October 16th, 2024
Mile Marker: 2578.4
Miles Hiked: 3
We slept in a little bit this morning but I woke up multiple times during the night due to my tent flapping wildly in the wind.
I loved having my warm coffee and cocoa to wake me up. As I was getting ready, Aster let us know that she had a pretty terrible headache and was moving a little slow.
I didn’t mind much since we only had 15 miles into town.
So I lounged around, talking with the other hikers and having memories of Ethiopia as I heard roosters giving their morning call and used a makeshift privy that was a little janky. This felt so familiar.
The other hikers decided that they were going to stand and hitch by the TLC Ranch and we decided we would start walking since a hitch is never a guarantee.
After an hour of walking a woman in a truck stopped to pick us up. She had her baby in the back seat so asked if riding in the back of the truck was fine and we said totally.
We flew down the road to Pie Town feeling so lucky to have gotten a hitch.
The lady took us to the post office to pick up our resupply boxes then we went to the famous Toaster House.
This house was given to travelers, hikers, bikers, whoever to use and take care of. It was free of charge but we are welcome to give a donation. This was everything hiker style. Not a super clean place but it has so much personality and character, I loved it.
Us three went up to the loft and found a nice area to claim as ours for the day.
We put down our bags then went to the Gathering Place to eat breakfast. I ordered pancakes and eggs and also got a blackberry pie to go. This place was famous of course, for its handmade pies.
We went back to the toaster house and I organized my resupply for the next five days. This next stretch is going to be quite brutal with a large food carry and water carry. Eek!
We spent the rest of the day relaxing and chatting with other hikers who have arrived. Since a lot of people are skipping from Grants, we are finding ourselves surrounded by a lot more people than we are used to.
Around 4 we went back to the Gathering Place for dinner before they closed at 5 PM. While there I caught sight of Akela and Karma who we have wanted to meet up with for a long, long time.
It was a joy to chat for a bit and a bummer that they were hiking out instead of staying in town. However, they have a deadline to finish by October 28th so I understood their need to rush.
There’s a slight chance we will see them in the next town but who knows!
It’s been a nice relaxing day although I feel a little bit antsy to keep moving. We plan to get out earlier than later tomorrow and get a good start on this 5 day carry.
I also chatted with a Nobo hiker who was driving back through to help out Sobo hikers. He went by the name Lookout and told us about his idea for creating a Hiker Yearbook that would include trail angels and all people who were on the trail or helped out. I thought this would be such a great idea and something us hikers could have to look back on.
Before going to bed I noticed a spider in a corner where I was going to sleep. Then I noticed another and another. It was spider city. So I decided to go back over by Whatever and Aster and pulled the little mattress off the bookshelf area and next to theirs on the floor. However, while on the floor we noticed a spider crawling across the mattress on the other side.
Heck no. No No No No.
I then looked through the entire bookcase where the small mattress was for spiders and didn’t find one so I put the mattress back on the high shelf and am curled up.
I already know I’m not going to sleep well tonight. I hate the thought of one running across my body… Says the woman who just cowboy camped a few days ago where tarantulas are. Makes so much sense no?
🫣 🤷🏽♀️
Iz and Oz
Izzy + Ozzy 