Chap. 30 – Tangerines and Tanning

Our group decided to sleep in this morning…at least a little. Today’s team was Rawhide, Frodo, the Aussies, Boostie and me. My alarm went off at 5:30 in the morning and I moved quickly to pack everything up. All the quick packing was for nothing: when I opened the tent to put on my shoes, a dozen spiders climbed up before I could stop them. I ended up spending about ten minutes removing spiders from my tent.

The first kilometers were difficult mentally, but easy. The spider situation ruined my morning. Then Boostie said he would meet me for breakfast at the water fountain, but when I got there he was nowhere to be found. Apparently he had had too many bugs to eat near water, so he had walked another quarter mile to eat. However, for that quarter mile I felt like I had been abandoned. It’s not their fault, but I wish we had a way to communicate when we don’t have cell service! I have a Garmin, but he doesn’t, so that doesn’t help our communication much.

When I finally caught up with him at his breakfast spot, we headed toward the ranger station in search of more water. I packed extra water just in case the cache had run out. We arrived around 9am and I made my bathroom stop. They had toilet paper! I left the bathroom and went to see Boostie to help me wash my hands, but he was talking to a guy in a van. Apparently, the Los Angeles County water and wastewater treatment workers were there to do something and gave us tangerines and watermelons from a cooler, and ice water! That magical trail hit the spot!

I felt great for the first twenty minutes after the magic of the trail, but I soon felt exhausted. The sun, as has been usual lately, hits us hard. I finally took a break to refill my accessible water bottle, and getting back up seemed like an impossible task! I finally managed to stand up and walk again, and I moved as fast as I could to reach the stream.

The tan lines from my trekking pole are wild!

Once we reached the stream, we all took off our shoes and dipped our feet. The cold water felt amazing on my sore ankles and feet! At this point, I think Boostie and I have the fewest blisters of anyone on our tram. We had a rough first few weeks with our feet, but now everything seems fine.

From the creek, we noticed that there was an RV park nearby. Turns out they had a convenience store! We all opted to head there and continue our nap with ice cream in hand. The convenience store snacks, drinks, and ice cream cost us about an arm and a leg, but it was worth it! There was a guy outside selling shaved ice too, so I bought some tiger blood flavored ice cream!

Rawhide had blisters and Frodo’s backpack rubs his back now that he has lost weight and needs a smaller size. They decided to get a hotel room and take the rest of the afternoon off, as well as the next day. The Australians were hesitant, but decided to press on and get as close to Agua Dulce as they could tonight. Boostie and I planned to follow them, but as soon as I stepped into the sun, I felt terrible. Again, I remembered the heat exhaustion I suffered on the AT. I looked at my face in the mirror and my cheeks were super red. I made the decision right then and there that we were going to Acton.

On the road, I stood out front with my cute crop top, my hair braided, a thumbs up and a smile on my face. Who could say no to that? The third car that passed stopped in front of us and was our best hitch yet. He showed us different locations along the way that had been used in different movies and TV shows. Makes sense, we’re close to Hollywood!

In Acton we went to the 49er Saloon. The owners were absolutely amazing and do everything they can for us hikers. It’s donation based, so Boostie and I will be sure to leave some money there when we leave in the morning. The grocery store across the street also had affordable food and groceries – unheard of in the great state of California!

The guy who made my wrap at the deli had been at the 49er Saloon during his lunch break, so as soon as he saw me, he said, «Ohh! Indiana?» It took me half a second to realize how he knew I was from Indiana, then I remembered where we had seen him and chatted with everyone at the bar. He made me his favorite wrap, The Healthy Pilgrim with spinach wrap. Hmm!

Back at the Saloon, we bought some dehydrated food. They’re actually affordable compared to other places we’ve shopped, so we got some! I never eat dehydrated foods on the road; I stick with the trusty Idahoan 90% of the time. However, I’ve been having some digestive issues lately, so I think a real meal every once in a while would probably do me some good.

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