something. She just wanted to make sure all their needs were met."

By her own estimation, Donna Saufley hosted over 40,000 hikers in her 23-year tenure as a trail angel. Donna created a system for efficiently and effectively providing hikers with everything they might need, from a sewing machine for gear repairs to two large vehicles for shuttling hikers from trailhead to town and back. Her thoughtfulness was not lost on the hikers who passed through.

"It was Dorothy walking into Emerald City," Barney "Scout" Mann says of his 2007 stay. "In that era, Donna washed each of our dirty, filthy clothes personally."

Donna's organizational skills were innate and lifelong. Mann, a thru-hiker and legendary trail angel in his own right, recalled a story Donna shared with him.

One day when Donna was in second grade, she recounted, she had been tasked with being recess monitor. When it was time to come inside, Donna had managed to arrange all of her second grade class in rows of two, side by side, arranged by height. Her teacher, disturbed by this second grader's tendencies, sent her to the nurse. When she arrived, the nurse had just one piece of advice for her before sending her back to class: "Don't ever change."

Donna applied those same skills to the way she ran Hiker Heaven.

"There were 12 or 13 hiker boxes, organized just the way the second graders were. Shoes, clothing, food, fuel," Scout says. "It couldn't have been any more organized."

As the PCT grew in popularity, her numbers began to balloon. Her first year, 1997, she hosted just over 50 hikers total. By the early- to mid-2010s, she was hosting 50 or more a night. The stress of hosting wore on her, and in January 2015 she announced that Hiker Heaven would be closed indefinitely, owing to overcrowding issues. The next year, she reopened.

"Having a break from hosting was nice, but hosting hikers is just the best, an experience that's hard to beat," Donna said in an interview with Backpacker from 2016. "It is as addicting as long-distance hiking."

Donna knew about the long-distance hiking addiction from experience: In 2006, she began section hiking the PCT for her 50th birthday. She completed the trail in 2017, reaching the northern terminus with a friend who filmed her reaction.

"She put her hand on the monument and she started crying. She named off four or five different names of hikers that died on the PCT that never finished the trail," Jeff says. "She really did love the hikers."

When she wasn't hosting or hiking, Donna had a thriving career at Fannie Mae, and helped Jeff with his electrical contractor business. In all areas of her life, Jeff says, those around her were attracted to her warmth.

"People were like moths to a flame," Jeff says. "She was able to say the right words that people needed to hear."

Hiker Heaven continued hosting hikers until 2020, at which point Donna and Jeff converted the property into an AirBnb. She enjoyed the slower pace and was in good health and spirits until February 24, 2023, when she was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor.

Donna passed away on the morning of Friday, October 6 at the age of 67. She had been undergoing radiation and chemotherapy for months as she battled brain cancer.

"Life is way more fun with hikers around," Donna said in 2016. The thousands whose lives she impacted would agree that life was way more fun with her around, too.

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