PCT 2015 Day 9: Resting Up

Today would have been a frustrating day if it hadn’t been for the great company. After breakfast, Glen drove back to the Resource Center to do some post office runs and I came down to spend the day with hikers. Chug and Doolittle were still here, as was Pretzel and we were joined before lunchtime by 12Percent. He was talking about his search for a trail wife – he wants someone who hikes, so where better to find someone who hikes than on a trail? At least he is honest about his search, I guess! He was pretty funny. He complained I talked too fast and was too smart, which I think translates as shut up. It made the rest of us laugh, though. Unicorn turned up in the afternoon and it was good to hear about her hike with her dog. I don’t think the dog is having the best time with the protective boots but she is holding up well with water and food. Hopefully it won’t get worse in the desert as it gets harder for Unicorn to carry the extra weight.

The TV crew from NBC San Diego came along after lunch to cover the Resource Center shutdown and talk to some hikers. It’s nice that the community has contacts and a sort of lobbyist mentality. They only really need three weeks to be able to serve food to the hikers then it’s over for a year and there is plenty of time to sort out the admin. I went back up to Glen and Ann’s house this evening and the coverage turned out pretty well. There were lots of shots of cookers, fridges and shop shelves rather than dirty stinky hikers but they included a couple of interviews with hikers and with Pam who is the director of the Center. The anchor had to add the comment from the County that the Center hasn’t applied for permits yet, but I thought it was a pretty community friendly report.

At Glen and Ann’s we had wine and cheese and dinner, a pretty good end to the day for all of us. They had been out for lunch and had a social afternoon and I’d had a ridiculously sociable (for me) day, so we were predisposed to talk. We watched the hummingbirds on the deck whilst the food was cooking, and I was surprised to see the variety. They look brown in the shade, but in the sun they have green backs, some have orange fronts, some have pink or purple heads. They are fascinating and I could watch them for hours. Except it’s bedtime.