We left Hiker Heaven around 8:30pm, it was a 24 mile stretch in a notoriously hot section, so we decide to beat the heat and do the whole hike at night. Jesse, Waffles and Gator called it a night around 4am but Tyler and I pressed on. With nothing but a power nap at 630am, we made it to the road early that morning where we happened to meet Terri and a van full of hikers she was dropping back off at the trail. She greeted us with big hugs and drove us to her home. This place was nothing like the Saufleys'. We pulled up to a house where chairs couches and tables littered the front lawn and driveway. There was a big 'Casa de Luna Class of 2012' banner hanging on the garage that everyone signed and about 25 people lounging around. The van doors opened to a slow clap that erupted into roars of cheers and applause as soon as we got out of the car... It turns out that's how everyone is greeted at Casa de Luna, but it still makes a guy feel good. So I got out, set up my sleeping bag in a nice spot in the magic manzanita forest in the back and then joined the crowd again for pancakes and beer. Let me remind you, this was at about 9 in the morning and everyone had a beer in their hand, or in the case of Hollywood, 3... I knew I was going to like it here, an boy did it ever deliver. It was great to catch up with everyone again and the atmosphere was awesome. We got pancakes in the morning, taco salad in the evening and the beer never stopped flowing.. except for when it was replaced by Sunny D and rum.
This next part sounds a little unbelievable, I understand that, but you'll just have to trust me. Never in my life have I been witness to a small man in a bikini top, 2 girls in bathing suits and an older, very very drunk woman with a red mohawk and a tutu (Terri) wrestle in a kiddy pool filled with chocolate syrup. I lived in a university town for 6 years and never saw such a spectacle until I decided to live in the woods for 5 months. Go figure. Apparently the chocolate wrestling happens only once a year at the Andersons'. Its hard to say what made that night the special night. It may have been the music in the air, the gravitational pull from Venus, or the 4 giant jars of tequila we drank. But regardless of its cause, we had a pretty unreal 2 days there.
Joe and Terri are awesome people, they genuinely care about each and every person that comes through and the PCT experience wouldn't be the same if we hadn't met them. There is a reason they call their house a vortex, it's hard to pry yourself away. But it's what we had to do. It's onto new peaks, new valleys and new places to not hike. The 500mile mark, Hikertown and the Mojave lie north, and that's what we're after.
Happy trails,
Mike
Ps. It seems like I'll always be posting from my phone. I don't think it's possible to format or label pictures I post from here, so I'll just have to post them as they are. Hopefully it's not to hard to figure out what they are, or too bothersome to see so large. But the people demand pictures. So pictures they shall receive!
Pictures from top to bottom:
-A chilly lizard, lounging out
-Some mountains or something
-These cool butterflies were everywhere
- A cool night time snake
-Hiker trash at Casa de Luna!
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