To PCT mile 454.5 (stats
here).
I wanted to get to town early so I was determined to get up early. I woke up few times during the night with the urge to take a leak, but I decided not to so that I would have a great reason to get up when the alarm would go off. So it was no trouble getting up at 4am. Everybody else was still asleep, so I tried to disassemble my camp as quietly as possible. It would be reasonable to camp a bit off from everybody else so you would not need to be that quiet. People always wake up.
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| Ready in the morning. The 2nd time I actually use my rain jacket. Only for warmth. |
After visiting the pit toilet, I hit the trail 5am. It was dark and cool, and as it was downhill, my pace was good. I was motivated with the promise of spending time at Hiker Heaven. This is a famous trail angel house with free services for hikers, including laundry, shovers and internet. Along the way, I met with Princess, Sauce and Dream Crusher who camped on the trail. They did not want to continue in pitch black darkness last night.
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| People sleeping on the trail. Need to be careful with night hikers. |
I did good time all the way down and had my breakfast at 8 mile marker. The time was maybe 7:30am. The brekkie was a bit too big, as after that my going was very sluggish. I did not anticipate that the climb after the descent would be so steep and I had real trouble going up again. The heat felt immense. I did not take any additional breaks and just pushed through. When nearing the nearby highway, the minutes grew longer. It seems that when you have an unpleasent noisy background, that just goes forever, you loose your sense for detail and hiking becomes a struggle.
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| The damned train again. |
I got to the rocks where they have filmed Star Trek and other series and movies, and thought I was almost there. It still took almost two hours to get to Hiker Heaven, though.
Hiker Heaven is a fantastic place. Jeff & Donna Saufley own a property that they have transformed for hikers to use. The main building is off limits, but the yard is big, there is a fully equipped trailer for hikers to use. Separate tents with power outlets, a television, guitars, 2 rows of outhouses, 2 showers, and whatnot. And all this without charge. You are welcomed to stay two nights, longer if you are injured. Quite amazing.
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| In Heaven everybody goes nuts. |
I was able to catch up with my blog quite nicely. Also having my laundry done was terrific. Unbelievable that the shirt I have been wearing two weeks, sweating huge amounts every day, got clean. I was sure it was beyound salvation. The compression socks were the only pieces of clothes that got not completely clean. Having a shower felt great as well.
Agua Dulce is a very small place. Only few blocks make the town center. We went to the Mexican restaurant with Louise and Trey. They are fast hikers, and are gonna head out early the next morning. It's a bit sad as they have been pacing my going so nicely the couple last days. I have no hope of catching them as they try to complete the trail in less than 100 days. I would need to ramp up my miles to 40s right away if I would want to see them again.
Hiker Heaven is full of hikers. Writing the blog in the evening was quite hard as one gets swept away with conversations all the time. I tried to find a quiet corner to do the writing, but could not do enough. I settled then that I won't leave early in the morning for the trail. Maybe late in the afternoon. Also, when we walked back from the town center, without our backs, I felt a burning sensation in my lower left shin. I have not felt this before. It would be good to give my body more rest after 2 weeks of straight hiking. But a complete zero would be too much.
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