Trail Family United & Casa de Luna – PCT 2017: A Hiking Story [11]

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Part 10 ‘Trail Closures & Reuniting at Hiker Heaven’ 

Day 31 (28/04) – Start of a Trail Relationship

Today we’d be back to hiking properly again. The sleep I had was amazing in the RV – no wind, dust, or cold! Rex went to the bathroom early, and came back with a mug of coffee for each of us – an incredible wake-up gesture! We got up eventually after doing some blogging and got more coffee – about 5 cups in all! Shortly after, Mechanic came in and assumed pancake cooking – as he was famous for!

We said goodbyes, donated some money for the stay, and got some group photos. A few hikers – Akhuna, Rubberball and 4 Leaf weren’t always with us, but they were always somewhere nearby, and we met at almost every town or stopover. Bottlecaps is similar, but he is more or less section hiking and skipping sections, so we don’t always see each other. These kinds of hikers became part of our ‘extended trail family’ as we called it.

We had a late start and hiked out of town. The day was hot, and we had a lot of hill-climbing to tackle. Water was scarce, but Rex managed to flag a car down to get water with a sign saying ‘Water?’. It worked a treat! With a big thanks, we saw the guys off and continued.

We found a campsite amongst the trees and decided it was far enough to camp. Each of us picked a spot amongst the trees. Rex and I had started to get a little closer by this evening, after some previous discussion on trail involving my… oblivious… lack of observation of a certain cute girl showing some kind of affection toward me. At this point in life, I was in heaven! And so began my trail relationship with Rex.

Distance hiked: 17.5 miles (28.16 km)

Total PCT hiked: 471 miles (758 km)

Day 32 (29/04) – Trail Angels at Casa de Luna

We only had a short hike into Casa de Luna – a very eclectic place for hikers to visit. We were swiftly picked up by the famous trail angel (Terri Anderson) who ran the place as she dropped off other hikers back to the trail. Just in time for breakfast!

Breakfast involved pancakes and coffee, which was delicious. However, it was always sad to see Rex go without the pancakes due to her celiac condition. We walked into the tiny village, where Rex could have a suitable breakfast, whilst we all grabbed some milkshakes – yummo! Before we had left though, we traditionally had to wear one of the Hawaiian shirts – I chose a splendid tattered one with the arm falling off, because it suited my trail name Tatters.

We camped at the back of the house in a huge forest of trees, interlaced with little paths weaving around to different sites. We selected a site near the back of the forest. It was so well-hidden, that I lost its location many times. I had to remember the way via small painted stones that were familiar landmarks. I might be able to hike the Pacific Crest Trail, but this forest was some Narnia shit!

This was, by far, the least eventful nero day we had, there were limited things to do in the area. Most of the day was socialising and chilling out on the couches in the driveway of their home. I did small jobs like patching my shoes with glue and catching up with blogging.

They gave out the PCT bandanas here, which we had to dance for to receive – which was a laugh. Also, when serving dinner (simple nachos), if you did not follow the rules, you were given a swift whack with a stick by Terri who owned the place. She definitely was a character, and it was quite amusing!

Also, it’s tradition to sign the huge canvas. In future photos via social media through the days to come, this canvas would fill up completely!

Distance hiked: 4 miles (6.44 km)

Total PCT hiked: 478 miles (769.27 km)

Day 33 (30/04) Hot Hiking and Sawmill Campground

We almost left Casa De Luna early, but coffee and pancakes held us back. Rex, Echo, Corky and I eventually left around 7:30am, and headed back to the trail.

The day was hot early, and grew warmer in the day. After only seven miles, just before midday, we decided to rest and let the hot midday sun pass over. It was truly amazing rest, and our little tree house was a great cover. We ended up hiking again some three hours later.

Up, up, up for many miles to come was the latter section of the day, before going over the ridge into a surprisingly green valley below. We saw another hiker, Candyman, camped out and had dinner next to him. Then we pushed on the final five miles to the campsite we had chosen earlier. We admit, it darkened quicker than expected and had to night hike with headlamps for two hours through the spectacular forest.

We ended up cowboy-camped on top of a ridge at Sawmill Campground, exhausted from the long day’s hiking.

Distance hiked: 21 miles (33.8 km)

Total PCT hiked: 498 miles (801.45 km)

Next Post:

Part 12 ‘A Truly Hot and Dry Desert After All Surrounding Hikertown’ 

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