Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Days 24 - Angels in Wrightwood

Sunday morning we hiked 17 or so miles down to Highway 2 to catch a ride into Wrightwood.  On the way we passed a trail that drops down 2500 feet or so off the side of a ridge directly into the town.  But most of us didn't want to hike back up that crazy trail the next morning to return to where we left off.  So we opted to go until we hit the highway, then hitch the 6 miles back to town.  When Stride, Dayhiker, Caveman and I reached the road we found a group of 4 trail runners relaxing after their run.  They'd just done 20 miles and all acted like it was no big deal.  Sure, I can do that many miles, with a pack, but I'm certainly not running.  And it takes me all day.  Unfortunately they didn't have room for us, but they did give us some bananas.

Caveman hiked on but we were joined by Dayman and Castle.  The 5 of us moved up the road to start trying to get a hitch.  After a few minutes a large, white van pulled up.  The couple driving it were on their way back home from some chainsaw training; they do maintenance on the trail.  The van was all fixed up to be an RV.  They made room and we piled in; "piled" is a perfect word for how crowded it was, but we made it to town.

I bought a few days' worth of food at the store, then we went to a restaraunt for dinner.  There we met a couple, Tracey and Brian, who had earlier given Opus and Joe a ride to town.  They generously offered us showers, laundry and a night at their house.  They drove Joe, Opus, Castle and me back to their house.  A shower felt great, I focused a lot of attention on my feet.  Clutch, Dayhiker and Dayman came a while later.  I got to sleep on the hide-a-bed which had an air mattress and was super comfortable.  I can't say enough about how awesome it was for our angels to host all 7 of us like they did.  Tracey even gave us a ride back out to the trail the next morning.

5 comments:

  1. There seems to be trail angels everywhere. I certainly hope they are around when you need them the most. Makes me wish I was closer to the trail so I could have the joy of hosting PCT hikers.

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  2. Soo....I guess this is the one exception in life when it is OK to get in a big white fan with people using chainsaws?! Haha! Also, why are Mom and I the only people who comment?! At least from what I've seen...
    And Mom, you would totally host so many hikers! :P

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  3. I just got caught up reading about your adventure. I sure hope your mom is printing all your posts. It will make a great book for your children and grandchildren to read in the future. Thank God for all the people you are meeting and those who are helping you on the way. Hope your mom sends some new socks! Bunny

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  4. Mom and Rachel may be the only ones posting comments (and now Bunny, and also I have before) but be assured, more than just a few people are reading this. We all love reading about your adventures, Daniel! Keep up the thumb typing. :) And yes, I could definitely see Mom as a trail angel.

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  5. I am also reading your blog. I enjoy seeing the pictures and hearing about your adventure. Your pictures (brown grass, bright sunlight, and blue skies) look just like the pictures I have been taking around our village this month...except the temperature here is 36 degrees and the ocean is still frozen. :)

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