Mile 508 to 518
“Whoever built this trail needs to be shot.” - Animal Style
Wow - what a storm! The wind gusted all night, and our little tent stood its ground like a champ. We did not rush to get out of camp because we were freezing in wind. Adam finally went to filter water, and I was only able to pack up our tent with Animal's help, as it quickly turned into a jumbo kite. We giggled like siblings as we wrestled the beast into its sack.
When Adam returned, he and Dayhike tried their best to MacGyver Adam's pole back to life, which only resulted in breaking it further. Not a great start to the day.
We meandered along the hillside 8 or so miles, all the while gazing down at the highway below. We knew our destination was just there, but the trail took us up and down and all around, which Animal Style did NOT appreciate.
[That big blue sky!, awesome yellow long grass, Fey Turtle, Dayhike and Jetpack waiting for us to catch up, the four of us trekking the last bit to Hiker Town, being silly]
Finally, it spit us out into Hiker Town, an infamous hiker hostel with LOADS of character and few amenities. Hiker Town is someone's personal property, which has been transformed to look like an Old Western town... it's eclectic. Some of our friends slept next to the chicken coop in the "Feed Store" which was decorated with tons of toy guns and old chess pieces... others stayed in a trailer in which it appeared someone had bled out in the entrance. Another swore there was a rat in her bed, and we were greeted by many cockroaches in our garage.
The quirky caretaker had given our group the garage, saying the bathroom was ours as well (it was in sad shape, so Jetpack cleaned it), and we managed to tarnish the reputation of Slow Magic by ultimately monopolizing the only bathroom in the whole "town." Oops! Spearhead preferred that we keep the door to the garage open, otherwise she said we would suddenly realize we weren't in a hotel. We lounged about on questionable couches until we realized there was a van that would take us to the gas station. Dayhike investigated, and the flustered caretaker said "Oh yeah, where is that van." He said it had been gone for 45 minutes, so we should call. But he had misplaced his phone, so he instructed Dayhike to call the store, giving him several wrong numbers before remembering the correct one. We sat by when Dayhike rang the store: "hello? Uh, this is Hiker Town.... is the van there?... It is?... Yeeeeeah, we're gonna need that back." (Think Office Space.) This sent us all into fits of laughter.
[A tour of the town!]
So Slow Magic was yet again knocked down a few pegs in the eyes of the hikers at the store, who had to rush back... so we could use the van. Upon their return, the caretaker said, yeah you can drive yourselves... the door doesn't shut so use the rope. The middle seats had been removed so "it seats nine." Jetpack, Spearhead, and I sat in the back row, which jerked back and forth as Adam drove with zeal down the road to the gas station, meanwhile Cappy held the sliding door closed with rope. Once there, we purchased a conglomerate of gummy bears, ice cream, beer, chips, burgers, nuts, and everything else the little convenience store carried. Personally, I got cereal, and it was a great choice.
Later, in the garage, Dayhike started frantically rummaging through all his things. Did you lose your wallet? we asked. Nope, worse. He left all his candy bars and nuts on the counter at the store after purchasing, so he called the store again: "Hi this is Hiker Town... I think I left some candy on the counter... um, some Whoppers and Reese's Pieces..." - this threw us back into giggles. How is this our biggest worry?
Jet, Boom, and I pitched tents on the garage floor, unwilling to brave the critters. Cappy, Animal, and Dayhike bravely crashed on couches. Spearhead split the difference, electing to cowboy camp on the kitchen table.
[Garage takeover!, Spear and Fire Ant getting that phone time in, the girls being cray, notice the rope holding the door shut, 1 quart!, lazy boys]
