PCT DOTTED WITH ANGELS.

Byline: Terry Wood Special to the Daily News

Pacific Crest Trail through-hikers might think they have stepped into an episode of ``Touched by an Angel'' if they encounter a good Samaritan volunteer like Don Valentine along the trail.

The 65-year-old recreationist has provided rides to PCT trekkers enabling them to pick up their resupply packages at post offices. He has offered them bottles of water. He's even bought them pizza - a treat to anyone who has wearied of a steady diet of trail snacks, Power Bars and freeze-dried dinners.

``I suppose this just reflects my own enjoyment of the trail,'' Valentine said. ``It's fun for me to make contact with these people and share their excitement. I can see how much they appreciate some help and encouragement.''

Valentine, who resides in the tiny San Bernardino Mountains community of Blue Jay, near Lake Arrowhead, is one of the few dozen volunteers scattered along the length of the PCT who make themselves available to through-hikers in need.

``A lot of people who love the trail enjoy offering a hand to others who are using it,'' he said. ``You can make some nice friendships out here.''

Bernice Canutt shares his outlook. She opened her Agua Dulce real estate office near the PCT as a postal-drop site where hikers can pick up their pre-mailed boxes of supplies.

``We've had people from all over the world with some marvelous accents come through here,'' Canutt said. ``One hiker had just broken a tooth, so we called around and found him a dentist. Another one was really feeling brutalized by the trail, so one of our locals picked him up and gave him the Mary Magdalen treatment. He felt much better after a shower.''

Wrightwood's Barbara Pettigrew and her family also show outgoing compassion to hikers with the Canada-or-bust mentality.

She began hosting through-hikers last year after hearing that the town's popular PCT host family had moved out of the area.

``It's quite an international group that comes through here,'' Pettigrew said. ``We had 29 hikers stay with us last year, including one girl from Bolivia, another from South Africa and a young man from Australia.

``I'm still getting letters from just about everyone who stayed here.''

Ron Swanson of Portland, Ore., one of this year's crop of through-hikers, said the measure of gratitude is tremendous.

``I've met some incredible people out here who are willing to help out. They seem to pop up out of nowhere. I call them PCT angels,'' Swanson said.

``They are willing to give you water, or buy you a hot dog or do whatever they can for you.''

Canutt, who has had about 19 boxes awaiting pickup at her office and is expecting more to come, said hikers also look out for each other.

``It's very sweet the way hikers will leave things they decide they don't need for other hikers to use,'' she said. ``These people are a kick; they're so gung ho. I just look at this as being one of the advantages of working next door to a national forest.''

This year, Pettigrew, 63, is joining the through-hikers. After conquering breast cancer in 1995, she is undertaking the journey in an effort to raise awareness for the need to support research to battle the disease.

Pettigrew, scheduled to begin her hike this week, admits she is a novice backpacker.

``But I live on a dirt road, and it's a 2-mile walk to the mailbox,'' she said. ``I do volunteer work at a six-story hospital, and I never take the elevator.

``A lot of the nurses have tried to talk me out of this, but the way I look at it is this: After beating breast cancer, nothing else can really bother me.''

Valentine, an avid trail runner who has 36 marathons under his belt, dreams of running the entire PCT, piece by piece.

During recent jaunts along the trail in the Laguna Mountains near San Diego, Valentine has run across about a dozen through-hikers, including a fellow who was trying to do a double this year - hiking from Mexico to Canada, and back.

``I had my car, so I invited him out for pizza,'' Valentine said. ``He was very happy to get something hot to eat. He's doing 30 miles a day. We camped together that night and by the time I was waking up, he was already breaking camp and getting ready to head out - just as it was getting light. He moves quickly. I felt glad that I could do something useful for him.''

To volunteer as a PCT host or trail monitor, contact the Pacific Crest Trail Association at [phone].

TAKE A HIKE

The Pacific Crest Trail serpentines nearly 150 miles over the San Gabriel and San Bernardino mountains, offering regional access points for trekkers curious about the ``high road'' from Mexico to Canada. Jump on at any of the following major trailheads (flagged by the PCT icon - a rounded triangle of blue and white) and you may even be able to share trail tales with a through-hiker hoofing the entire 2,638-mile route.

Vasquez Rocks County Park: The trail carves through the famous sandstone slabs at the park, 10700 W. Escondido Canyon Road in Agua Dulce. From the Antelope Valley Freeway (14), exit at Agua Dulce Canyon Road north. Turn right at Escondido Canyon Road and right again at the signed entrance.

Angeles Forest Highway: The PCT bisects the highway (Los Angeles County Road N3) at Mill Creek Summit, a drive of less than 10 miles from the Antelope Valley Freeway south of Palmdale. Park at the summit campground.

Angeles Crest Highway (2): The trail crosses at several locations, of which the closest to the San Fernando Valley is Three Points Junction, 30 northeast of La Canada Flintridge. Look for a wooden sign denoting the side road to Horse Flats, 2-1/2 miles past the Chilao Visitor Center. The PCT kisses the highway twice to the east before crossing again at Cloudburst Summit. It reappears twice north of Eagles Roost picnic area and then at Islip Saddle. The trail snakes out at Vincent Gap and Inspiration Point before traversing Blue Ridge on its southeasterly course toward Cajon Pass on the Mojave Freeway (15).

San Bernardino Mountains: The PCT spans Highway 138 at the west entrance to Silverwood Lake, Highway 173 above Mojave River Forks Reservoir and Highway 18 northeast of Baldwin Lake.

For the most complete guide to the PCT, check out ``The Pacific Crest Trail, Volume 1: California'' (Wilderness Press).

CAPTION(S):

Box

Box: TAKE A HIKE (see text)