Bill and I didn’t get up till 6:30 this morning–for a thruhiker, that is totally lazy!  I made us a huge breakfast in the hostel kitchen–3 fried eggs each,  on top of raisin English muffins, and a whole orange each.  Other hikers wandered in and said, “Man, that looks good!”  (They were only getting coffee and planning to go out for breakfast.)  I should say that it’s been fun talking to the other hikers here.  Those who actually made it across Fuller Ridge are few and far between, and they are like us–really tired!

Then we packed up everything, and Bill very kindly redid the antibiotic ointment, bandages, etc. on my rear end.  It is still pretty sore.  Bill commented, “I think you left a fair amount of yourself up there on the ridge.”  This morning was clear, sunny and cold; after last night’s howling wind and racing dark clouds, it was very pleasant!

We could see lines of pelicans flying by over the lake, which is only a block away from the hostel. The locals said as soon as the ice is gone from the lake each year, the pelicans come back.    This winter, for the first time in many years, the ENTIRE lake froze over and was very slow about breaking up.  Even now, I think you could still ski on some of the ski runs at the two main ski resorts.

After one last try at phoning the chap in Erwin Lake, we gave up  and headed out for the Big Bear City post office to get our next resupply box.  We walked down the street to the bus stop and stuck out our thumbs, figuring “Maybe we can snag a ride before the bus comes.”  Another thruhiker soon joined us, and we all stood there hopefully.  Sure enough, a lady in a little ratty car full of junk offered us a ride, we all squeezed in, and she took us straight to the post office.  Big Bear is definitely a trail angel town!!

At the PO, our box was waiting, AND we got our pictures taken as part of  the “PCT hiker 2010 display”  on the post office wall.  It’s pretty awesome!  Each hiker photo is labelled with your trail name and your age.  Bill and I were proud that we are among the oldest hikers so far this year.  Go, geezers!   We carried our box outside, and it only took a few minutes to load it into our packs.  A number of other hikers were doing the same thing.  It is fun to see what kind of stuff people mail to themselves!

Since we hadn’t been able to contact the guy at Erwin Lake, we had to decide where to stay tonight.  We are still very tired, and we need a rest.  The hostel was OK, but not that cheap, actually, for two people.  We asked at the PO if there was anyplace nearby, and they said, “Sure–all the hikers go to a place down the street there.”   We had just started to head out of the post office parking lot when a guy pulled up next to us and said, “Where are you going?  I can give you a ride.”   And he gave us a lift straight to Nature’s Inn.  When we pulled in, there was Billy Goat–so we knew for sure we were at a hiker-friendly place!   When we thanked the guy for the ride, he said, “I love helping you hiker people.   You’re only in town for a couple of weeks, and I love every minute of it!”  Wow!

 

Well, all I can say is, “This is like heaven!”  Nature’s Inn is WAY better than the hostel, much cheaper (for two of us)  and totally homey and comfortable.  For $37,  we get a really nice room with a fireplace,  a hiker lounge with lots of comfortable couches and carefully sorted hiker boxes full of cool stuff.   I rummaged through the boxes and found the bottom half of a convertible pants leg–perfect for repairs on my poor torn pants.   The manager/owner, Ed, even gave me some thread and scissors to use.  It took quite a long time to finish the mending, since I was determined to make it really strong so that it will last all the way to Canada!  I also mended Bill’s torn shirt sleeve (a bush got him when he fell up on Fuller Ridge). 

Nature’s Inn has so much going for it!  Once I got done with mending,  I went back to the hiker lounge.  There’s free coffee,  fruit, etc.  There’s even a Christmas tree (!!), pool table,  old LP’s you can play, and various heat/massage devices for sore hiker muscles.    There’s even an exercise room with all sorts of equipment,  though the hikers don’t use it–we need REST!   Actually, the “gym” also serves as a sort of overflow place to sleep if the place gets too full.

We walked down the street to the grocery store, where I got some veges, then  made us a nice pasta primavera for dinner, using the gas grill provided by the Inn.   Bill and I are so comfortable and happy here that we decided to stay on for one more day.    So tonight we are lounging in front of a fire in the fireplace (it is a cold night;  the fire feels good!).  The Inn is full of hikers.  It really feels like home!

Walk to Rivendell: Thickets along Great East Road

Tags: Big Bear City, Nature's Inn