After coming back from dropping off Hedgehog and Boo Boo, I met up with team PRT (Pacific Rest Trail) again for a night at a cabin in Wrightwood. It was nice to spend some time again with Mr. Green and company. Mr Green and I played a few games of cribbage, but team PRT lived up to their name and it was an early night.
Rachel’s boyfriend Jon was on his way to see us, and I drove to LAX again to pick him up. I didn’t have passengers in the car this time, so I couldn’t use the HOV lane. I decided to get to the airport a day early and stay in a nearby hotel. It was a smooth pickup, and we were back in the mountains again for a five-day hike vacation for Jon.
I went ahead to the Acton KOA, where I cowboy camped (!) and slept soundly through the night (!) despite lions and tigers roaring in the distance. (There are some big cats about a half mile from the trail. Not sure if it’s a museum or zoo or preserve or what, but I’ve never had to sleep with lions that close.)
One of the days at KOA, I found a thru-hiker, Fun Size, and he had decided to take some of the day off. He came out to the PCT road crossing with me, and together we did some trail magic. It’s really great when hikers do trail magic, especially considering it’s their day off from walking. The fact that a thru-hiker would be willing to use their day off to help other hikers is a testament both to the person and to how great the community is out here on the trail.
Team PRT showed up that afternoon, and several of us went to La Cabana for mexican food. It’s not easy keeping up with eight hikers and their oversized driver, but somehow the staff at La Cabana took care of us. Fun Size bought my dinner. Those hikers love trail angels. I seem to be the most visible trail angel, and therefore enjoy most of the benefits of their reciprocation. They just want to give back, and often times I feel like they’re doing me a favor instead of the other way around.
Robin arrived the next day, and along with Lion King*, I picked her up and we all went out for Mexican. The following day, Robin wanted to do some trail magic too! So we went up to the Red Carpet water cache and gave out sodas, beer, Capri Sun, grapes, and chips. Oh, and gourmet cupcakes that Robin had picked out. I thought they were amazing, and I hadn’t even been hiking all day! The hikers were very excited about having chocolate.
We stayed at the KOA that night, and looked forward to meeting with Rachel and Jon for a day and a half of rest in the city.
*Not sure how I ended up with Lion King again. We met up several times over the course of a week, sometimes by blind luck. He was doing the relay for life in San Bernardino in between section hiking some of the PCT. The order of the places we went together is starting to blur together a little bit.
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