Pct Chapter 6- Make Some Friends Mountain Man
Miles 454-566
I just finished the hottest part of the desert and will begin my gradual ascent into some serious mountains, some big trees and WATER lots of water. I have new blisters, new pains, and new problems—yet, despite the trouble and the pain I think I am doing well. I think my mind is very healthy most of all.
It is said that “a man who lives alone is either a beast or a god”. I would further this by saying the man who living alone becomes a beast begins to think he is a god.
—The trail has humbled me enough to ensure I do not think myself a god and to avoid becoming a beast I knew I needed some friends.
Yes, I am writing this from an AirBnb that I am sharing with 11 other hikers as I enjoy a coors banquet. Last night we all cooked a big dinner together, drank together, and sang together. After a restful night of food and friendship with these people I will leave them to continue ahead and past them on my own pat as they stay for a full rest day.
For reference this group has
-2 Australian couples
-a French chef
-a critical race theory scholar/ guitar player
-a ski bum
-a very familiar seeming triple crowner from Wilmington with his online girlfriend
-an overwhelmed Omish 18 year old
-a nuclear physicist/former college trackathlete
A group which is very strange for reality and very common for the pct
Day 23 [454.7-478.3]- Woke up in a hammock at the weird “Oasis”, hiked 23 miles to the fire station which hosts hikers. Because the fire station is such a good place to stop I went less far than I might have—this gave me extra time to write and to socialize. I then withdrew to my own spot for some quiet space to camp.
Day 24 [478.3-504.5] Every day at the fire station there is a kind Christian man who cooks pancakes for hikers at 6am. At least a dozen hikers grabbed a flapjack, me and a group stayed for about an hour and ate our fill. This forced even more fellowship. I passed the 500 mile mark. I explored a cave. I also love that because the trail signs are steel they serve as pistol targets. I ran into the track physicist at a water source (the water now is in underground cisterns like in Dune!) at the end of the day and ended up in a long conversation with him and then ended up cooking dinner and camping with him and two others. It was pretty nice not camping alone.
Day 25 [504.5-517.8] Today was just a short 12 miles to get to “hikertown”. Which is an abandoned movie set/hiker waiting spot at the beginning of the Mojave desert crossing. Hikers usually rest here before hiking the LA aqueduct across the desert through the night to avoid the heat. I had slowed my pace to be able to hike the culturally iconic aqueduct night hike with a group. On my way down to the aqueduct I hiked with a Dutch-German man who studied/worked as a global economist, and was an Olympic rower! Very interesting conversations about both subjects for a number of hours. Hikertown was very sketchy for a number of reasons but they did have an old limo to drive us to a gas station burrito???
Day 26 [517.8-549.7] A group of at least 14 woke up at 2am and began the trek across the dessert. The first 6 miles or so were across the metal aqueduct before it went underground and then we walked on the concrete above it. Hiking at night with a group was fun, the vibes were very high. Then as the sun came up we were approaching 20 miles of continuous hiking!
As the sun rose the group began to split up as people veered off to use the bathroom or have individual conversations and the blob turned into a stretched line across the desert. The aqueduct also turned into a vast expanse of wind farm with the strange whirring and occasional screeching of windmills. From 11-4 we napped under a tree. Then we hiked another 7 mile to water. The feeling of community was fun and encouraging for such a long day.
Day 27 [549.7-566] Most people woke up at 4:30 to make it the 16 miles into town before the sun got high. I slept in till almost 6 but caught up to them. We got into town by noon and then hit the bottomless Chinese buffet for $16. (Yes I got my money’s worth, yes my stomach was ruined) Then we went to walmart to resupply which was overwhelming compared to the gas stations we are used to. Then we went to the Airbnb and the French chef made us some food and I cooked bratwursts and drank some beers.
-I will now pass all these new friends and go out on my own again, but they will pass me when my sister joins me. I can say confidently that we will both be happy when that meeting happens.
-The saying “you may be the only Bible some people ever read” is an incredibly daunting task and one that makes me very nervous.
-On a similar note, you may be the only conservative a leftist ever speaks to. I feel much more confident about this representation than the first
—>This means my priorities are out of order
There is much work to do