June 8th, 2021
Mile Marker: 663.8
Miles Hiked Today: 20
Today we woke up to cold wind and rushed to get ready and start hiking down the mountain. We had 8 miles of descent to a highway to hitch into the town of Ridgecrest. We all were craving a town meal or 2.
Planner and I ended up running down the mountain again and finishing the 8 miles in 2 hours and 20 minutes.
My stomach felt empty and I could not wait for food. We stuck out our thumbs hoping someone would stop and after about 10 minutes we watched a truck go by and then he ended up coming back around to us asking if we were needing to go into Ridgecrest.
We told him yes and he flipped another u-turn and told us to get in. He let us know he was already late for work but that he wanted to give us a ride. He told us about the town and let us know he had just recently started giving hikers rides.
He dropped us off at a Denny’s and we mentioned trail angels and he said “Oh yeah I have heard of those” and we said, “Yeah you are one!” And with a slight smile he said “Am I?!” We all shouted, yes of course and thanked him greatly. He even let us know that if we needed a ride back that he would be off work at 6 and could take us.
My heart.
We then ate a fat breakfast. I ordered some cinnamon roll pancakes and the whole mix and when I finished, I still had some hunger left to fill.
This trail feels so much different with the hiker hunger. Maybe since we are doing more miles everyday than the AT? Or maybe I have just forgotten how it feels but I legitimately rarely feel full and when I do, it lasts for about 30 minutes. My stomachhhhhhhh.
From Denny’s we went to a couple of grocery stores to resupply for a couple days worth of food. While standing outside of one, a lady came up to me and asked if we were PCT hikers and said she was so excited for us to go into the Sierras. She said that she had hiked Mount Whitney 9 times and the John Muir trail twice. She went on and started getting goosebumps while telling me about watching the sunrise on Mount Whitney. Her excitement was contagious, she had me smiling ear to ear.
We then walked over to another restaurant for lunch and I ordered a burger and fries.
I was feeling the need for a big big meal. Like my breakfast wasn’t enough. Can you believe that?!
After our meal we ended up calling a trail angel by the name Sandy and she without a problem gave us a ride back to the trailhead. She then told us we should have contacted her earlier so we could of done laundry and hung out at her house!
I mean… the generosity!
We got back to the trail and started hiking around 3:30. It was later than we expected but we were able to get two town meals and resupply so it was well worth it.
The mountains today were gorgeous. The climbs are getting steeper but I enjoy them. At least for now. 😂
We all met back up 4 miles before the camp spot and the last place we were known to have cell service. The Sierras are known for their lack of service, so we made sure to get out some last texts.
Then we once again went flying/running down the mountain.
This time I wanted to test out situating my pack differently to make sure it didn’t flop about. I tightened all the straps and held it down with my hands at the straps and ran.
Oh man did it feel great. To move on a flat gradual downward hill with speed instead of just a shuffle. I was flying and it was awkward but wonderful all at the same time. I also had my Dean Martin music blaring so I was in my element.
I met up with Planner and Some Guy full of energy. It had pumped me up but it was time to relax. I did my nightly stretch and got all set up and once we (Planner, Some Guy, Conrad and I) were about to get in bed, Bottleneck and Tide showed up. We all yelled with glee as the tramily was back together.
It feels so nice tonight. To have the whole gang together and catch up on all we have missed.
We are a wild group, but I wouldn’t have it any other way!
Iz and Oz
Izzy + Ozzy 