Epilogue
The day after I tore my left leg ligament was depressing. I had to plan my way home after only four days of hiking on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). My intentions were to hike up to a thousand miles of the trail and what happened is I ended up hiking only 52.6 miles. The really disheartening thing about this turn of events is, I was doing good. My trail legs from my Arizona Trail through hike last fall were pretty much still there, and I was able to put on big miles from the start with no problems. To have it end because I tripped on a rock is extremely frustrating.
At least, I got to sleep in the first full day at the Julian Gold Rush Hotel. They put on a really nice breakfast, which is free to their guests and I took advantage of that. After breakfast and back in my room, I made reservations to fly home on May 4th. A Julian based PCT trail angel, Becky Lutes, agreed to take me to the airport in San Diego, so I was set.
With nothing more to do and no desire to stay in my austere hotel room (no TV – and the high price they charge), I went out to get some tea at Mom’s Cafe. Walking around with one of my trekking poles used as a cane was almost embarrassing, but my leg and ankle were really screwed up, so there was no going without it. While at Mom’s, some of the hikers with whom I had been camping came into the café for their free coffee and pie. It was good to catch up. Afterwards, we went down to the Julian Beer Co. for a pizza dinner. There we met up with more hikers from the trail. The place was very busy with a line out the door ordering pizza and sandwiches. And their pizza… Wow! It was great. Some of the best pizza I have had in a long while.
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- Laura and friend. I met them as I was on my way to Mom’s Cafe. They were part of the group with whom I had been camping.
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- That’s James in the black hat getting ready to go back to the trail.
After dinner and a lot of good conversation, James, Dorine and Clare got a shuttle back to the trail. Ben and Melissa were staying the night at the same hotel where I was staying, so we walked back together.
The next morning, I got my backpack ready to go and checked out of the hotel to wait for Becky. While sitting on the front porch of the hotel, Ben came out and we talked. Apparently, his wife, Melissa, has some really bad blisters and needs a new pair of hiking shoes. The Julian outfitter didn’t have anything for her. I told Ben of my plans and we worked it out where Melissa would join me. She would hit the San Diego REI before Becky dropped me at a hotel where I was staying until I caught my plane the next day. That’s what we did and it worked out well for both of us. The following day I caught my plane in the morning and I was home, still limping, by evening. A disappointing end to my PCT hike.
