Sunday, May 18, 2014

Day 16

Day 16
5-4-2014
Miles 197.17-209.47-218.54

-Hiked down Fuller Ridge with Tin Man, Shrek, and Fire Gypsy. 
-Still hot as all get out!
-Shrek wears a Tyvec suit- seriously! It's funny looking but it does make sense. For those of y'all who don't know, Tyvec is the best material ever. Builders use it to wrap a house up before the exterior is applied because Tyvec is all weather proof and extremely durable. I use Tyvec for a ground cloth and a possible rain cover. Shrek made an outfit out if it... genius. 
-Fire Gypsy (Amy) happens to know my hiking friend from last year- Magic Mullet. She said he is one of the main reasons why she is on the PCT! Such a small world!
-The hike was ridiculously hot and we were all struggling with the heat, lack of water, and nausea. Approaching the Interstate 10 overpass was the worst... sand, sand, and more sand. Sand is incredibly difficult to walk through because it pulls your feet back and it feels as though you are getting nowhere. Cars on the interstate were flying by as I slowly trudged through the relentless sand and heat. Ugh!
-As Fire Gypsy, Tin Man, Shrek, and I made it to the I-10 overpass, we saw a cooler under the highway. We ran towards the cooler, opened it up, and discovered water, soda, beer, cookies, and fresh fruit!!!!!!! I had died and gone to heaven! All of us were in heaven! Who knew sitting under a major overpass could be so rewarding?! Amazing trail magic!
-While indulging in the amazing magic, the trail angels who had provided the magic showed up on their ATVs. It was so nice to actually meet the kind hearted folks who had helped bring us such relief. 
-One of the angels had his car nearby, so he gave me, Tin Man, Fire Gypsy, and Shrek a ride to the grocery store and back. 
-After getting back to the overpass, we hiked on to Ziggy and The Bear's. Ziggy and The Bear are trail angels in Cabazon who open up their home to thru-hikers during hiker season. They provide food, mail services, showers, towels, laundry, foot soaks, and big tents for hikers to sleep under. They are very nice people. We ate and showered at Ziggy and The Bear's... but we got there late and everyone was winding down while we were still charged with energy from our hike and from the epic trail magic we had just received. We couldn't just lay down and go to bed! And we had beer to drink which isn't allowed at Ziggy and The Bear's. 
-Tin Man, Shrek, and I decided to hike out of Ziggy and The Bear's to the Whitewater Preserve. Thank God we hiked out at night because it was all uphill. I couldn't imagine trying to tackle that climb in the blazing sun... it would have been miserable!
-Night hiking with Tin Man and Shrek was tons of fun. 
-Biggest mileage day yet on the PCT this year. Woohoo! :)

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