We had a super hectic day in the Hatch but we've been safely delivered back to our home, the lovely PCT. We slept in 'til about 7 and then hit the continental breakfast at our hotel hard. It was great - eggs, bacon, real waffles, fruit, etc. After breakfast, we lounged around before motivating to walk to the PO. It was a bit of a trek but not too bad. On the way back from the PO, I stopped at Home Depot to pick up some denatured alcohol and work on a solution for my trekking pole problem. I headed for the nail department hoping to find a substitute for the horizontal pin I'd lost. I wasn't sure I'd be able to find one that was the appropriate length, but I figured I could use a rock or hammer to bend down the pointy excess (this would hold the pin in place as well). As it turned out all of Home Depot's nails were in packages (not bins), so it was a bit tricky to check the fit. Rather than just opening the packages, I made a beeline for the cutest employee I could find to ask for assistance. Sometimes, it pays to be a girl! In addition to being extremely good looking, this guy was a champ at trekking pole repair. Within minutes he put together a screw and bolt system which holds my strap in place perfectly. He also used a saw to cut off the excess so I can't stab anything or anyone. Success!
Mission accomplished, I headed back to the hotel for a little more hot tubbing and to get packed up. Around 2, Histo, Snausage, and I took off for Albertson's for grocery shopping. We'd been planning to walk but less than a block from our hotel a guy driving a truck turned around to pick us up. Without any real communication, the three of us piled in the back, hoping he was actually planning to take us to the store. We were in luck, and within minutes Daniel dropped us off in front of Albertson's.
Grocery shopping tends to be a long and tedious process and today was no exception. As we were repackaging or food in front of the store, Daniel swung by to see if we were still around and wanted a ride back downtown. We weren't ready yet and still had another errand to do but what a sweet guy! Though I've had positive experiences everywhere I've been, the people in Tehachapi have definitely been the kindest I've encountered so far on the trail.
After loading up our ridiculously heavy packs, Histo, Snausage, and I started toward Big Five Sporting Goods which was located just a couple blocks away. Histo and Snausage were looking for new shoes and/or insoles. We'd just left the store when Histo realized his bladder which was located towards the bottom of his pack was leaking everywhere. He had piled too much weight on top of it and it had burst. He quickly exploded his pack on the lawn and sidewalk. While Histo assessed the situation, Snausage continued on toward Big Five and I made myself comfortable on the lawn and waited for Histo to sort things out. As he was telling me that today just wasn't his day (his package hadn't arrived at the PO, his food didn't fit in his food bag, etc), the sprinklers on the lawn we were sprawled on turned on. It was unbelievable! We both got soaked (as did most of Histo's belongings) but all we could do was laugh until we were practically crying.
After Big Five, we headed back toward downtown. We were planning to meet Nips and Wildflower at a restaurant for dinner before getting picked up by some angels who were giving us rides back to the trail head. We were exhausted and not in the mood to walk a couple miles with our heavy packs, so I approached the first truck I saw pulling out of a driveway and asked if we could hitch a ride. Once again, we were in luck. Gotta love the people!
We're currently camped at the trail head. We're all tired but still hoping to get a fairly early start tomorrow. We have a 25 mile day ahead and will each be starting out with 5 to 6 liters of water, but the good news is that these will probably be the heaviest packs we have to carry all summer. Off to bed now! Have a great night!
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