A Week Off-trail for 4th July with Rex! – PCT 2017: A Hiking Story [29]
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Part 28 ‘Desolation Wilderness & Truckin’ to Truckee’
It was time to visit Rex and her family and have a break off trail. The plan was to get from Truckee to Reno via train, and then fly Reno to Portland via plane. Rex’s parents lived not far out of Portland over the border in Vancouver, Washington State (not the Canadian one).
The Weird Town of Reno
After temporarily relieving myself from the PCT at mile 1153, and spending a night in Truckee, I made my way to Reno via train. I booked last minute into a hostel without research. It turned out to be a weird Burner hostel – it was a unique experience for sure! I was told I needed to remember the 10 burner commandments and become a member – it was all very… odd, haha! The rooms were pretty damn cool though!
After taking the flight to Portland, Oregon, I was reunited with Rex! I missed her so much! She hadn’t been on trail since leaving Glen Pass a month before, and was ready to return after the 4th July celebrations at her parent’s place.
Rex’s Parents’ Home
Her parent’s house was amazing, and it looked like a resort to me! I was reacquainted with Tim (Rex’s dad), whom I had already met on trail in both Wrightwood, and Hiker Heaven when he had hiked with Rex. Then I got to meet her mum, Deb, and grandparents.
Over the course of a week, I had a massive American cultural experience with a great bunch of people who generously took me in for all this time and were extremely friendly.
We went out in Portland to several bars (including a cool cider bar where I got a tasting rack), met a few of Rex’s friends who came over to visit, and we cooked S’mores on the outdoor fire. They showed me Powell’s bookshop – one of the more famous ones in the USA which was cool. We also visited Deschutes Brewery and had lunch.
I finally got to sell my bear canister to another PCT hiker, who was about to start the Sierras in Kennedy Meadows. Good riddance to that heavy hunk of junk! We then went to Costco, where I helped Rex buy bulk food and items for the party. This was one of the most memorable shopping experiences I’ve had! The place was just ridiculous! Rex posted a photo of me on Instagram pretending the $850 shop was my resupply for the PCT haha.
Rex’s brother (plus his wife), and cousins also came. We all ended up deciding on floating down a river (the name escapes me) in cheap inner tubes bought from the toy section of a department store. We had packed some beers in a cooler, which ended up taking a ride in a shark floaty attached to a tube. We hopped in our pink donuts and set off downstream. It was exceptionally fun!… until things got a little intense! The stream became shallow, and our arses were starting to hit rocks in the boney sections! It was a fairly quick flow in the rapids too, so you really needed to get your butt up in time at points. Definitely thrilling! Sadly, we didn’t get any photos whilst on the river!
One afternoon, we all got in the inflatable pool we had bought, but the water we used from the well was freezing, so we needed the tubes for that too!
We also played games such as Kubb, Cornhole and Frizbee – all are great because you can hold a beer whilst playing. Whilst having more S’mores around the fire, we decided at around 10pm that we’d go watch Wonder Woman at the cinema. I wasn’t expecting much, but damn! The gir…. I mean, the movie was great!
On the 3rd, the big party was underway, with about 40 people – friends, family, neighbours… and a random PCT hiker. I was surprised to see that most people already knew who I was via Rex’s blog, and I ended up talking to almost everyone! The food was endless, and every day I felt in heaven, especially when I still had some hiker hunger remaining. In the evening, we watched the fireworks in Portland in the evening and were very impressed!
4th July Parade
On the big day, the 4th, we celebrated the day by attending a parade in a nearby town where all sorts of cars and floats were jazzed up and on show. I got to ride in Tim’s 1920’s Model T Ford that had been restored. The multiple old horns were a nice touch! Along with the Model T were several Model A’s belonging to various relatives, a 1950’s model (which I also got to ride in) and finally a Sidecar bike (like the ones from WW2).
I wandered around the other participants, ranging from a Tiny BMW with a front opening door, to Mustangs, Pontiacs, trucks, tractors, and classic models. Upon looking at a rig, I noticed it looked familiar – Optimus Prime from Transformers! In the end, our group won the Mayor’s Choice trophy! Four of us handed out lollies to kids as the cars drove down the street. I must say, I had a blast! USA, USA!
After everyone left, Rex and I got to sort out our resupply for getting back to the trail. It was great to have the experience and break away from trail, but I was keen to return.
We even planned ahead for once and sent two boxes to the smaller locations – Sierra City and Belden. This enables us to skip a few town days to get through more miles. Whilst sorting our bags, Tim had called us when he needed stirrers for their annual raspberry jam production. He made at least 70 small Tupperware containers full which went to friends and family and of course for themselves to use throughout the year.
Flying Back to Trail
On the 6th, we headed off to Portland airport and I said my goodbyes to Deb and Tim (Rex’s parents) and thanked them immensely for having me. We checked in our bags and set off to Reno, the closest airport to where I left the trail last near Truckee.
Upon arriving in Reno, my bag had arrived, but not Rex’s. What the hell!
After consulting the baggage lady who was very kind, she discovered that my bag had been checked in with Rex’s tag, and her bag must have had a random passenger’s tag, as my name never came up. It was confusing, but when we looked back, the check-in assistants did seem to be new and not entirely very knowledgeable. They majorly screwed up there!
United – the airline, booked us a room and gave us $30 each of food vouchers and some money for Rex to get new clothes. This didn’t come easy though, and Rex worked for it, not having any options whilst waiting in Reno for news of the bag. We waited two days, and eventually, there was no point in me hanging around, so we both agreed I should get back to the trail, and she decided she was going to LA with friends whilst waiting.
(note: she got her bag 7 days later on the 13th and would hopefully rejoin me around the 20th)
Next Post:
Part 30 ‘Back on Trail, Sierra City & Out of the High Sierra’
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