Family Vacation – The Walk

I was sitting in a parking lot when my family descended and some aliens in floral prints came to my rescue.

First, my mother. Often described as “a very nice lady,” many of my friends growing up wanted her to be their mother. I was lucky in that department. She didn’t care that I was dusty and smelly, and went straight to hug me.

Then came my sister, Erica. Glamorous, the complete opposite of a hiker, but ready for the trip.

Judie, my mom’s best friend, dove right into my world and chatted with trail angel Keith and the other hikers enjoying the magic of the trail. She is loving and silly, the perfect match for my mom and a very important part of our family.

“What are the chances of you coming home to us?” my mom asked once we were alone. Apparently, my last post caused my mother to receive multiple concerned inquiries from my relatives. Come on guys, it’s okay! You have to laugh at the pain, not cry over a lost store!

“This will be a great opportunity for you to recover and prepare for the next section of the trail,” Judie encouraged.

We spent most of our visit at Airbnb: playing board games, watching romantic comedies, and eating to my whims. But there was one thing Judie didn’t want to stop doing.

«I think the trail angels are great. What a way to spread positivity and interact with hikers without having to hike the trail,» gushed Judie.

I thought the Barker Pass trailhead parking lot was the perfect place to make Judie’s dream come true. It was an easy drive from Truckee, there were picnic tables and a pit toilet, we would have traffic from both the PCT and the Tahoe Rim Trail, and the first mile north on the trail was a classically scenic hike.

We went to the store and stocked up on everything hikers crave. Cold drinks, soft drinks, salty snacks, watermelon, strawberries, yogurt, sweets and cereals with milk.

“Would hikers like this?” my family asked, holding up all kinds of goodies. Luckily, I’m an expert on what hikers like.

My sister made the signs because she’s good at that kind of thing. I love signs advertising magical trails, and theirs were the prettiest I’d ever seen.

Then, we got up at six in the morning so that even the earliest risers could enjoy the delicacies. When we arrived, there was already a group of six hikers waiting for us, enjoying their morning coffee at the picnic tables.

“Are you all ready for some trail magic?” I announced.

«By no means!» They cheered, with smiles on all their faces.

It was a mostly European team, so they enjoyed trying Baja Blast along with classic American cereals like Captain Crunch and Lucky Charms. Soon, they were so high on sugar that they were performing all kinds of crazy gymnastics.

That group alone would have given Judie and my mom all the satisfaction they needed from the experience, but the joy wasn’t over. For the next five hours, we had an endless stream of hikers visiting our table, eating salted watermelon and whatever else they could get their hands on.

“What surprised me,” my mom said, when I asked her about her experience, “was how long people stayed.”

«I just wanted to create an environment where hikers could be themselves,» Judie said.

What I liked most was how determined everyone was to take the time to talk to my family and learn their names. Judie even named the trail Toenail, as she had blessed all the departing hikers with toenails that remained attached to their feet.

On the way home, one of the hikers came with us and squeezed into the back seat next to Erica and me. I didn’t hesitate to roll down the windows on both sides.

«Oh no, do I stink?» —the hiker worried.

“Yes, but it’s not that bad,” I replied.

«You stink too,» he replied.

«I think so, I’ve been wearing these clothes for two days straight.»

Somehow, even this random yellow blazer was starting to feel like family.

It was the definitive stimulus, the definitive impulse to get back on track. Sometimes you just need a family vacation.

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