89 Year Old Trail Angel Retires

A Pacific Crest Trail Angel retires after many years of helping hikers on the trail.

The following article is from the Bendbulletin.

If a backpacker doesn't know what a Trail Angel is read this article.

From the Bendbulletin by Alandra Johnson:

Lloyd Gust fell in love with the Cascade Range the first time he saw it.

He was a teenager driving a beat-up truck full of tomatoes from Eugene to Bend in the 1930s. Gust got to McKenzie Pass and was so struck by the beauty of the mountains that he decided to explore and never made it all the way to Bend. “I really fell in love with The Sisters," said Gust.

That passion for nature — and the Three Sisters in particular — has never wavered in Gust, now 89. He and his late wife, Barbara, hiked the entire Pacific Crest Trail, from the Mexican border to the Canadian border.

It's more than 2,600 miles of beautiful — and sometimes brutal — trail that winds through the Mojave Desert, the high Sierras and the Cascade Range, including the Three Sisters.
“I hiked it almost all my life," said Gust, who settled in Bend.

When he could no longer backpack and hike, Gust started volunteering to help other hikers who were passing through the area along the PCT.

Gust helped about 300 hikers a year, driving some to get medical attention and helping others find a good local pub. He was what is known as a trail angel, one of the most well known on the PCT.

To read the rest of Alandra's article go here.