Day 24- Another Town Day

May 26, 2016

Campsite(361.7) to Wrightwood(369.3) 7.6 Miles

Today was my best morning on the trail so far. I didn't get the best nights sleep last night. I pitched my tent on a very big slope. As a result I kept sliding off of my sleeping pad and hit the front door of my tent. There were better places to set up, but I wanted the best vantage point for the sunrise. I do not regret my decision. As soon as I opened my eyes this morning the sun was beginning to peak above the surrounding mountains. 

Best part of waking up is not Folgers in your cup 

30 seconds later

My camp spot 

I took my time packing up. We had less than 10 miles to hike before getting into town. I was on the fence about spending another day in town. Today was pretty interesting. For almost the entire hike we went around and through a ski resort area. After spending a winter in Telluride I had to laugh at what they considered to be blue runs. 

Chairlift selfie

I couldn't see where we had hiked yesterday. As we left camp we started walking in a different mountain range. We are now in the San Gabriel mountains. They are very beautiful, cold, and have a steeper elevation gain. For a good portion of the morning I could see the moon. It made for some great pictures. 

Barely visible moon

One of my favorite pictures so far

After hiking a short day I found myself at Highway 2. Wrightwood was 5.5 miles down the road, but it was a very easy hitch. Spaceman and I got down to the road crossing and immediately we were offered a ride into town. We didn't even have to stick our thumbs out. We got a ride to the local hardware store. They had a great selection for thru-hikers and were very hiker friendly. Next we went to the market/gas station. They had free hotdogs for us. Score!

Hikers outside the market

Of course our next stop was to get real food. We went to a local cafe for breakfast. The portions were huge and the food was really good. The place was packed with hikers and locals alike. 

Packs galore 

I was absolutely stuffed after breakfast, but I still managed to find room for a milkshake. I've been dreaming of one for weeks now. 

Strawberry Milkshake 

Since I was so full it was the perfect time to do my resupply shopping. If I go into a store with my full blown hiker hunger I buy way too much food. This time I think I got it just right. While we were doing our town chores we met back up with Outro. She had secured a place for us to stay at a trail angels house. 

Kathy and her daughter Scout host a few hikers every night during hiker season. They graciously agreed to host all six of us. We stayed in a camper in their driveway. It was a tight fit with all six of us, but we made it work. We did laundry again and took showers. We got pizza and brought it back to the house. We sat in the driveway and hungout way too late. Uturn took advantage of the kitchen privileges and cooked peach cobbler. All in all it was a very relaxing early day. 

Our home for the night

Cozy Accommodations

 

Mountains seem to answer an increasing imaginative need in the West. More and more people are discovering a desire for them, and a powerful solace in them. At bottom, mountains, like all wildernesses, challenge our complacent conviction - so easy to lapse into - that the world has been made for humans by humans. Most of us exist for most of the time in worlds which are humanly arranged, themed and controlled. One forgets that there are environments which do not respond to the flick of a switch or the twist of a dial, and which have their own rhythms and orders of existence. Mountains correct this amnesia. By speaking of greater forces than we can possibly invoke, and by confronting us with greater spans of time than we can possibly envisage, mountains refute our excessive trust in the man-made. They pose profound questions about our durability and the importance of our schemes. They induce, I suppose, a modesty in us.

Robert Macfarlane, Mountains of the Mind: Adventures in Reaching the Summit