PCT 24 – Hiker Town

Daily miles 24
Total miles 522

Can hear the coyotes barking close by as we write this.

Earliest start for us thus far this am –  5:45am.  Not super early,  but comfortably early.  It was a warm night as well as a warm morning.   We both started without any down on.   Sweetpea didn’t sleep so great after waking in the middle of the night.

Very pleasant walking throughout the morning.  More or less rolling on top of the mountain range.   We had an early lunch at a picnic table at Horse Camp before beginning the long and circuitous descent to Hiker Town.

We hit the 500 mile marker this morning!

The trail down to hiker town is odd and clearly the product of routing around a large chunk of private property.   The trail comes down the mountain nice enough –  well switchbacked,  never too steep.  Once most of the descent has been made,  the trail takes a 90 degree turn East and around a private hunting ground,  meandering over Hills and seemingly around every nook or cranny –  much within view of the road and the final destination.

We rolled into hiker town around 3pm.  Beardoh got a shower,  we both did laundry,  took care of some online bills, sorted out our resupply and talked with a few other hikers.   Hiker Town is basically the same as Beardoh witnessed in 2012, generally  unkept,  with most hikers being a little turned off by it. It is an interesting property with several sheds decorated as an old West town.   We are thankful for it being there and accepting packages for hikers….but we are not alone in wishing it was a cleaner place to actually rest one’s head.

We rolled back onto the trail a bit before six and got in another 4 miles before finding what we figured would be the last good hammocking for some time. There are a few trees in what would appear to be a spillway where we are camped tonight.   We have seen the lights of a few hikers walk by as we write this. Many will night hike this section or start very early in the AM.   We had a decent day of walking already,  so our miles were enough… And since sweetpea didn’t sleep well the last two nights,  it really makes sense for us to not push on.   We will get an early start tomorrow and tray to beat the heat.  Today was windy and mild,. So we are hoping for more of the same.