Day 37 (6/23) Rest and Recovery

So today I decided to take it easy, resting and healing up before I take off into the Sierras. Sounds easy right? Well, these days have a tendency to fill up quickly, and today was no different. Tom make coffee and pancakes in the morning, and then it was off to the store to pick up my resupply boxes. There were two boxes of food, plus a box for the bear canister, so plenty of stuff to sort through. Plus, since I missed the store last night, I had to get my beer and ice cream fix today. Before I knew it, noon had come and gone, and I made my way over to get a burger at the grill. Steve Climber, a hiker from last year has been living with Tom and working the grill, so he made me an extra spicy Smokejumper burger. Great stuff. The next challenge was to fit my food into my bear can. Wait, that sounds like work. Forget that, I’ll have another beer instead and chat with the hikers. There was a whole crew hanging out today, despite a sizable group that left early this morning. The store was selling lasagna for dinner, and before I realized it was getting that late, dinner was being served. That bear can still hadn’t been packed. Then we all worked our way back to Tom’s, where we hung out and chatted some more, then watched another movie on the projector. The whole place has a really great setup considering it is off the grid and all solar powered. Tom has figured out how to store up enough power in his batteries to run a full movie at night, plus a few computers and the internet connection as well. By the time I went to bed I realized today hadn’t been nearly as productive as I’d hoped, but man it was fun. I got to hang out with my first PCT friend - Sourdough, who I’d met in Echo Lake for the Snow Course. He’s been struggling with ankle problems and is considering skipping ahead due to snow. The other snow course students have also done similar things - Dan skipped up to Oregon, Don Johnson went back to Florida for a few days before planning to jump ahead, Sandy & Pat are off trail due to injury, and I’m standing right here, anxious to get going full steam into these mountains. The plan is to pack up tomorrow and get going in the late afternoon or evening, hopefully with a decent group as well.

Miles Today: 0
Trip Mileage: 702