Today was an easy 12.5 to town. We got up at 5 a.m. and were on our way by 6. The miles went quickly and the terain was very nice and mostly downhill. The most notable part of the hike itself was the massive pine trees we encountered.
They were so impressive we stopped frequently and we can’t wait to see some redwoods.
As our hike came to a close we ran into a hiker going south that looked like she may have been running. She stopped and talked to us and let us know that the Make a Wish Foundation was having a race and they had an aid station up ahead where we could get food and drinks for free! We continued to pass more and more hikers reiterating the same thing. When we finally arrived at our destination we came on a glorious site. They had so many delicious snacks and were so welcoming. Sherpa and I said hi to a few hikers we knew, Gourmet and Flame. Then we crossed the street to hitch.
While we were hitching we saw a few of the racers, who were going 26.9 miles, emerged from the woods and were cheered. One woman was met by her husband with a series of honks from his cat and some hugs. Sherpa felt things, I looked on.
A few mins later a woman in a white car stopped for us and two Swiss hikers. We crammed into her car and learned her name was Kathy.
Kathy is a real gem. She gave us her number for when we wanted to go back to the trail. She said she was a CPA retired from the Ford Motor Company on her way back from helping out at a dealership. She was very kind and drove us all the way to the post office and introduced us to one of the town’s oldest members.
At the post office I shipped Crash’ s sleeping pad and then we went to find a place to stay. We ended up with one of the last available rooms at the Robin Hood hotel. It was great because we had a king size bed. After the hotel we went to get burgers and beer at Fire Rock Burgers and Brews. The burgers were exceptional. Sherpa’s had bbq sauce and Mac and Cheese drizzled on top.
After burgers, we were pretty spent. We want back to the room and I went to get fuel and a watch for Sherpa. When I got back, Sherpa took our clothes to the laundry mat.
When she returned we went to eat Himalayan for dinner. Another delicious meal which Sherpa topped off with some ice cream. We stopped by some shops and went back to the hotel.
At the hotel we turned on the tv and the classic Miss Congeniality was on. I was watching it more than Sherpa and when she was getting really tiered I had to beg her to let me watch at least till they foiled the exploding crown plot.
After the crescendo, we turned off the tv and slept like little hiker babies.
You guys eat so much…hahahahaha
love the hat