The next morning, I got some bad news. Boo Boo had a stress fracture in her foot and had to get off the trail. She and Hedgehog are going to Seattle for a couple weeks to heal up, then head southbound to finish their thru-hike at Walker Pass. I will miss my new friends, but the timing should work out that I can watch Boo Boo when she runs the Crater Lake marathon later this year.

I went back to Kennedy Meadows to spend some time with Team PRT. It was Dishcloth’s birthday, and there is a general store out there, but not much else, so I brought a cake from town.

If you ever want to get a weird look from someone, go to the bakery and ask for a cake that says “Happy Birthday Dishcloth”. Works every time.

Day 1 at Kennedy Meadows had me bringing Manchurian, Hoop Dreams, and Peter Pan to Ridgecrest for the day. We resupplied and they picked out gag gifts for Dishcloth, including a sheer skirt and a championship wrestling belt, which apparently he has to wear and carry with him for the next several days.

We stayed up until midnight, sitting around the campground and talking. The next day, four of us went back into town, where Dishcloth caught up on his 78,000 birthday emails and texts and facebook wall posts.

By the time we got back to Kennedy Meadows, Robin was there waiting for me! I took her to town to celebrate our 12th anniversary a day early. We stayed at the Carriage Inn ($75 - most expensive hotel since Banning!) and I took her out for steak. The next day, she took a zero, and we went back to Kennedy Meadows to pick up Tears and take her to town to enjoy the wonders of air conditioning, forks, and roofs.

They got back on the trail the next day, and now I’m in Bishop, hanging out with Lion King again for a couple days. He’s been my “PCT tour guide” and has been in the right places to show me all the good hiker places as I get to new towns.

Robin & Rachel are in the Sierras now, I won’t see them until Saturday, where they have to hike off-trail for a day so they can get to town to resupply. I’m planning on sitting at the trailhead at Onion Valley road for a few days this week. It’s a long hitch, and hikers will need some help getting to town. Can’t wait.

PCT catch up blog Part 7

After leaving the ladies at the trail and taking Jon back to LAX, we got into Trail Angel country. First stop was the Saufley house, followed by the Andersons a day later.

After that, I decided I needed a few days off. I drove to Mojave and stayed at the Desert Inn for four nights while I waited for Robin & Rachel to hike there. I checked the budget again and took care of one of the video blogs. Then I had a couple days just to sit around - including a chance to watch Star Trek Into Darkness again, this time with Hedgehog.

When the ladies arrived in town, it was Rachel’s birthday. So we spent the night at the Desert Inn and had pizza in Tehachapi. The next day, the ladies were ready to roll again, and I headed into the day not knowing where I would stay that night.

These things have a way of working themselves out. As I was in town for lunch, I met a hiker named Treekiller, who was looking for someone to split his hotel room. I will always take a hotel room for a $20 split...

I was on a movie rampage, so Treekiller and I walked to the theater in Tehachapi and watched Hangover III. The next day we weren’t in a hurry, so we drove to Lancaster to watch Fast and Furious 6. I got the movie bug out of my system and then headed to Walker Pass to wait for Toots & Tears.

The famous Yogi, who literally wrote the PCT Bible, was at Walker Pass providing trail magic for the week, making food for hikers and providing shade, water, sodas, and rides. It was a restful couple of days for me, as Yogi and company provided most of the trail magic necessary for the weary hikers coming in from the Mojave Desert.

I was excited to hear that Team PRT was coming through. On my second day at Walker Pass, the whole group was there and we went to Lake Isabella to get shakes at Nelda’s - who has over 100 shake flavors - I ended up trying 4 of them over the next couple days (if you ever go, I recommend Love Potion #9 - raspberry sherbert and strawberry cheesecake ice cream).

The next day was very busy. In the morning, I took Boo Boo and Hedgehog to Lake Isabella, where they were to stay for the day for resupply. From there, I went to Kennedy Meadows for the first time, where due to some strange coincidence, I saw almost every hiker I knew. I drove back to the valley to meet a thru-hiker named Fuller, who was driving to Kennedy Meadows with his son, who was visiting from Oregon. They needed a ride back to Walker Pass, so they could hike back to their car. We worked out a meeting place in the valley and they followed me back out to Kennedy Meadows, and we drove out to Walker Pass again.

There is a large distance between cities and places of interest out here. By the time we got back to Kennedy Meadows, it was five in the afternoon. These are the best days for me on the trail - when I can help several hikers get long distances at a time they really need it. It was a busy day, but a great day. I finished up by picking up Hedgehog and going to Lake Isabella to watch Star Trek Into Darkness for the third time.