Ah, love a day off to rest up, clean up, and fatten up. I pushed a high mile day on 3, ended up with 25 of which 22.7 were trail miles. Felt great on the miles and heard the call of ice cream, okay a place to clean up. As smooth as this trail is, it is dusty. My feet feel as if I dumped a bottle of baby powder in each sock.
The hiker camp is tucked a way just behind the RV park where the sounds are quiet. Hung until after hiker midnight (dark, 9 ish) swappin stories. We're an eclectic group. A father daughter pair section hiking the PCT in week to two week long chunks for the last 5 years. A Portland fellow (of 62 years young) who looks like he was cornered by an REI sale's rep, two of every article of clothing, heavier than necessary camp stove among many other items. His pack this morning looked more like Wild's beast. Thankfully he's only doing Oregon however, I give him until hwy 242 before he bails or calls his wife to drop every un-necessary item.
The Posey showed up and headed to the beach. I thought they were a day a head of me by now. Nope, they dove into Hyatt Lake for pizza. They were drying out gear first thing this mornin. So much for beach camping. I've learned a lesson from them, don't camp close to water.
I've chilled at the counter chatting it up with Chance the cook, the waitress, and Double, a thru-hiker who skipped the Serras. Double got his name as early on he ordered double with out thinking at a restaurant in Southern Cali. He's into info security and was interested in my little SDR (software defined radio) ham radio, thinking of what one could do with it or something like it, then how to prevent malicious uses.
Everyone is a walking story.
Before breakfast I did a food invetory. Two days of meals plus a full day or more of snacks. Wreck, I hate you, why did you make me Carey so much? My resupply box here contains 3 days. It will not take me 5 days to reach Mazama Village at Crater Lake. Choices, how much do I toss into the hiker box. Right now the hiker box is a dream come true for the tight budgeted hiker, quality goods. Then I toss on my load, teas will go, some cliff bars, and any nuts. I've been eating from the same 1 lbs bag of almonds for 4 days, ugh.
Hiker midnight, I'm finishing the day.
After sorting food, I chilled at the restaurant for a whike, came back to camp as the Posey came over. They flipped a coin after 11 and chose to stick around. They set up. I tuned the radio from weather to a local 80's. Someone rolled a (multiple smoke able plants) and pulled out a deck, okay, half a deck cut in half. We played rummy for several hours.
The Posey as I call them are a collection thru-hikers. Rubber Ball, a young lad seems to be the ring leader to whom most people connect with first. Kuma, restafarian, is next. I thing he's a Veteran as we spoke of plasma donations, he mentions some stuff he has. The fellow with the cards is Mellow and he is just chill. The fourth is Grim as he kept finding dead stuff early on. Like the others he's lain back. They have an attitude of if we finish we finsh, we are doing as the flow happens. At first I likened them to Wiskey's Crew from the AT however these fellas are at the opposite spectrum not even close to a frat boy, drink, party, and be loud as Wiskey's was.
Met a teacher from Bountiful by the name of Mavrick. His pack is 8lbs, tarp, no rain gear, a light puffy, and a 40 degree quilt, no stove. Dang, his list of sections include the Arizona Trail, the Colorado Trail, the Continental Trail, a list of hikes up to 2 months as that's the time he has for summer breaks.
On my way back from supper, I chatted with two RV couples who come up to this area for 2 or 3 months at a time.
I'm finding this travel is about the people. People and not the trail. I may say otherwise later. As for this zero, it's been less about me and more about the other.
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