Day 43, Mile Marker 455, Zero Day at Agua Dulce (Hiker Heaven)

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Zero Day at Hiker Heaven

Post by Melissa:
When we awoke at 6am our little RV was already getting hot and the sun was shining through the windows.  We wanted to sleep in but we couldn't, so we decided to get ready and head over to the SweetWater Cafe for breakfast.  We had heard so many good things about this restaurant and we eager to try it out.  It was that or eating cliff bars for breakfast and we opted for a hot meal. We confirmed the Cafe was open at 7am (thanks Google) and we planned on being there right when they opened.

We walked to the back of the property and chose our loaner bikes carefully to make the journey down the hilly road to the Cafe.  We knew the ride out was downhill mostly so coming back would be uphill. Fun! As we walked through the property past the outdoor tents with cots we say many of the backpackers fast asleep.  No one looked to be getting ready to hike early this morning...most were planning on leaving in the early evening after the heat of the day was over.

View of Hiker Heaven from the back of the property near the bike racks. Really beautiful property.

Hopping on a bike to pedal down to SweetWater Cafe.  Who needs a helmet? LOL

SweetWater Cafe has a large PCT sign hanging on their fence.  They gave us a sharpie to sign our names on it and I wrote "Hard Target & Near Miss" on it as well as the date.  It was fun to see all of the other hiker names on it and be a part of this year's adventure.

For breakfast I had a yummy breakfast burrito and Nick had french toast. It hit the spot.  As we were wrapping up, several of the other hikers came strolling in for breakfast.  We exchanged hellos and then Nick and I headed across the street to the grocery store to pick up some fresh apples, gatorade, and a few other necessities for our upcoming hike. We put the goodies in a reusable shopping bag we borrowed from the Saufley's and Nick put it on his back like a backpack and we pedaled back toward the Saufley's house (Hiker Heaven).  The ride home was a bit challenging because the shifters on the bike don't work well and when pedaling uphill it can be a challenge.  We did make it back though (~1.5 miles) and had worked up a nice sweat.

We then picked up our hiker boxes from the Saufley's garage.  They have converted it into a mini post office with gorilla racks full of our resupply boxes organized by last name.  I was happy to see the resupply box from my sister w/our necessities and then I also received an unexpected care package from my awesome friend Amie.  When I opened it I was so excited to see MARGARITAS! WHOOHOOO!! And salt to go with it along with some amazing treats.  I immediately went and grabbed 2 glasses with ice, put salt of them, and poured Nick and I a margarita.  We were in the process of packing up our backpacks to leave and I didn't want to leave these margs behind so they needed to get consumed now.

After packing up we walked back to the garage area to make our donation and thank Donna Saufley for being an amazing host. I also wanted to give her a special thank you for providing me with fresh Aloe the day before.  I had shown her my rash on my legs and had asked her if it was Poodle Dog rash and she said it looked more like a sun/heat rash and then went into her garden and cut me a fresh piece of Aloe and had me rub it on my legs.  It felt amazing and really did help me feel better.  She is so awesome...I can't say enough things about her.

Anyway, while talking to her and letting her know we were going to leave around 3pm when it was cooler she said to us that she thought we should take a full zero at her place and enjoy the downtime.  She explained the next leg of the hike would be very hot, dry, and that we wouldn't see another Hiker Heaven on this leg.  Nick and I looked at each other, smiled, and agreed.  We would stay a full day here and enjoy the rest day.  We then went back to our RV and finished the other margaritas and relaxed.

Around 3pm a lot of the hikers were getting ready to leave including Team Awesome.  We wished them a great hike and they hurried along their way.

Team Awesome heading out to kick some ass!

We took a good portion of the evening to catch up on our blog and chat with other hikers.  Around dinner time we decided to hop back on the bikes and head down to Maria Bonito's again for another helping of steak and shrimp fajitas.  While riding down the hill towards town, the chain on my bike fell off 3 times...I nearly crashed the bike!  All of the sudden, Donna pulls along side me and tells me to leave the bike on the side of the road and hop in.  She would take me to dinner and come back for the bike later.  Nick pedaled ahead and I got a ride.  It was fantastic!

After dinner we left the restaurant and it was already dark outside.  Niether of us had brought a head lamp and the 1 mile road to the Saufley's had no street lights.  Nick let me take the one bike we had back and he offered to walk.  His bike was heavier than the one I had ridden earlier and had no working shifters either.  I pedaled hard uphill in the dark and prayed that I didn't hit a pot hole or drive off the road and crash...I could barely see anything!

Once I parked the bike I walked over to the Saufley's computer station (6 laptops lined up) and started blogging.  It was barely 2-3 minutes later that Nick strolls in with Donna.  She had went to grab the broken bike and found Nick and brought him back.  It all worked out perfectly.  Nick and I worked on the blog for a few hours and I struggled with slow internet connection and older computers that liked to freeze a lot and think. I'm used to working on very fast computers and wifi and was nearly at my wits end moving so slow on the blog...it was a bit frustrating and took a lot longer than I would have liked.  I shouldn't whine though because it was incredible that the Saufley's provided computers and wifi to begin with.  They really spoiled us!

We wanted to leave the next morning early and we met another hiker "Rustic" who wanted to join us.  We gladly said yes and planned for our detour around the Power Station Fire.  It required continuing on the PCT for 11 miles and then detouring 30 miles on a road walk through Leona Valley and Lake Elizabeth towards Lancaster.  Once we reached Hiker Town in Lancaster we would be reunited with the trail.  This alternate was brand new and we were not sure what to expect in terms of water, food, and camping resources.  Many hikers had caught a ride from the Agua Dulce to Lancaster and skipped this section of the trail.  It was important to Nick that he walked every step from Mexico to Canada so skipping ahead was not an option...we would walk the new detour and into the unknown...