If you think Lee Vining to Tuolumne Meadows makes for a slow and windy drive, try it in winter on cross country skis sometime. The 17-mile trek over Yosemite’s Tioga Pass climbs more than 5,000 feet, taking my brother and me ten hours on a cold December day. Completely spent, we arrived at Tuolumne Ski Hut at dusk, finding two other visitors already there.

“Welcome. Want a beer?” asked one new hut mate as the other tended a warm and comforting fire. We gladly accepted, and a cold brew never tasted better.

Those who frequent the outdoors can tell you that such kindness occurs more often than you might expect. I encounter it frequently, and in honor of Thanksgiving, I compiled the following list to express my gratitude.

I’m grateful for the strangers who gave my buddies and me more free beers at Mount Whitney, Camp 4 and Ostrander Ski Hut.

Thanks to the backpackers who gave my companion and I water when we were hot and thirsty on the Pacific Crest Trail. On the same trek, multiple groups of Trail Angels gave us hot meals and cold drinks.

Lots of friendly motorists have given me lifts back to my car after hikes, sometimes for more than 100 miles. I’ve even hitched rides from a park ranger and sheriff’s deputy.

When my climbing partner dropped an expensive piece of gear from a popular Yosemite route, a fellow climber returned it instead of keeping it like he easily could have. In fact, I’ve never met a climber who failed to help out someone in need on the rock. 

On multiple occasions when campgrounds were full, campers invited companions and me to share their sites; it doesn’t hurt to bring a six-pack when you ask. Once when a friend and I were camping near a fishing cabin, its owners arrived, invited us to stay inside, fed us and even lent us fishing gear! 

After I helped a hiker ascend Yosemite’s Vogelsang Peak, she bought me a delicious and pricey dinner at Vogelsang High Sierra Camp. Other hikers have invited companions and me to dinner in the High Sierra and the Grand Canyon. 

I hypothesize that the farther you go from a paved road, the nicer people become. Here’s proof: when I lost my GPS device deep in the backcountry, another backpacker picked it up, found my “home” waymark, determined my address from it and mailed it back, refusing my offer to compensate him for his trouble.

I hope I’ve given as much back. I give food and water to backpackers, give directions to anyone who needs them, pick up hitchhikers whenever I can, and let campers share my site when others are full. 

No one can promise that every outdoors encounter will be a good one, of course, but experiences I’ve enjoyed could bolster one’s faith in human nature, providing yet another reason to get out there. 

Trail snacks: Shout out to those who do for others in the outdoors. Here are a few efforts which caught my eye. At this year’s California Coastal Cleanup, 36,000 volunteers at more than 750 sites recovered 296,000 pounds of trash. Thousands of volunteers have gathered to clean up Yosemite through annual Facelift events for 20 years, removing more than 1.2 million pounds of garbage. 

Tens of thousands of cyclists have participated in the AIDS LifeCycle Ride, pedaling 545 miles from San Francisco to Los Angeles, since 1994. Together they have raised more than $339 million for HIV and AIDS-related services. And the Every Kid Outdoors Program grants all fourth graders and their families free access to federal public lands. Since 2015, the program has helped more than a million students experience and enjoy nature.

Outdoors authors seem to outdo themselves every year and this was no exception. Pick up “Trail of the Lost: The Relentless Search to Bring Home the Missing Hikers of the Pacific Crest Trail.” Author Andrea Lankford takes readers on a riveting quest to find three men who disappeared from the famed backpacking route. Those who sought the missing hikers for years bring new meaning to the term “trail angel.”