We got started around 6--after a not so great night's sleep on hard packed sand. The early part of the day was through dense chapparel, and we saw lots of hummingbirds--with no clear idea of what was attracting them to the trees they seemed to be interested in.
Our first water came from what the water report called a "guzzler"--a large underground cement holding tank with a heavy steel cover. We think this water is generally used to fight back country fires. Dwight dropped his water filter hose down into it the cement holding tank and pumped out pretty decent tasting water.
We stopped for lunch under a stand of oak trees--and met a hiker named Dozen--a guy in his mid to late 20's from So Cal, but now living in Maui (sp?) because he thought it would be a neat place to live. His trail name came from having dropped 12 lbs of weight from his pack.
My lunches are getting better: a bagel with cream cheese and genoa salami. The cream cheese looks a bit nasty after a couple of days in a hot backpack, but still tastes fine.
After lunch we walked though a beautiful area a rye grass and oaks and fairly level trail. The rye grass was a combination of green pruple snd golds, gently swaying in the afternoon breeze. We spent the rest of the day descending to desert on a oddly meandering trail--apparently skirting a large private ranch. Our timing was good here because hikers that came through this section earilier in the day said it was miserably hot. We had a nice breeze--and I thought the section was actually enjoyable with lots a fragrant wildflower in bloom.
We arrived at Hikertown around 6pm. It is a private residence at the side of a rural highway. Since the property is adjacent to the PCT, the caretaker convinced the absentee owner to allow hikers to camp in the yard, get water, use an outdoor shower and internet and just get oput of the sun. Along one side of the property the owner has created a old western looking town--with a bunkhouse (where hikers can hang out), feed store, a few other buldings and some chickens running around. One end of the bunkhouse is a private room where Dwight and I stayed. Everything--including use of the caretaker's car--is done by donation only. The caretaker--Bob--is a super nice guy.
Tommorow we will begin hiking across the Mojave-not leaving until late in the afternoon to avoid the heat of the day. That should give my swollen feet some time to recover.
No comments:
Post a Comment