Mile 517.6

+ High: Sun is back up. My trails leg are back as well.
- Low: n/a
• Favorite Gear: Patagonia wind jacket is still my favorite!

Day 43

Heading out Casa de Luna felt good. It was a great place, but I think I couldn’t handle that many people as the same time. There was no transportation between trailhead and Anderson’s place, so I walked. It was 2 extra miles on pavement and it was hot. When I got to the trailhead, I felt tired already. As soon as I saw a minion greeting me on the road sign, I had a feeling that this is going to be a great day!

I still worried about my knee, so I was not aiming for a high milage day. Maybe 15 miles to the next reliable water source.

I got to the camping site arround 6ish and found the water really not appetizing. I didn’t get any water but I got some water left anyway. The campsite is lovely with tall pine trees arround. The pine needles were natural cusion for sleeping. I put out my groundsheet and de ided to do my stretch before setting up the tent. I almost never got to see the sky since I alway slept in the tent. It was a nice change to lie down and see the trees and sky. Maybe after a while, I’ll be able to do cowboy camping!

Day 44

The first thing in the morning was going down to Upper Shake Campground to get some water. It’s only a mile away from my camp site. I met “Napoleon” there, a girl from Netherland. She tole me that they stayed at the campground and met a bear that night for 5 times. That bear just didn’t wanna go away. It even scratched one of the hikers backpack that was left outside of his tent. But they managed to scared the bear away. I kind of wanna see a bear too!

The climb back to PCT from the campground was steep, very steep. I haven’t had this level of climb for a long time.

The most exciting thing of the day was hitting mile 500! It was not as thrilling as the first 100 miles. But still....

Afternoon water stop at mile 502.4 was the most creepy one that I have experienced so far on the trail. It’s a concrete water tank that you have to use an empty juice bottle to draw water from the bottom of the tank. The water looked suspicious, but it’s clear and cool. No complains.

I camped at Horse Trail Camp, mile 508.1 this night. It’s such a scenic campsite with picnic table and water source. I took my sleeping bag out for a great afternoon sunbath. Facetimed with parents for quite a while, the day ended pretty well. I only had 9 miles to go in the morning!

Day 45

It was a usual day starting walking at around 7:00. It was a pleasant downhill without too much elavation changes. I was pretty happy about it.

The view, as always, was incredible. I found myself enjoy the desert view very much more than the forests.

I arrived the famous Hikertown around noon. It was a place right by the trail in the middle of nowhere with an very interesting setting. Rummer says the owner retired from Hollywood. This place was set up as a small western town with little houses around a square. Every house has different names, sheriff’s office, post office, school, etc. It is fascinating.

I booked a room for one night to avoid the wind in the desert. It’s almost like a container with a glass sliding door without curtains... Well, it’s $10 a night.

The best part at this place was water. They had the best shower and a garden water hose with a nozzle that we could use to do our bucket laundry. The water was so strong. I cleaned all my clothes and for the first time, I cleaned my backpack, shoes, sleeping pad and tent. It was about 3 hours of cleaning. I got nothing else to do anyway.

The town, Lancaster, has couple restaurant and grocery stores nearby the trail. They have people driving back and forth between the stores and the Hikertown every hour. I caught the one at 3pm and went to do my grocery shopping and had a real meal. I reunited with Papa Bear here and got the sort of bad news from him. He told me the next section will be on LA Aqueduct and all the people plans to push through the section in 2 days. The total is 41 miles. It sounds doable but I haven’t done 20+ miles 2 days in a row. I’m not sure if I can do that.

People were saying the aqueduct is flat but no shades at all. It will be very hot with little water sources except the one the that iron tube that we can’t get to. A lot of hikers plan to head out in the middle of the night to avoid the heat.

For me? Let’s worry about it tomorrow.