Day 25: Introducing Hot Mess and…

Date: Sat 5/12

PCT Start Mile: 367.2

PCT End Mile: 369.4

PCT Mileage for Day: 2.2

Off-Trail Hike Mileage: 0*

Total Mileage for Day: 2.2*

Total PCT Mileage: 369.4**

Total Overall Mileage: 385.69*

The Highlights:a short hike, my trail name, and a superb goodie box from awesome friends

*I am probably getting rid of or altering some of these categories… I was estimating how much we walked in town, as well as off trail mileage that was still hike mileage. I will probably still point out miles hiked on alternate trails, etc, but estimating town walking, etc. isn’t that interesting. Just FYI…will change up tomorrow.

** why do I even have this listed, it’s completely redundant.

On with today…

The day dawned cold and we snuggled into our sleeping bags, no hurry to go anywhere fast since we only had just over a couple miles to get into town. Also if we hiked too early, it’d be difficult to get a hitch. Even “sleeping in”, hunger eventually kicked in and a hot breakfast from town was calling our names. We were hiking by 8am.

The short two mile hike was a cool, crisp trip through the pines, with more views above the clouds. A beautiful day.

Less than an hour and we had our thumbs in the air on Highway 2. As luck would have it, we only had to thumb for about 5 seconds and guy in a pickup pulled over to give us a lift. He had just finished a mountain bike ride, ending in the same parking lot where we ended our hike for the day. We chatted hiking, biking, and mountaineering during the 5 mile ride, and as we pulled into Wrightwood, he pointed out some good places to stay and eat and wished us a safe journey. Have we mentioned how awesome people are?

In town, our first stop was the Evergreen Cafe for breakfast. Another group of hikers we had been leapfrogging with since day one was eating breakfast – Tumbleweed, Squirrel, Guy 5, Mowgli (yes, named after the Jungle Book character- both because he looks like him and because he carries the bare/“bear necessities”), and Manuel (no trail name yet).

Seeing them on most days, these guys have been constant companions and we’re always happy to run into them. Because they didn’t take a zero in Big Bear Lake, they ended up getting ahead a couple days and were actually heading out again after breakfast so we may not see them again for awhile as they get ahead … or ever… you never really know when or if you’ll see hikers again.

After enjoying breakfast, we all went next door to a coffee shop where … I finally accepted a trail name! For those that hike around me, they know I drop stuff all the time… most frequently my trekking poles. One … particularly persistent … hiker had tried to bestow me with all kinds of terrible names around the third day on the trail. I’d deftly… or maybe bluntly… avoided the suggestions.

Eventually, due to me continuously dropping my trekking poles, the name Butterfingers came up, but I found this name unwieldy. Very long. Too many syllables. I didn’t want Fingers in my name. Shawn suggested shortening it to Butters. However, in the words of my brother, “you can’t have your husband name you, that’s cheating”… I needed more name backup. Tumbleweed and the others were in agreement on the Butters suggestion, and so… I finally accepted. Butters it is. Of course, there is the added bonus of being a South Park character. We are officially Hot Mess and Butters!

Later in front of the grocery store, after introducing myself to someone as Butters for the first time, my trekking pole fell as if on cue. This name was meant to be.

At the coffee shop, we also received these nifty patches. Maybe I can sew it to my pack with some dental floss. We also got a free cup of coffee. Being a hiker is fun!

And later, at Mountain Hardware, we were given these pins.

It should only take me about an hour to lose this. Luckily, I should find plenty scattered along the first section of trail heading out of Wrightwood. 😂

In the Mountain Hardware chill zone, where everyone seems to be bending over for this photo…

Mountain Hardware is just that… a hardware store in the mountains, and they take care of hikers. Not only do they accept mail drops for no fee, they also have a hiker hangout area out back where hikers can chill or leave their packs while they check out town or take care of errands like resupply.

We chatted with some more hikers here and also picked up a package mailed to us by our friends Sherri and Greg. Later we were able to bust into this goody box in our hotel room, which is Christmas themed… year round, apparently.

But back to the box. It was like Christmas … in our Christmas room… loaded with hiker goodies from snacks to wet wipes and some amazing shampoo packets. Thanks so much, Sherri and Greg!!