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As was quickly becoming traditional, I was the last to be ready to go. In this case however this wasn’t a problem as while the trail family was trying to make Julian today, I was planning on spacing it out over 2 days to let my body recover after going too hard thr previous day. As I was packing up, fellow Trek blogger Sgt Pepper rolled into camp and stopped to rest briefly. The trail family headed off while he and I talked about space and rocketry. As a rocket engineer early in my career it’s quite fascinating to hear from someone who just retired after 40 years working for NASA. We chatted over the next 7 miles and it made them go very quickly.
A misty and breezy morning.
Caught up with the trail family at the next water source, a metal tank. They headed out shortly after and Sgt Pepper followed about an hour later but I lingered a while, enjoying the warm sun and letting my body rest. Eventually a new crop of hikers showed up and I chatted either them while relaxing. I was knitting my socks during this and met another knitter, a woman from Belgium called Dream. We ended up heading out together and found a decently wind-protected site about 5 miles away from the hitch to Julian. Lots of jackrabbits were wandering about and the view of the valley below was beautiful.
Day 8: Lightening my Wallet
Breakfast with a view.
I slept well and the 5 miles to Scissor’s Crossing went fast. I arrived and saw somebody had set up serving breakfast but I was there maybe 30 seconds before somebody asked “do you want a ride into Julian?” Not one to say no to fortune, I accepted and loaded my gear into a Mini Cooper. Once inside I properly met my driver, a woman called Mini, a trail angel with plans to do the PCT one day and who likes to help hikers in the meanwhile. She quickly got our little hiker squad up to Julian and dropped us off just behind the gear store there.
Following my camping gameplan, my first step was to secure a place to sleep. The American Legion, a club and bar, generously allows hikers to sleep on cots outside on their patio for free and it was there also I was able to drop my pack, charge electronics, and call my family. It’s a very nice thing they do, supporting hikers like this, although not without complications; more on that later.
Went to 2 Foot Adventures next as I needed to switch out some gear. I wanted a better sun umbrella as the $20 Amazon one, while cheap and light, had the unfortunate habit of inverting at the slightest breeze. I also wanted to look at some different shoes and it’s a good thing I did as my feet apparently grew 1.5 sizes. I ended up with some Altra Lone Peak 9s (we’ll see how long they last), a Six Moon Designs sun umbrella, a second battery bank as I take a lot of photos and was running out of power; and a larger dry bag that better fit my quilt. Not cheap but the new gear should work better than what I had.
New shoes! Hopefully better than the previous pair?
I spent the rest of the day chatting and lounging with other hikers. I got some good knitting done too and finished the heel turn on my socks before heading out to dinner with Magic, who I previously met at CLEEF, and some of his friends. I ate pork belly bites with honey which were absolutely delicious but I really need to eat a vegetable tomorrow.
I settled in for the evening afterwards and discovered one of the complications of my sleeping situation. Specifically, it seems that on weekends the bar likes to hold karaoke events until midnight. I’ll just say that falling asleep only to wake up to a rendition of “Let The Bodies Hit The Floor” is not an experience I’d recommend. After the party finished the night was still very cold and windy but thankfully my many layers were up to the challenge and I was quite warm.
Day 9: One Minus One Equals?
Didn’t get a great night’s sleep. Thankfully, a few other hikers and I had made plans to zero today and and spend the evening at a nearby RV campground where we could take showers, do laundry, and rent a small cabin to spend the night in. I went out in the morning to get my free slice of pie at Mom’s, pecan with vanilla ice cream, and ended up chatting with a trail angel called Hammer there.
Delicious pecan pie with vanilla ice cream from Mom’s. Also pictured: trail angel Hammer’s back about 30 seconds before he introduced himself.
I packed up afterwards, resupplied, and hung out knitting in front of 2 Foot Adventures waiting for our ride to the RV park. Ended up chatting with the proprietor of a local knit and crocheted items store who was just delighted I was knitting on the trail.
Mini was our driver once again and got us to the RV park. The cabin there was minimalist, really just a shed with 3 beds and a fold out couch, but any port in a storm. And it was a storm too, with brutal gusts of wind that threw grit into your face and tried to push you over. We all changed into our rain gear in true hiker trash fashion, scrounged quarters so we could do laundry, and enjoyed a blessedly warm, time unlimited shower. Feeling clean is a wonderful thing.
Sleeping outside is nice but sleeping under a roof hits different. The wind howled all night long but we slept soundly, shielded by our four walls and ceiling. It was back out to the trail after this but for now, finally, a good night’s rest was had.
Shelter from the brewing storm.
A slower blog post for sure due to the town day and zero but the next few days should be higher energy. Hope to see y’all there!
Trail Stats
Catholes:3
Stops to filter water: 7
Resupplies: 1
Hitches: 1
Zeros: 1
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