A Romp Through the West
Day 32
Miles: 0
A zero day at hiker heaven
It’s morning and I feel terrible. Everything hurts. I act terrible too. I’m petulant and unhelpful as J tries to get us ready to go. Maybe more obstructionist than unhelpful… We bicker it out to the root cause, which turns out to be a brutal exhaustion that I just can’t shake. I’m really good at putting everything I have upfront, but maybe I should work on keeping a little back for later. (Nah.)
Day 31
Miles: 10
From the Acton KOA to Hiker Heaven (aka the Saufleys’)
The sun is coming up on our hiker sleepover in the gazebo – one early bird packs up and jets, the rest of us gently stir. It’s morning.
We’ve only got ten miles to go today to arrive at the Saufleys’. Located in Agua Dulce, they operate a thru-hiker waystation at their home. Some operation – they ask that no more than 50 hikers a night come through. (!) They also hold mail and send mail for hikers, which is what I’m particularly excited about. Besides a box of extra food that we sent ahead, and our bounce box, which is full of extra gear, and a box of goodies that my mother has sent, I’ve ordered a brand new pack which should also be waiting for me.
Day 30
Miles: 12
May 31, 2014
From sulphur spring to the Mill Creek fire station to the Acton KOA
Pushing miles always sounds good on the day I’m doing it, but I regret it the day after. Today’s the day after… We’re dragging, as usual, and the last ones out of the camping area.
There’s a complicated detour section coming up. From here on there are poodle dog bush infestations. Some of the reports seem greatly exaggerated, others more serious. Then there’s the fact that I’ve never seen a poodle dog bush rash. It’s said to cause bloating, pain, oozing pustules, and itchiness, but these are all second hand reports. That said, I’ve never seen a poison oak rash, but I trust that it’s nasty. Anyhow, some hikers are detouring onto a forest service road right from sulphur springs. Others plan on taking the trail to the Mill Creek fire station then detouring from there. Others are hoping for a hitch.
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Day 29
Miles: 24
From little Jimmy Spring to sulphur spring
When our alarm goes off at the amazingly early hour of 7am, only one other hiker is left at little Jimmy campground. Apparently early has different definitions for different people. Gizmo and Dirtnap, bringing up the rear again.
The trail today has a lot of decisions. Instead of a long, unbroken, dirt conveyor belt to Canada, the trail has closures, road walks, and too many road crossings to keep track of. The decisions start right away, as J and I look up at another crazy climb up a ridge. Highway 2 sweeps around the ridge and connects back up with trail where it comes careening back down. Uphill is always the answer, so up we go. Nothing like a good haul in the morning to remind you that you did the same thing yesterday.
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Day 28
Miles: 14
From Wrightwood to Little Jimmy Spring Camp
I wake up and take another shower. Might as well start off clean for the next section. Don and Yvon feed us breakfast, then Yvon takes us to the store for a new fuel canister and then to the trailhead. Yvon explained last night that get daughter has found surrogate mothers all over the world – so she likes to take care of the children of other people who come their way. These debts and gifts of kindness get passed around in a giant loop all over the world I suppose. My mother likes to take in the children of friends and strangers too. I wonder if it all eventually shakes out even – it seems that those who are better at giving have more room to receive.
Day 27
Miles: 7
I wake up and look outside the tarp – it’s the crack of dawn, cracking its way into my little blue home. Behind a screen of pines, the day breaks pink and gold, and J and I watch the sun rise with our heads still on our pillows. “So this is what sunrise looks like!” I exclaim. “It’s beautiful!”
“Who knew?” jokes J. We watch the sunrise snuggled together. The morning fades into normal morning-ness and we go back to sleep. No point in wasting a perfectly cool, lovely morning by being awake.
I’m exhausted. J and I can pull big days, but when we start stacking them in a row it takes us down pretty quick. We only have seven miles to do today – if we’re taking a rest day, why not rest here, on the mountain, in the pines? So we stay.
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Day 23
Miles: 7
From our creekside camp to the Mojave Siphon Power Plant (then Wrightwood)
We set two alarms last night – our first for the trip. One was for the middle of the night – there was supposed to be a meteor shower. The other was our wake-up call at the shockingly early hour of 6:30.
When the first alarm went off, J and I squinted through sleep up at the sky. In the minute and a half we could keep our eyes open, we didn’t see a single meteor. What kind of meteor shower is this??
The second alarm is going off now – what a terrible way to wake up. I’d usually rather get a late start, but we’re meeting J’s cousin on the side of the road at ten and we still have some miles to do.
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Day 22
Miles: 8
From Deep Creek to 8 miles from Deep Creek
Hot spring soak in the morning, what a life. Most of the thru-hikers are on the trail before I’ve even had breakfast, but Sylvia and Billy have the same plans as us: rest day at deep creek.
It’s warm and sunny, which means J can dry out his stuff. I managed to keep my clothes and bag dry yesterday, but J didn’t. He tucked his plastic trash bag around his stuff instead of putting his stuff inside – looks like I won’t be adopting his method.
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Day 21
Miles: 22.5
From holcombe creek to deep creek hot springs
In Ray Jardine’s book on tarp camping, he harps endlessly on how ventilation is the point of a tarp. Supposedly, this is to prevent condensation inside your tent. I’ve had a sneaking feeling that maybe Ray’s wife just got tired of being hotboxed with rehydrated bean farts.
Last night, though, J and I chose not to follow Ray’s instructions on keeping the tarp ventilated, and we closed off both of the tarp’s open ends, one end with the insert (the batwing), and the other with our umbrellas. We were so cold. I woke up in the middle of the night with condensation raining down on me. Whoops. Should have gone with the ventilation after all. It got cold enough that the condensation froze for a while – it was a chilly night.
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Day 20
Miles 19.5
From Big Bear to Holcombe creek
May 21, 2014
When J and I made it to breakfast at 7am we were the last up. Papa Smurf had already made eggs and sausage, biscuits, gravy, and potatoes. Everyone was eating companionably while the dogs looked hopeful.
No one else was heading out in the morning so Papa Smurf dropped just the two of us back at the trail. Before we left he asked if he could leave us with a prayer. “Of course,” I reply. After his blessing on our journey he bids us off. He puts his hand out to shake but I hug him instead. I find it almost strange, to find someone so generous. It’s like when someone is too happy – you try and figure what’s really behind it. I wonder again what it is about tired, dirty thru-hikers that inspires his concern. We’re so often wrapped up in our own stories, our sufferings, or happinesses, this saga we are building for ourselves. Life goes on without us.
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