Trail Closures & Reuniting at Hiker Heaven – PCT 2017: A Hiking Story [10]

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Part 9 ‘Motivation into Wrightwood & Mount Baden Powell’ 

Day 28 (25/04) – New Faces and Mile 400

The usual routine in the morning ensued: BZZT 5am, coffee and oats, pack up, leave.

Shortly down the trail from Little Jimmy campground, Han Solo and Grundle had camped. They had bypassed the mountain summit, and took to the closed highway as a detour. These guys should have the trail name detour, as they seemed to take a lot, haha. It was cold this morning, and I was hiking with my base layer over the top of my shirt. I quickly added my down jacket, beanie and gloves, and hiked on. I’ve never had to hike in the jacket thus far yet!

When arriving at the junction to the highway, there was an alternate route to bypass the section containing an endangered species of frog. We figured we should adhere to the bypass. It involved walking down the highway several miles before hitting the trail again. It was tough on our feet, but easygoing.

After re-joining the PCT, we passed a creek with a large flow, where we grabbed water and had lunch. There was a pretty waterfall not far away, worth the trip down for a view.

Sometime after the waterfall, we met up with two new hikers who came from behind (around mile 400). The new hikers were Hunter and Beer Muffin. We hiked with them for the rest of the afternoon into Sulfur Springs Campground where we all camped. Corky must have fallen somewhat behind, as he never made the campground. There was another new guy I met there too – another Venezuelan. He turned out to be the friend Echo had talked about – Pirate.

Distance hiked: ~18 miles (28.97 km)

Total PCT hiked: 407 miles (655 km)

Day 29 (26/04) – Vasquez Rocks

It was a much warmer sleep, and getting up was easier than after previous nights. Echo and I set off once again, hoping Corky camped in front of us somewhere. After only two miles, we met Han Solo and Grundle again about to hit the trail too. We wondered how they keep getting in front, but apparently they road-walked and bypassed a lot of the trail. They definitely didn’t hike like how I enjoyed it, but everyone hikes their own hike, I guess.

Along the way, we finally saw Poodle Brush, a dangerous plant that has been eluding us, despite claims that it was there. Apparently, it causes a strong rash and can even result in hospitalisation. Rex and I researched it back in Big Bear, and I smelt the marijuana-like aroma it was meant to produce.

I pressed on faster than the others to see if I could catch Corky. Grundle said he thought we were in front, but I eventually caught up with him and all was well. The five of us: Han Solo, Grundle, Echo, Corky and myself all ended up at a fire station to get water. There was another PCT closure ahead and a detour was made that involved road walking for 16 miles (25.75 km). We unanimously decided that it wasn’t going to be scenic or fun to walk. We ended up booking an Uber cab to get to Acton for lunch at a diner there. Then again, another Uber to Acton KOA, a campground where the trail closure ends. It turns out the detour was via private lands anyway, and the landowners weren’t impressed with the PCT hikers going through there.

Han Solo and Grundle camped there, but we pushed on. It was only a further 11 miles (17.7 km) to Hiker Heaven, a large home decked out to accommodate and provide services for many hikers. We needed to be there by 9pm, so we pressed on to make miles. There was a tunnel going under the train tracks, which was eerie to walk through. I was just ahead of Echo and Corky, and I was waiting at the far end of the tunnel yelling into it amusingly ‘You shall not pass‘ and other ridiculous lines. It turns out they were further behind than I thought, and I was just entertaining myself! At least I can entertain myself anyway!

This stretch invoked rolling grassy hills and quite a bit of uphill, but nothing too bad. Nearing Agua Dulce, the next town on the route, we came to a famous rock formation known as Vasquez Rocks. It was famous from movies like the original Star Wars, The Flintstones, and others. It was spectacular!

Eventually, we arrived wearily into town and bought some beers to take to Hiker Heaven – a trail angel’s large property that all hikers pretty much go to due to its large variety of facilities. It was a mile out of town, however, and it was getting late and dark. We finally arrived – greeted down the road by Rex and her dad Tim with opened beers! ‘Legends!’ I voiced aloud.

We were surprised to see so many other hikers there! At least twenty in total, both new and old faces. It turns out a lot of people who were behind us skipped way more than what we did of the detours, as they were somehow here but never overtook us. It was nice to catch up again with Rex, and we shared stories over many drinks before a shower and bed.

Distance hiked: ~22 miles (35.41 km)

Total PCT hiked: 454 miles (730.64 km)

Day 30 (27/04) – Hiker Heaven Zero Day

I awoke with sand blowing in my face and got up to get some coffee from inside. Many people were heading back to the trail today, but a lot stayed too.

Hiker Heaven had everything a thru-hiker needed – even a postal service! The place was very efficiently organised into sections with big dome yurts containing laundry stuff (including convenient loaner clothes), a computer and charging stations and a postage packing facility. The other side of the property had a large portable building with two bedrooms, a common room and a kitchen. Then there were two RV’s and a huge open area to set up camp in.

It was an easygoing day, with only one trip into town, where we got lunch and resupplied food. A local drove past in his John Deere and asked if we wanted a hitch– ‘hell yeah!’ we said. In we hopped, two in the back and one in the front. What a top bloke!

Rex’s dad Tim had completed his short section of the hike with Rex, and departed this day. I was sure to grab Rex’s dad’s spot in the RV before someone else took it, so I didn’t have to sleep outside again. Rex was in heaven – there were many puppies at the place, which Rex couldn’t get more of, being an avid dog lover.

The zero-day was well-needed, and I felt much rested by the evening. Even though I could have stayed another day, the desire to push on outweighs relaxing too much. The section of the PCT we were in was quite easygoing with regular stops, so we already knew more chill-out zero-days would be in the cards later.

Next Post:

Part 11 ‘Trail Family United & Casa de Luna’ 

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