At 5:45 a.m. Good To Go wakes me up, and he’s leaving camp to begin his hike. I am astounded that he is packed up so early. But the wind buffeted our exposed campsite all night, and my guess is that he was kept awake by the flapping of his tent fly. I pushed out of camp around 6:15 and the miles came easy. Around 8:00 a.m. I passed a shaded campsite where some weekenders were already partying their Sunday morning away. Sure enough, Good To Go had pulled up a chair and joined them. I was in my hiking rhythm, never broke stride, and just kept on walking. Finally, after hiking 8.7 straight miles with an uphill 1300-foot climb to summit Mt. Gleason, I took a break. The weather has turned cool, and I actually sought a grassy spot in the sun to keep warm while doing some journaling. About an hour passed before hikers appeared (Evan and Charles). Then Phantom and Doodlebug showed up and took a break as well. Soon we were back on trail, pushing miles and stopping infrequently for snack breaks in lieu of a long lunch break. Several miles later we all stopped at the North Fork Saddle Ranger Station for some water and a rest break. Minutes later we resumed our hike with 8 miles left to our goal for the day.
About 6:00 p.m. we made it to Soledad Canyon Road. Our original plan had been to hike to the road to visit a nearby RV park to take advantage of the opportunity to order pizza and to buy some sodas from the vending machine. As the day progressed, we altered the plan to either hitchhike or call the Saufleys in Agua Dulce to pick us up and bring us to their home in Agua. On the descent down to the road it became obvious looking down on the RV park that we weren’t going to be spending time there. The scant few cars that were driving by on the canyon road looked a little sketchy, and I wasn’t feeling good about sticking out the thumb there. Fortunately, Good to Go’s cell phone had just enough signal to get a call through to the Saufleys who promptly sent a hiker to pick us up. As we walked on the highway from the trail crossing to the entrance of the RV park where our ride was to meet us, I felt as though we were back at the Mexican border. Across the running creek below the highway there was a large wall that ran the length of the RV park. On the other side were hundreds of campers, all Hispanic, partying and grilling with dozens and dozens of loud stereos blaring Spanish music. Some waved to us as we walked by; others actually shot a pellet gun at us as we hiked on to the RV park entrance. It was definitely a loud, happening scene, but not one we wanted to participate in.
Soon we were picked up and arrived at the Saufley home just in time to reap the benefits of a hiker cookout in the backyard. There were about 25 hikers eating burgers, hot dogs, coleslaw, salad, fruit, beans and drinking sodas and beer. We ate and then got changed into cotton shorts and t-shirts provided by the Saufleys. We got our names on the waiting list for a shower and left our stinky trail clothes in a basket in the garage for Donna Saufley to personally wash for us. I grabbed a cot in a large tent for sleeping quarters. The rest of the evening we spent sitting by the fire enjoying the amazing hospitality of the Saufleys and visiting with all our trail friends. We will be here several days to allow Phantom’s foot time to heal and to allow Doodlebug time to see a doctor to get better. It’s great to be at Hiker Haven in Agua Dulce!
Today’s mileage: 23.0 Cumulative mileage: 444.2
