We started the day out great--both getting a good nightKs sleep on the thick blanket of dried holly leaves. We headed down the trail around 6:15 and a few hours and 6 miles later arrived at the first water cache of the day at a ranger station. We just happened to arrive the at the same time as Joe Anderson who was dropping off 6 hikers who'd spent the night at his house last night. Joe is the trail angel who, along with his wife Terry, supplies several water caches in the area and operates a free hiker hostel. He offered to take us to his house for pancakces and waffles. Tough to pass up free food and hospitality--but we'd had breakfast, so we thanked him for all the water caches and went on.
Around noon, we arrived at another Anderson water cache. It was near a road crossing where we could hitch to Lake Elizabeth--about 2 miles away. The first vehicle that came by picked us up. An African Aerican fellow in his early to mid 60's picked us up. He introduced himself as "David Kennedy--David Charles Kennedy. I never pick up hitch hikers, but you looked like honest folks", he told me. I should note that Dwight was riding in the bed of the pickup, and I was in the cab. Dwight was lying down so the gentleman wouldn't get ticketed for having a paaenger in the bed of his pickup. David pointed out various sites to me enroute and went past his planned destination to take us to the lake.
Lake Elizabeth was not exactly what we'd hope for. The water was murky and had lots of algae and other organic stuff floating around. But it was nice and breezy there. I washed out my socks in the lake thinking that in spite of the gunk in the water thinking algea might be preferable to dirt. (Or is it a toss up?)
We didn't want to get back on the trail until after 4 (when it would be cooler), so after eating our lunch, we hitched to the Rock Inn. David had pointed this historic landmark out to me enroute to the lake. We were picked up by a young mom--who was also a falconer. She trains falcons to kill gulls that circle over landfills. She feeds the falcons by capturing rattle snkes in the desert. Seriously, I'm not making this up. She said, "my husband would kill me if he knew I picked up some hitch hikers". But after we told her about the trail-which she was not familiar with--she said she'd fess up to her husband about picking us up because she'd had a positive experience.
At the Rock Inn, a very cool 2 story rock building with a restaurant/bar downstairs, and 7 inn rooms upstairs, I had dessert and Dwight ordered a salad. While we we eating we were joined by the 89 yr old manager, Rosie, who is also the mother of the proprieter. She takes pictures of all the hikers that come in. We must have talked for 2 hrs and found out all about her family (she's very proud of her son son, she lives with her 79 yr old sister and has 5 great, great grand children), the inn (very popular with the biker crowd), and her earlier career (she owned/operated what we'd now call a day care center). I'd be happy to be half as sharp as she is when I get to be her age.
After leaving Rock Inn we got a hith back to the trail with a woman who had a new toilet in her back seat. She was enroute to pick up the guy that was going to install it for her. We had a small problem though: we could not remwmber where the trail was. She drove us up and down the same stretch of highway several times--but we couldn't find the trailhead. She was pretty sure the trailheads were on a different road, and headed that direction, but D and I were convinced the trail was on the same road as the Rock Inn. Eventually we just had her let us out near where we thought the trail should be.
We wandered down the road a bit and saw a fellow out on his front porch. I asked him if he knew where the PCT was. "Sure", he said. "Let me get a map"--and he came back with a map and 2 bottles of water. To make a long story a bit shorter--the woman had been right about where the traiheads were located--and this fellow ended up giving us a lift there, and telling us "the pleasure was mine".
So we made it back to the trail around 5:30, hiked for an hr or so then made dinner (mashed potatoes and beef jerky--not too excting), hiked until 9:30, and are camped under a 3/4 moon.
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