I haven’t mentioned that one of the fun features of Hiker Heaven is the musicians. There’s a piano, a “hiker guitar” and today one of the Donna Saufley crew of volunteers serenaded us on his trombone!

It’s much cooler today— yesterday we were all looking for shade, but today we look for sun. The hikers are all talking “Sierras”. Many bought “serious snow equipment” at REI yesterday. Some are planning “moonlight hiking” tonight, since it’s easy trail and a close-to-full moon. Bill and I are resting (me, writing!) and tomorrow morning we will head out for a 9:00am church service that is about an hour’s walk from here and right along the PCT route. After church, we’ll just keep going!

Walk to Rivendell: In Rivendell!

We got up early today, and along with Charlie, we made a breakfast feast for all the hikers– 2 kinds of pancakes, plus bacon, sausage and ham, plenty of strawberries, bananas, butter and syrup to put on them. Then I found the official “hiker sewing basket” and basically spent the whole rest of the day sewing lots of projects, from fairly extensive repairs on Bill’s pack (and another hiker’s pack) to new construction of items Bill had lost. Bill went to REI and got new trek poles to replace the ones he broke on Fuller Ridge. (The days when hikers drove to town in “big Red” are over. Somebody crashed “Big Red.” So now, a whole crew of volunteers drove hikers to REI.)

In the afternoon, the section-hiker couple we met on Baden-Powell came in with the makings of banana splits! All the hikers instantly were there from all the tents all over the yard. Later on, volunteer JJ gave us a ride to town and Bill talked to him some more (they’d had other conversations) about knowing God in a real way, not just as religion, and that the key issue was “who is the boss of my life— me, or God?” JJ decided to choose God, and he prayed with Bill to let God know what he’d decided. It was awesome!

Walk to Rivendell: In Rivendell!

For awhile this morning, we were still in the “burn Zone” and following the PCT alternating between slipping and sliding across mountainsides where the trail had just fallen away, or pushing through weeds. But finally we were out of the burn zone and into just nice, normal trail. By 8:00am we were at the KOA in Soledad Canyon, where we cleaned up and ate breakfast.

The PCT takes off from there and wanders all over (I think the idea is to give us a chance to admire the rock formations?) but we finally reached the ridgetop where we could see Agua Dulce. We cheered (even though we still had quite a way to go before we got there!) Vesquez Rocks were as awesome as ever. It is so obvious that they were laid down and shaped by massive amounts of water, very quickly. We stopped for a hot lunch in the shade of a huge pepper tree, and while we were eating, along came a lady on a gorgeous dapplegrey horse, who asked “are you headed for the Saufleys? At 4:30 I will give a ride to Walmart for any hiker who wants one.”

That sounded good, and once we reached Hiker Heaven and got cleaned up, we did go with her, and got lots of food, both for us and to share before calling it a day and bedding down on cots in one of the big white tents.

Walk to Rivendell: On path lined with white stones which began at the Ford, with first views of Rivendell.

Today began with one of the other hikers announcing, “Ladies and Gentlemen, rise and shine! It’s 5:45am and the bus leaves at 6:30!” (we’d all promised Dr. Bay to be ready to go at 6:30). But at 6:15, here she came with a huge skillet of hot scrambled eggs (”My hens are laying so much, we can’t keep up with them— eat, eat!) She dropped us off at the “trail” and soon we were roadwalking into the burn zone of the huge “Station Fire” that had closed the PCT. It was sad. In many places, the fire was so intense that it turned even the dirt into ash. Signs warned us to stay on the road.

Eventually we reached Aliso Creek road. Hooray, not much longer and we’d reach the powerline road that would take us back to the PCT. But a dayhiker we met warned us that just yesterday, the USFS rescinded its permission to use that route. “But it’s not posted as closed” he reassured us. Yikes! We hiked as fast as we could, and sure enough, there were no “closed” signs. “Quick, let’s get on it before any rangers can stop us!” we cheered.

As it turned out, that’s a busy road— dirtbikes passed us, and mining trucks. Eventually we passed the mine and things were a lot quieter— no more traffic. A final tough climb brought us back to the PCT— but what a sad sight. The trail was a mess from the fire, sometimes sliding down the hill, sometimes so overgrown with “post-fire type” weeds that it was hard to follow. We ended up camped in a dry gully.

Walk to Rivendell: Road bending down, camped near small stream with newcomer Glorfindel.

Neither of us had any sleep last night— the wind howled all night, and even with “all our layers on” inside our sleeping bags, it was hard to stay warm. By morning, all our stuff was wet and we headed out very early, hoping to warm up by hiking fast. It didn’t take long to reach the PCT at Islip Saddle, where the “big Detour” began. The first leg was a lovely, cloud-misty hike down to South Fork Campground, where a lot of orange-clothed CDC crews were hard at work.

We crossed the river and headed into Devil’s Punchbowl park. We were here in 2005 also, and wow! The trails and signs are much improved! The rock formations are mind-blowing— all colors and sorts, bent, twisted and sculpted. We ate lunch and dried our gear, then began the many miles of roadwalking through the desert. By 5:30pm we’d reached the turnoff to the town of Little Rock, where we planned to get more water and eat dinner.

It took almost 2 miles of walking before we strolled into Ana’s Cafe, and when we came in, a lady who was also there eating took one look at us and said, “are you guys hiking the PCT?” “Yes!” “How would you like to stay at my ranch tonight? I’ve got 4 other hikers who are coming, too.” That was a no-brainer! So we ended up with Dr. Gay (she is a veterinary doctor) and got showers, plus camping on her lawn! Her sister hiked the PCT, it turns out, and Gay was overjoyed to be able to help hikers.

Walk to Rivendell: Camped in saddle of ridge on rocky ground with a gnarled pine tree.