I'm in Hiker Heaven

When I set out from the beautiful high altitude forests in the San Gabriel mountains to drop into the hot, dry high desert country of the Mojave, I didn't think I would end up at the most beautiful place yet.

Leaving Wrightwood was tough. I had met Susan and Ray who were more than generous with accommodating me, and I had a lot fun with all the other hikers in town. Setting out and pulling away from the Old Ridge Runner, I quickly came across Burning Daylight, Ron, a retired cop from Marietta and Stinky Butt a 27 year old San Diegan. Ron's and my paces seemed to match nicely so we spent the next few days hiking into Agua Dulce together. A day in we were headed up Mnt. Baden Powell, a 9000 ft peak. I was told that on a clear day you can see all the way to Catalina Island, but the smog of the LA basin disappointed my hope of gazing out to the sea. There was a bit of snow on the way up, but it was soft enough to easily kick steps without much hazard.

Up and down for the next two days, Stinky Butt came and went from Ron and I, hiking quickly but stopping early. There was a bit of a road hike on acount of some rare frogs that had a section of the trail closed off. It felt like we logged a lot of miles because the highway is a little more direct than the trail can be. The next day we did log a bunch of miles, 27 in fact, on acount of our water sources being so spread out. But soon we would be to Agua Dulce for rest and relaxation at Hiker Heaven.

True story first: A mile or so from Agua Dulce, Ron and I came across a large congregation of trailors and trucks that we decide is a movie set in the Vasquez Rocks. We both know that movie sets tend to have huge spreads of food for cast and crew so we move in to investigate. No one questions us and we get in line and pick up plates. As we are dishing up, we chit chat with some crew member and he gives us the go-ahead. What a feast, stuffed trout, chicken breasts, bbq burgers, salad bar, fresh friut and cheese cake for dessert. I ate till I was sick and it was the slowest mile walk into Agua Dulce that day.

Agua Dulce is the hometown of Jeff and Donna Saufely. They run Hiker Heaven and are maybe the most famous trail angels along the way. Its obvious why. They give you a room in their trailor/ guest house and wash your clothes. Donna even set us up with their friend Bill that gave us a ride into the nearest REI for weight saving exchanges and can't-get-anywhere-else purchases. They are so sweet and seem to really enjoy having every hiker they can get. There are about seven of us here now, ORR, Chase, Atlas, Strider, the usual gang from the last couple of towns. There's also Burning Daylight, Kirt, Monarch Woman, and Stinky Butt. We're going out for pizza tonight and Monarch Woman wants to play cards later. Sometimes in peak season, they said they have as many as fifty hikers stay for the night.

It will be even tougher to leave HH tomorrow morning than it was to leave Wrightwood. I'm not excited for the week of hot, dry miles ahead, but the anticipation of beginning the high Sierra country is a strong motivation. Hopefully in less that two weeks I'll be in Kennedy Meadows and crossing freezing snow melt streams and racing up snowy, steep passes. In John Muir's The Mountains of California, he speaks of the region with religious intensity and romance. He says, "In every walk with nature, one recieves far more than what he seeks." Although, I don't know exaclty what I seek, I can't wait to recieve it. So far I have been blessed with health and wonderful people along the way, which is as much as I could ask for. Everything else is a bonus.