PCT Map Miles 517.6
Miles Hiked 456.3
Elevation 3,053 feet
Miles Hiked Today 15.2
Well, my campsite last night was not well picked. I camped in an unprotected area behind a water cistern. The ground was solid rock, so I had to put large rocks on the tent stake lines. It’s a good thing I did. The wind picked up and was blowing the sides of the tent into the screening. And the tent was soaked late at night. It hadn’t rained, but a fog bank rolled in with a lot of moisture. It was a miserable night.
Given the above narrative, I was happy to get out of there and hiking, which I was by 6:30 AM. The trail continued to be lightly forested, and it was nice to view something other than sand cliffs. The target was to reach Hiker Town. Some Far Out comments inferred it is kind of sleazy, so we’ll see.
I made good time hiking and reached Hiker Town by 2:30. I paid $25 for a room and $5 for a shower. The room was just big enough to get in the door beside the bed. There was a cover sheet on the mattress but no top sheet or blanket.
When I arrived at Hiker Town, there were only three other hikers present. However, other hikers poured in as the day continued. Mike and Steve’s buddies came in without Mike and Steve. Their buddies did 20 miles, but neither Steve or Mike could do that on a typical day.
After my shower, I did a hand wash of my dirty clothes. I washed them on a wash board and was plenty surprised how clean everything got with the hand wash. It was sunny and windy, so everything dried relatively fast on a clothes line.
Richard, one of the owners of Hiker Town, offered to fire up his grill. I bought some hot dogs and bread and had a nice dinner with a salad and potatoes that Richard supplied. The surplus hot dogs were consumed by other hikers.
Pretty much a fairly good day, but I’m not looking forward to the next few days. Temperatures are going up.
