Walden

This morning was a bit chilly. I knew that once I was walking I would get warm pretty quickly so I started my morning routine of deflating my air mattress, stuffing my sleeping bag into it’s baggy, picking out the snacks I want for the day and putting them into my handy dandy fanny pack for easy access while hiking. After everything I can do inside of my tent is done I crawl outside and start putting away the tent itself.

Knowing there was a place to get water 3 miles ahead, K and I decided to have breakfast when we got there. About an hour of hiking found us at a hole in the ground with water in it. Literally a hole. In some sketchy looking man made cistern thing. The water inside looked pretty questionable from above. Luckily, K’s water filter has a hose that reached into the depths of the hole and brought clear water out. It didn’t even taste weird like some of the other mosquito water has.

After breakfast our next stop was at a library. Yup. A library in the middle of the trail with books and fresh grapefruits. And what’s better? It was recently renamed Walden in honor of Thoreau’s 200th birthday! So cute.

After a quick break we headed for the last stretch before the Paradise Valley Cafe which apparently has the best burgers on the entire trail.

We finally made it to the road that brought us to the cafe. We tried hitching a ride the mile but decided that walking would be faster.

We were greeted by other hikers and quickly sat down to order. THEY HAD A VEGGIE BURGER! I was out-of-my-mind excited. Before we got our food, two other hikers we had passed earlier in the day made it to the cafe and joined us at our table.

Oh! And I had cell service for the first time on the entire trail. That was an exciting moment as well. Then the food came out and nothing else mattered. It was delicious. I had to remind myself periodically that I was in public and that normal humans don’t just shovel food down their throats. Hiking 15 miles before 2 pm leads to some fairly hungry tummies.

After we finished eating we hung around the cafe for a few more hours talking to other hikers and waiting for a ride into Idyllwild. One hiker who I was talking to thought I had forgotten what day I started when I told him I had only started in Campo a week ago. K and I keep forgetting that we are actually going pretty quickly compared to a lot of other hikers who’s average mileage is half ours.

Our ride to town finally arrived in the form of a red Toyota Tacoma with a matching canopy. K, Special Delivery and I sat in the back, while D and G sat in the front with our driver/tour guide.

Once dropped off and checked into our rooms, K and I did our laundry, showered, called significantly-important others and continuously expressed our gratitude for being able to sleep in a real bed tonight.

For dinner we went out to a pizza place in town–and it did not disappoint. First, the owner was incredibly friendly. Second, he didn’t bat an eyelash when I said ‘no cheese’ on my pizza. I was so happy. Probably the best pizza I have ever had. It has cashews on it. Yum.

Oh! And I was able to meet up with someone who I went to elementary school with and who started a day before me. Such as small world!