After a seemingly short stay in Big Bear it was time to get back on the trail and heading towards Canada. We slept in until a leisurely 8:00 then asked the manager about good breakfast places. He recommended the Grizzly Cafe, both for good food and hiker sized portions. When we walked in we saw a massive pancake on the grill and immediately decided those would be a great idea. Noah and I were with Toby and Sprinkles from the previous evening, and three of us decided to get pancakes. Well, two intelligent people ordered one pancake, and I ordered two. It showed up as a pair of plate sized monstrosities, which I immediately dug in to. Between those for pancakes we actually finished a whole container of syrup and had to ask for a second. Noah on the other hand decided to order "The Mess" which was described on the menu as Don't Ask. So we were all quite interested to see what it would be, butt first there was a surprise. When he placed the order the waitress quickly asked, "Would you like mushrooms or jalapenos with that?" We were all dumbfounded since we didn't know what it even was, but Noah bravely accepted the offer. It turned out to be a frittata, and it looked awesome. I managed to work through all but the last four burrs of pancake, but I was stuffed to the seams. I hate leaving calories to waste but thus was a painful situation.
After breakfast we went back, packed up, and headed out. A hiker named Sticks gave us directions to the post office, including which bus to take, so we speculated on how long he has been there. As we were waiting at the bus stop, Nosh decided to try hitching again, but less than 15 seconds after his thumb went out we heard a voice behind us offering a ride. Dan was a retiree who hiked in his free time, and was willing to shuttle us around town. We hit the post office where I got an extra 20 lbs to cram into my pack - while the feat. In fact, I was forced to hang my sleeping bag on the outside to make room. This was a souter friendly post office, and they even took our pictures to add to the 150 on the wall.
Out at the trailhead we thanked Dan for the ride, but as we were getting out saw Positive ID across the sheet. Dan offered to drive him back to town, so it worked out perfectly. Also, Positive ID had found Noah's lost umbrella and carried it the last three days. What a guy. Noah and I clocked in a good dozen miles in the 5 hours to dinner, and then just went in a touch longer to find a campsite. Not bad for a half day. I got a good call in with my parents, and as I was getting ready for ned I heard Sprinkles voice drifting through the trees. They had a late departure, and we considering hiking super hard to hot the Wrightwood post office by saturday morning. My guidebook said it was closed saturdays, so they changed plans and decoded to camp with us for the time. Nice to have a few more people around, at less for now.
Miles Today: 13
Trip Mileage: 279
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