Day 35, May 22: Mile 498 to 518
Start: Mile 498.2
End: Mile 517.6
Miles: 19.4
Ascent: 2684 | Descent: 4559
I slept pretty well despite the windy night, but my foot was killing me from the time I woke up. I was feeling pretty down but tried to let the feelings wash over as I hiked out by myself. Amazon hikes so much faster than me and likes to sleep so she left an hour after me.
A little ways after camp, I crossed 500 miles! Though I was alone, Cloud Whisperer and Fructis were close behind and snapped a picture for me. I took some more selfies, played through the first chorus of “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” by The Proclaimers - I would walk 500 miles, and I would walk 500 more, just to be the man who walks a thousand miles to fall down at your door! - and continued on. (And yes, that song will now be stuck in your head for the rest of the day. You’re welcome!)
I hiked along as best as I could, but was struggling even on the downhills. So I put in a cheesy audiobook and it was a great distraction. Soon enough, I arrived at Hikertown around 3pm and there were tons of hikers there. I was feeling overwhelmed by the crowd and cranky so I beelined it to a secluded area behind the main house and zoned out on a chair for half an hour.
Finally, I felt recuperated enough (and hungry and thirsty enough) to wander back towards the hubbub of hikers. Hikertown is a funny place specifically catering to hikers that has various types of sheds and structures converted into dwellings, each with a different old timey theme. Some of the themes include sheriff’s building, a Nicki Minaj casino, a cat cafe, a bank, and schoolhouse. There is also a gazebo with lots of seating for hikers to sprawl out on, toilets, laundry and (cold) showers.
I ambled to the main garage area and Martha, who basically runs Hikertown and speaks little English, was busy making and serving homemade tamales. I had one chicken and one bean tamal, and a cold Coke. A friendly guy who was helping out got me a bucket of cold water to soak my foot. My mood was shifting towards a more positive one- amazing how addressing hunger and thirst can do that.
Though there was tons of space to pitch a tent for free, I splurged and got a $25 room so I could be out of the wind. It was an extremely simple accommodation in a converted container, but it was clean, had a bed, and even a side table. I had decided to zero in Hikertown to give my foot an extra day of rest, so I was happy to have a little place of my own to retreat to.
Around evening time, I hung around outside to watch a huge group of hikers get decorated with glow in the dark face paint and glow sticks to hike the next section- an infamous section of the trail that follows the LA aqueduct for 15ish miles. It’s completely exposed and shadeless, and often very hot, so most people hike it at night. Many make a party out of it, which these people certainly were. It was fun to watch their revelry.
The group left a bit before sunset, after which the commotion settled down. I lazed around for a bit more and hung out in the garage with Amazon and others. Soon enough, it was time to go to bed and I was exhausted. Night!