Wed. June 8    Miles today: 25:3      Total so far: 478.6

The Saufley's garage

We were up at about 5:00 am this morning and had a bit of a tough time repacking our packs, because we kept getting in each other’s way in the cramped space of the RV.  We took our “Saufley Electric” clothes and returned them to the laundry basket in the well-organized garage.  Then it was “Good-bye!” to Hiker Heaven and a pleasant 1.1 mile walk down Darling Road and back to the PCT.  We walked all the way through sleeping Agua Dulce, and finally began our climb into the Sierra Pelona Mountains.  Now we were REALLY back in the groove!

A little way into the mountains, we passed a ranch that had an airliner fuselage by the farmhouse.  Wish I knew the story behind that!  We came to a trail register, which Bill signed, “Bill & Monty Chipman, back to peanut butter and crackers!” 

 I continued to enjoy the trailside wildflowers as I walked along, though now that it’s June, things are drying up, and there are less flowers and more stickers to catch on our shoes!  When we reached the top of our first climb,  I was excited to see what I think is called a “lenticular” cloud.  I’ve seen pictures of them, but never before a “real live one”.

Reservoir in the distance

Our PCT  led us down toward Bouquet Reservoir, then up and over another ridge into a very pretty, very green canyon.  We were in and out of canyons the rest of the day, but at about 3:30 pm, we had a BIG surprise! 

Casa de Luna PCT "cache"

We had thought we were hearing people’s voices up ahead, and as we came around a bend in the trail, there was an almost life-size plastic skeleton clad in hiking bandannas, and holding out a can of beer!  This “boney” hiker showed the entrance to a sort of “cave” in the manzanita bushes lining the trail.  Inside were lots of comfortable chairs, a pink plastic flamingo, an inflated plastic palm tree, and a cooler full of soft drinks and beer.  The “host” was jolly, rascally Joe Anderson, and many of our PCT acquaintances were already there, having a very silly, fun time.  Joe invites everyone who stops at his “oasis” to come to his house in Green Valley for more fun.  Bill and I had a root beer and a “regular” beer each, as yet more hikers arrived.  It was all totally fun, but we had 6 more miles to hike before reaching the road, so we pushed on.  Mr. Anderson said he would be at the road trailhead by 6:30 to give rides to his house, but we had decided we’d rather just camp in the peace and quiet of the trail. 

Trouble was, by the time we did our 6 miles and reached the ranger station at the road, where we filled our water bottles and had supper, I was totally wasted.  The problem was, for the first time in my life, I was using TWO trek poles instead of one.  My feet and legs LOVE the trek poles, but owooooo, my poor shoulder muscles!  They were aching terribly, and my arms were totally worn out.  I just felt like I could not go any farther.  So we  made a nice camp a little way up the trail past the ranger station, and had an “evening entertainment” of listening to “ranger radio.”    We checked Bill’s feet, and they are doing great!  He did not have to take even one Motrin today.   I went to sleep thinking, “Thankyou, Lord, for helping Bill’s feet–now I need some help getting used to these trek poles!”

I got up really early this morning and tiptoed into the kitchen of the main trailer to make a really nice breakfast for everybody–bacon, sausage and pancakes with sliced strawberries, butter and maple syrup–all washed down with more “cowboy coffee.”  The 15 or so hungry thru-hikers were very grateful, especially the ones who just came in late last night.    (You may ask, “Where did you get all that food you cooked?”  Well, just out of the fridge and off the shelves–if it’s not labelled with a name, it’s fair game!)

I spent the morning writing journal entries, counting our food, and making a shopping list for the grocery store in town.  Lunch was giant salads again–we are doing our best to obey Donna Saufley and keep that fridge clean!  People keep buying stuff and putting it in for everyone to use–everyone is VERY generous!  Bill meanwhile was keeping his feet up and resting and airing them.  They look MUCH better!  The blisters and raw spots are healing fast.  He had fun talking to the other hikers.

A bunch of us piled into Big Red in the afternoon for the run to the grocery store, and I had fun shopping, including buying stuff to put in the fridge for other hikers to eat.  But I had even more fun talking to the newbie checkout clerk at the store.  He had been noticing PCT hikers walking by on the road, but had no clue what was going on.  Turns out he’d noticed that all the guys have beards, and concluded it must be some kind of Amish pilgrimage!  I had to assure him that we were all sorts of people, from all over  the world, hiking the famous Pacific Crest Trail that runs right by the front door of his grocery store.  And the beards–well, it’s kind of hard to shave when you are backpacking! 

Back at the Saufley’s, Bill concocted a box for mailing home our ice axes and Yaktrax.  The Saufleys have a great system for mailing hiker packages, and soon there was quite a pile of them on the porch!  We are not the only people who are going to save the Sierras for later.  People are planning to “skip up” up to various places along the PCT to the north.  Some are going all the way to Canada, and planning to “sobo” back to Agua Dulce!

Meanwhile, the hikers who weren’t in the middle of “redoing their itinerary” were all engrossed in a movie about the first climb of K-2, and when it was over, the barbeque got fired up, and it was feast time again–cheeseburgers with bacon and all the fixings, hot dogs, and “smokey links” (I never had those before–wow, they were good!).  Hikers also scarfed down bowls of coleslaw and baked beans and to wash it down, there were a lot of softdrinks, beer and wine.  Then, to the complete surprise of one of the hikers, a chocolate cake was produced, and “Happy Birthday” sung.  He didn’t know we knew it was his birthday!  And oh yes, we had ice cream with chocolate sauce, too.  Pig-out city once again.

But we were really happy also because today we’d been able to “eat” the kind of food Jesus ate, that He talked about in John 4:34,  where He said, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent me.”  The “food” Jesus had just been “eating” was to talk to a bad Samaritan woman and help her understand that He was the Savior God had promised to send, and that all the crummy life she’d been leading could be transformed and she could be forgiven.   Well,  while we’ve been here today “taking a zero”, we also had a chance to discuss spiritual things with a number of the other hikers.  The conversations were very interesting, and very diverse, but the one common denominator for all (and I totally understand it, because that’s where I used to “be at”) went like this: “No way do I want God bossing my life.  It’s MY life, and He can just stay OUT.” 

Some of the hikers took the position of living in a very tiny world called, “I’m a good person, and I don’t need God”.  Some were living in la-la land of “Oh, all religions are the same–just pick one and be sincere.”  Other hikers were just basically bored with the “religion” they were brought up with (usually some “empty shell” form of “Christianity”), and were looking for new spiritual “thrills”.    A couple of them yelled at us and told us “Get lost–I hate you people who try to push your religion on me.”  There was one hiker, though, who really listened, and said, “You know, I can see that what you’re saying is true, and the Bible is for real, but honestly, I just don’t want God in my life right now.  Maybe later.”

Talking with all these different people was fun, but sad.  Not one of them actually know Jesus Christ or what He has done for them.   Bill and I went to bed in the RV and spent some time praying for all of them, because tomorrow we hit the trail again.