Day 15 | mile 250.2 - 266.1

Woke up at 5. Oatmeal for breakfast. It tastes ever so slightly of the laundry detergent I had packed in the same resupply package. Same with goldfish. Goldfish absorbed that smell like sponges.

Walking at 6. Annah left before me. Cruising 16 miles to Big Bear today. Easy.

Passed the sad private zoo I mentioned yesterday. This poor bear was just pacing around in his tiny cage.

There was soda trail magic at mile 253.1. I took an orange soda and then put it back. Really have not been feeling the soda.

Listening to Do By Friday. The hand washing episode was pretty funny. Hot hands!

Finally caught up with Annah at the stream. She had a bandage on her left leg. She had apparently fallen on one of the downhills. Tripped over a root and fell on a rock. Agh! So frustrating. She was limping the rest of the day.

The trail was easy today. We passed the 10% marker! It feels like I just started, so it’s surreal to realize I’m 10% done.

We were leapfrogging with the guy from New Zealand whose wife is driving a van alongside his PCT trip. She ended up giving us a ride at the end of the day.

I picked up a ginger ale at the road junction. There was a creaky baby rattler by the cooler. 

Annah was in bad shape and wanted to rest somewhere right away. We found the hostel and checked in there. $25 per bed. Free laundry, showers.

We got to our girls room, and Afghan was already there! She had gotten a hitch to Big Bear from Onyx summit (10-ish miles before where we got off).

We box took showers and felt immediately better. I could actually see whether my legs were tan or just dirty. Mostly dirty.

We went out to dinner with Afghan. I got a burger with an egg on top. Went to the post office to bounce Selby’s box to Wrightwood. There was a good chance we wouldn’t be able to get it tomorrow, which would mean sticking around until Monday. Big Bear has a huge selection anyway, and we can really use a box in Wrightwood. It worked out well. 

Got back and tried to get a ride to the store for the resupply. Met Fern’s AT hiking partner - Pending. Pending lives in Northridge and goes to CSUN for Marine Biology! So fun to hear about places I used to live and all the hiking trails i used to frequent. She drove up from LA to see Fern and trail angel for the weekend. She gave me a ride to a Vons here. I got a bunch of bars, cheese sticks, rice-a-roni, oatmeal. $41 until Wrightwood.

Going to sleep. It’s 10:26. I’m on a top bunk. I already got bitten by something here. I don’t like hostels and can’t wait to leave.