The last few days have been awesome. I don't even know what to say, other than it went by too fast.
We came in on Thursday night and my dad had been waiting to intercept us on the trail. That was pretty awesome, and even better when he sprinted back to the car to drive the last hundred yards closer to us.
He even ran me through the Mickey D's drive thru to get my sacred number two cheeseburger meal, even though we'd be having pizza for dinner in an hour or so.
Like I said before, appetizer. :)
A lot happened this weekend, and it's kind of a blur. I didn't take too many photos, I was all caught up in visiting everyone. I did get a good one of Joe fresh off the trail on my parents couch though. That one struck me as really interesting. On the trail, he's Joe the grand storyteller, adventurer and larger than life personality. He doesn't ever look dirty or homeless to me. I guess cause I'm dirty too. Everyone on the trail is. It's all relative.
But on my mom's couch he looks like a dirty, dirty bum.
Hilarious.
On Friday I go to take Joe to a foot doctor ( to check on his horrendous multi layered blisters and loose toenails) and Dan from Florida calls me up.
Joe and I like Dan, he's the only familiar face we've seen consistently since Mt. Laguna, mile 43. He's a pretty relaxed guy, and always looking for his next snowboarding fix.
He'd hurt his foot up in Big Bear, maybe broke it. I'd told him I'd be off trail for a few days soon and could take him to a clinic if he needed it. He wanted to know if I still could, and it was no problem, so I dropped Joe off at his doctor and picked up Dan at te Cajon Pass MCD's and drove him down to a clinic.
Two hrs later, and good news! Joes feet aren't rotting and Dan's foot bones aren't broken! (just very bruised.)
Everyone's elated from the good luck. We made a quick trip to the pharmacy and then spent two hours drooling over new gear at the Rancho Cucamonga REI.
Dan needed a day off too so he decided to come up and meet my parents and take a zero. His foot needed the rest more than he wanted it. My dad practically forced an ice bath on Dan's feet. Joe and I laughed at Dan's torture. He was too nice to say no.
It's good for him :)
That night my girlfriend came up to my parents' to stay for the weekend. It was really cool to see her, and for her and my family to meet Joe and Dan. It was gonna be the perfect weekend off. I even got to see my two little sisters bust a synchronized dance to the song "single ladies."
I was dying.
That night Joe treated all of us to Outback steakhouse!
I had all these plans for ribs, but then something on the menu caught my eye. A BBQ bacon cheeseburger.
It's like my Achilles heel. I can't resist.
Thank you for an awesome meal, Joe. That was really cool. Especially when you turned around and bought us all food again at El Tio Pepe's.
Above and Beyond, man. Thank you.
At different times I took Joe and Dan back to the Cajon Pass.
When I dropped Joe off, he turned back to say bye.
He put on his desert hat and in an instant Joe Barbera became...
...the Yeti!!
That's his trail name now. On the PCT we all get names. Somehow, somewhere, someone names you a quirky name for something you've done or do in trail life, blah blah blah. I named Joe the Yeti because time and time again he'll be just ahead, on the other side of a canyon wall or up a couple switchbacks and he will always turn around to make sure he can still see me. Being a big dude and wearing all white, from far away he looks just like an abominable snowman.
Except Yeti's easier to say. :)
Watching Joe and Dan walk off made me anxious to get back on the trail.
Soon.
I got to see my Grammy and Poppy
( mom's mom and dad) and that was really nice. I missed them alot and I was really grateful to see them even for a short period of time. Luckily I got to spend most of Sunday with my grandpa like I always do when I get a free Sunday and we got our classic breakfast at the SpringHouse Restaurant and went to the Bass Pro Shop. I had a blast.
Eventually, I had to take my girlfriend home to Orange County, and I had to "pack my pack" back up and get ready to hit the trail again.
I was sad to leave.
I'd looked forward to this visit the whole trip so far and now it was already over. It was a bittersweet moment when my Dad dropped me off at the Cajon Pass; I was sad to go but everything from this point forward would be completely new territory.
I was now past my home base- for me everything north was unexplored ground, and I was excited to hike through the San Gabriels. I'd driven by those mountains on the way to work countless times and daydreamed about hiking them from end to end before I'd ever known about the PCT.
I had the whole hike ahead of me. But that's ok.
I felt refreshed.
Motivated.
Ready to conquer the rest of the trail.
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