What a lesson today was in embracing the trail.
First five miles, easy, no problem. At 10am I’m at the trailhead solo ready to be so brave and hitch my first ride. I even changed out of my hiking shirt replete with salt lines into my wool camp shirt to look more respectable. I ask a girl at the trailhead who’s just pulling out if she’s going to Wrightwood and can I hitch a ride and she gives me this look like am I a serial killer before apologetically saying no and driving off. Nice to rip that band aid off early.
Then I hang my thumb on the side of the road at the next truck that drives by. It went by a little quick but loops back through the parking lot to pull over for me at the side of the road. It’s not been five minutes and I’ve successfully got my first hitch. The two guys in the front tell me to toss my pack in the bed of the truck and climb in driver side rear since the rest of the cab is full. The first thing I noticed is there wasn’t an interior portion to the door I got in – it was just the same metal as the outside of the truck. There was, fortunately, a door handle; it was hanging by a wire but quite functional. The guy in the passenger seat turns around and goes “want a beer?” With all the verve that asking that question at 10am on top of a mountain pass requires. Of course I said yes.
Was I a little nervous on those mountain roads after that? Maybe, sure, you could say that. But these guys seemed pretty with it, not like they’d been up all night. And the driver only crossed the double yellow the once! I paid em back by filling them in on the hot springs I passed a few miles back and the closest parking area to get there – they seemed in for a fun day.
They gave me a ride straight to the hardware store where I picked up my first resupply package my dad mailed me. In addition to what I had already, that’ll be more than enough food to get me 80+ miles to Agua Dulce and my next resupply. Also, how cool is it that a hardware store holds pct packages?? Not only that, but they had an area out back for pct hikers to hang out and leave their packs, including a row of outlets to charge electronics. I had to find a few additional snacks in the store to buy to show my appreciation.
Lunch across the street was a home run. The waitress was excellent to me despite having changed back into my salt-streaked shirt and between dipping my tri tip sandy in a lovely jus and my sweet potato fries in ranch I felt like the king of the world.
After a ride back to the trail from a local whose number the hardware store gave me, I got my butt kicked. It’s a tough adjustment to add weight back to your pack all at once in a resupply, and including food and water I was probably pushing 40 pounds. The last few miles in particular took me from 7000 to 8500 feet over 3 miles. I’m set up nicely to summit Mt. Baden Powell tomorrow morning, going to try to go 18 miles total. That may end up lengthening a bit if I take a side route to help out an endangered frog species. Despite the lung and leg workout, feeling pretty good still! First time doing a trail town within one day and I still got 12.5 miles in. Mile 400 coming up soon!
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