Day 49, Thursday, April 11. TM 213.4, Mesa Wind Farm—(16.2 miles)

I’ve got Wolf figured out. He’ll be ready 15 minutes earlier than agreed upon every time. From now on, I only have to get him convinced we’re leaving at 8. He’ll be ready at 7:45 and we’ll hit the trail at 7:30. I know this will only work one time, so I’ll save this trick for when we really need a jump on him. Today, we agreed to leave camp at 7:30. Amazingly, Bunny and I were ready at 7:25. Ivy and Blue’s Clues we’re ready at 7:30. Wolf was MIA. He’d left at 7:15. 

The prime motivator for the day was In and Out Burgers. We only had 12.3 miles to make it to the interstate and it was all downhill. Bunny and I are slow, but we should be able to cover that distance in 5 hours—that’s 2.5 mph. High speed for us. The four remaining tramily members walked together for the first 5 miles. We even got a 3 mile hour under our belts to start off. Who says food isn’t a motivator. 

We kept leapfrogging with an English hiker. I guess after passing each other several times it felt like we knew each other. Surprisingly, I was out front of everyone a good distance when I passed him again. He stopped me and asked if I might have some Body Glide. Trying to be helpful, I asked if he was experiencing chafing. He said “terrible.” I said “I’ve got something much better for you. I’ll give you some of my Vagisil.” Of course Ivy rounds the turn just as I say “I’ll give you some of my Vagisil.” He told me his trail name is Dignity. I gave my Vagisil to a man named Dignity. I think there might be a country song in there. 

Bunny and I decided we needed a break. This is when we fell behind Ivy and Blue’s Clues. Dignity passed us again with a big pep in his step. He said it was the best he’d felt walking in several days. It takes real men to share a Vagisil moment. 

At 8.5 miles into our 12.3 mile crusade, there is a water faucet that is provided by the local water district strictly for use by thru-hikers. We could see it for a good 3/4 of a mile before we got to it. It appeared Wolf was there waiting. We saw Ivy arrive and then a couple minutes later, BC arrived. We were only about 5 minutes behind BC. There was only about a 15 minute gap from first to last. This is a big improvement for Bunny and me. We’ve eaten a couple days worth of food and my pack only has about 6 days of food. This is a manageable weight for me around 42-45#. As a reminder, Bunny has bad hips. If her pack weighs anything over 28# she has terrible pain at night. That’s why I carry most of the food for both of us. It’s a small trade off to keep her out here with me (even though she ditched me yesterday).

The final 4 miles was a combination road walk and desert floor crossing. Walking in loose sand takes almost as much energy as walking in snow. Just yesterday, we had spent six and a half miles walking in snow, being cold, and looking at the desert wishing we were down there. Today, not even 24 hours later, we are walking in a hot desert on sand looking up at the snow and wishing we were back up there. 

When we finally made it to the interstate, everyone was there waiting plus a couple of German brothers we had met a few days ago. There was magic under the interstate in the form of cold sodas which we desperately needed. The Germans had already called for an Uber and Wolf ordered another one so we should all be ready to go to In and Out. We weren’t even at the road for 5 minutes before both Uber’s arrived. The Germans told us they had been waiting for over an hour. 

This was my first “In and Out” experience (virgin!). The Germans ordered sensibly just getting single burgers and splitting an order of fries. From personal experience, I know this is binge eating for them. I ordered a double double, fries, and a drink for myself while Bunny got a single, fries, drink, and chocolate milkshake. I then went back and ordered another double double. We showed them how Americans binge eat. Sadly, there were more people inside, who weren’t hikers, ordering more than us, showing them why we lead the world in obesity. 

With all that food I ate, I still managed to walk out of the restaurant weighing less than when I went in. It’s a very simple trick that doesn’t involve bulimia. I’m not a fan of throwing money away so directly. The answer is porcelain and reduced time in camp in the morning. (In case you have forgotten, that’s a double.)

The wildflowers were incredible all day. We caught another Uber back to the trail, this time with an Iranian driver, who, like our first driver, had never heard of the PCT and wondered if we were rich, crazy, or stupid. But, in any case, both agreed we were highly motivated to under take a hike from Mexico to Canada. We ran into some locals out day hiking to be out in the flowers. The smells were amazing walking down the trail. Incredibly amazing when you consider the flowers overpowered the smell of thru-hikers. It reminded me of being in a funeral home. (Can you think of a time when the average person is around more flowers than at a funeral?)

We had agreed to go another 4 miles after lunch and stay at the Mesa Wind Farm Office. They provide shade and water for thru-hikers as well as offering several other items if you arrive during hours that the facility is open. Because of our late arrival time, 4:30, they were already closed. We set up camp and then gathered with some new hikers in the gazebo to cook our suppers. With meeting a bunch of new people and hearing their stories, we lost track of time and stayed up past 7. 

While I’m writing this entry, we are laying in the valley below the largest wind farm in the state of California. To a person that loves sleeping with a fan, this is paradise. Not one, but one thousand wind turbines to serenade me to sleep. Benadryl? Who needs it?

EFG