Day 9: Mike’s Place

Date: Thurs 4/26

PCT Start Mile: 117.3 (on trail camping)

PCT End Mile: 134.8 (on trail camping)

PCT Mileage for Day: 17.5

Off-Trail Hike Mileage: .5

Total PCT Mileage: 134.8

Total Overall Mileage: 141.65

The Highlights: the toilets at Mike’s Place… something special.

Last night the moon was big and bright, its light illuminating the night. A calm, clear night, we camped without the rain fly and could look up at the sky through the mesh tent. Eventually this will be great for stargazing. But last night it was great for moon gazing. And A LOT of light in the tent.

We were slow to get moving this morning and finally hit the trail around 6:45am (yes, this is late to get moving in the desert – at least for us).

The morning hike was nice, almost completely in the shade of the mountains and trees as we continued climbing up up up. Small lizards darted across the trail and ran from bushes as we tromped up the trail. We see probably at least 100 lizards a day. I finally kind of captured a picture of one:

The destination for our midday break was Mike’s Place. Mike’s Place is another institution of the PCT, famous in trail lore for one story or another – for better or for worse. From as much as we had heard, Mike was an interesting guy. Soon enough, we’d see for ourselves. Our morning hike to his place was about 10 miles and everyone we met along the trail was headed there. “See you at Mikes!” was the phrase of the day.

Around 10:45am, we came across the first sign to his place, as well as the water tank, both just off the trail. In need of some high quality “H2O Water” and interested to finally visit Mikes, we followed the sign. After a short jaunt up a side trail and then down a dirt road, we reached the large water tanks. With enough water to get us through our break at Mikes, we kept walking down the road to his place. I like that he just painted the 8 over the 7 for this sign:

Unfortunately, Mike wasn’t around when we arrived, but the caretaker greeted us and gave us the quick run down, pointing toward where the “outhouse” was, tucked back in the trees, and the large blue water tank that we could use for whatever we like. “Make sure you filter it”, he said. Thanking him, we took a seat in the shade under the large parachute tied between the house and some trees in the yard, where group of hikers we knew already lingered.

Soon enough, everyone had laid out their ground sheets or sleeping mats on the ground and relaxed in the shade, eating lunch. Our current lunches are summer sausage and Triscuits. We had originally planned on adding cheese to this, but didn’t want to add another ounce to our packs when we were heading out of Warner Springs.

Not too long after most people had eaten their lunches and were settling in for naps, the caretaker announced that hot dogs were ready for anyone that wanted them. Well, we just ate, but … everyone got up and moved toward the hot dogs. Soon we were all eating hot dogs wrapped in tortillas and covered in onions, ketchup, and hot sauce. Mmmmmmm….Now everyone really settled in for naps.

After resting a bit, I investigated the bathroom situation.

Hanging the “Occupied” sign,

I continued into the trees to find this gem:

Potty al fresco. I mean, all of our bathroom stops are al fresco, but this one had a lid. Opening the lid about 1000 flies buzzed out. Awesome. There were also some markers and a tarp on the wall next to the toilet so you could sign your name or make artwork while you crapped. I passed on this activity. Only about 5 people had signed their names admitting to the toilet usage.

We lounged around until about 2pm before deciding to head back to the trail. Unfortunately we had never gotten to meet the infamous Mike, but the stop had been good for rest in the shade – and my first hot dog in a tortilla.

Back on the trail, we hiked for another 3 hours. The first hour was uphill, followed by a lot of rocky downhill and some rolling hills. Over the last hour I was ready to be done. All the rocks had smoked my feet and I pulled into camp defeated. We camped near several others, including Angie from Mississippi and Helen from England. These two were a riot. They had met their first day on the trail and hiked together since. We cooked our dinners next to them and chatted. Oh – and also guilted Angie for not having brushed her teeth in two days.

Exhausted, we were all in our tents before dark. And now I’m staring at the big bright moon through our tent. Goodnight moon.