PCT Days 40-45

We left Hiker Heaven on day 40, making our way through Agua Dulce on a long road walk. Once we rejoined the trail, we had a bit of a climb for a few miles. The trail made its easy through green valleys as we progressed. It was a cloudy day, a bit chilly and we were feeling the laziness of a zero day. It’s about 24 miles from Hiker Heaven to Casa de Luna, which we wanted to split into two days, so we hiked only 11.1 miles to a campsite next to the road (but hidden by some trees and large bushes) at mile 465.5. This left 12.8 miles to hike the next day.

We got a little rain overnight, so I didn’t get going until after 8, waiting for the sun to dry my tent. The morning’s weather was much nicer, still rather cool compared to average, but sunny at least. The miles to Casa de Luna passed fairly quickly and easily, heading over small mountains from one verdant valley to the next. As we reached the road, storms were coming in to the east, and it began to rain. After struggling to get a hitch for some time, we decided to just walk the 2 miles to Casa de Luna. Less than a mile in though, a nice guy stopped and gave us a ride the rest of the way. Casa de Luna is another trail angel’s home that has been opened for hikers. Terrie provides breakfast and dinner, water, a fun place to hang out, camping, and the annual PCT class bandana. Her backyard extends seemingly forever — a dense Manzanita forest in which dozens of campsites have been carved out, with diverging trails making a maze out of the area. All around the forest are rocks that hikers have painted using the supplies Terrie provides. These rocks often have inspirational or funny messages painted on them, though some are just pretty and a few are genuine works of art. We enjoyed an afternoon of drinking beer and relaxing at Casa de Luna. In the evening, we enjoyed the nachos (“taco salad”) for dinner, after which every hiker had to come up and do a little dance to earn their bandana.

The morning of day 42 was cold and grey, with rain sure to come. I received upsetting news from home in the morning, and the weather matched my mood. There was little I could do to change the situation though, so I rejoined my friends and tried to have a normal day. We all sat around on the couches out front, drinking morning beers and debating whether or not to hike. Another zero didn’t appeal to anyone, but neither did hiking in the rain and cold. Ultimately most of us decided to hike out. The rain kicked in after a short while, at first just misty but then a genuine rain fell. It was brutally windy and cold in the rain, so when we reached some slightly sheltered campsites 11.7 miles in, we called it a day.

Day 43 brought sunshine and slightly warmer temperatures. The plan was to hike 18.2 miles to the Horse Camp, setting up a short day into Hiker Town the next day. I didn’t start hiking until after 10:30, as I waited for things to dry out in the sun. The day’s hiking was pleasant, as we had frequent views of the Mojave below, and much of the day was spent under tree cover. We passed the 500 mile mark, officially making us long distance hikers. I got to camp shortly after 6, and enjoyed a nice sunset.

On day 44, we got going a little slowly as we only had 9.4 miles to Hiker Town at mile 517.6. The descent to the desert was easy enough, and as we arrived shortly after 12, the morning’s sun was turning to clouds, with ominous dark storms in the far distance. Hiker Town is a neat, very kitschy hostel, where hikers can rent cabins for cheap or camp for free, take a shower, charge electronics and just relax. We hopped on the shuttle to the market down the road after getting our rooms picked out (Joren, Benjamin, Jackson and I took City Hall, and as such were the temporary mayors of Hiker Town). The market had excellent food, and after eating way too much, we headed back to Hiker Town, and had an enjoyable night watching the storm split around us, then pass by, leaving an incredible rainbow. The sunset was fantastic as well.

Today is day 45, and we’re taking another unplanned zero due to weather. It’s very cold and windy, with rain over much of the desert we’d be hiking through, so we coughed up another $5 each to stay another night. We got brunch this morning at the market again, and enjoyed a nice nap on the porch of our room. We’ll head out tomorrow across the dreaded Mojave section, a barren trek following the Los Angeles aqueduct. This section is typically hiked during the night by PCT hikers, as during the day typical temperatures in May are well above 100 degrees. We’ll leave in the morning, as it’s expected to be cloudy and in the low 50s as a high. The weather this year sure is weird!