Day 34: Casa de Luna
Date: Mon 5/21
PCT Start Mile: 465.6
PCT End Mile: 478.2
PCT Mileage for Day: 12.6
Total PCT Mileage: 478.2
The Highlights: cold, misty hiking and Casa de Luna
Today dawned cold, fog hanging in the air. Shawn and I packed up as usual while LOL lingered a little longer in her tent. We planned to meet up later down the trail or at our destination for the day: Casa de Luna.
Setting out, it was chilly. I had my gloves and raincoat on for a bit of extra warmth, as well as for the mist that was dampening the air. The trail let us ease into our day with some flat and gently rolling terrain leading up to a two mile climb. We climbed up into the clouds, surrounded by thick fog, views of a wall of white.
It was nearing 10am by the time the fog began to burn off and the sun began to peak through the clouds. Just every once in awhile though… it was teasing us.
Just after 11:30am, we signed into a trail register near San Francisquito Valley Road, where we soon stood with our thumbs out, looking for a hitch into Green Valley. It took about 15 minutes of rejection, but finally a burnt orange PT Cruiser pulled to the side of the road. The man already knew exactly where we were headed, a neighbor of Terrie and Joe Anderson, who run another of the famed stops along the trail: Casa de Luna. He delivered us straight to their house.
Trail register, for signing and dating when you go through.
Dropped off in the front yard, the immediate impression is one of chaos.
Lawn furniture, old futons, recliners, and couches were scattered about the front of the house under large shade tents, a row of 6 porta-Johns lined the road next to a pile of bagged recyclables, hiker boxes, and junk (like broken patio chairs), and the yard was scattered with games including corn hole and a basketball net hung from a tree. Coolers and beer boxes were scattered everywhere, while a table full of paints and rocks took up a far corner of the front yard.
From the garage hung a huge sheet for everyone to sign, as well as PCT class bandanas from each year, and a rundown of the house guidelines. As an analogy, if this was a concert, Hiker Heaven would be the organized chair seats and Casa de Luna would be the mosh pit.
We got the quick rundown from a volunteer named Loaner. The most important rule: hug Terrie. She sat on the porch and we made a beeline to give her huge hugs. Kudos to the saints out there that hug us smelly hikers.
The second rule was to find a Hawaiian shirt on the rack to wear for the duration of our stay. Other than that he told us where we could camp and where to find water and left us to read the remaining guidelines on the garage door ourselves.
After signing the giant sheet, we made our way to the back of the house, past the back yard and into the huge manzanita forest at the rear of their property. This enchanting wooded area seemed almost magical, with a labyrinth of trails running through the trees, flat spaces for tents lining the trails and tucked back into the trees all over the place.
All along the trail and tucked into the branches of the trees were painted rocks, crafted by the many hikers who had passed through Casa de Luna over the last 20 years. We wandered the trails until we found an awesome little site near a large beautiful tree.
All set up, we returned to the front of the house to select our Hawaiian shirts. By this time, LOL had arrived, as well as many others we’d been hiking around the last few days. Friends would trickle in all day.
The temperature continued to be well below average, in the 50s – feels like 40s – territory, and we all sat around shivering in our winter layers and Hawaiian shirts in the desert.
LOL, Squishy, and I huddled close on a futon, covered in blankets, for warmth. The desert heat is a killer. A hiker who had been through last year said his last visit here it was 95 degrees out. What a swing.
LOL, me, and Squishy, trying to keep warm.
Shawn with the necessities: chips, beer, and toilet paper.
The main event of the evening: the taco salad dinner. After full instructions from Terrie, everyone was washing their hands and getting in line to make their taco salads.
The after dinner entertainment? The gifting of our PCT bandanas, which we had to dance up to Terrie to receive. The 1000th bandana of the year was given out tonight; the guy receiving it did a mini strip tease for the honor.
The bandanas are gifted to the PCT classes each year by members of the Class of 2002, with different colors each year. This year a bright orange with white and blue. You just have to make it to Casa de Luna to receive them 🙂
We stayed up a little longer to chat, but 8:30pm everyone was talking about sleep and by 9 most were in or headed to their tents. I’m sure there will be a small group that hangs out front into the late night hours, but the manzanita forest is far from the front of the house and it’s nice and quiet tucked back into the trees. Terrie proudly asserts it will be our best night of sleep on the trail.
