This morning Goodness and I hitched into Etna, CA. This town here welcomed us with a space called The Hiker Hut which is a bunk-filled space with a kitchenette, shower, laundry and the wonderful pile of clothing to wear while everything gets clean. There is also a television set for VHS movies... a flick entitled Transylvania 6-5000 buzzes in my present background. :) It is quite hilarious actually and definitely from 1985.
This Hut is next to a small Bed & Breakfast run by a lovely woman named Vicki. She greeted us this morning and gave us the lowdown on the space and the local eateries. After tiding ourselves up and adorning some fun loner clothing, we rode bikes down to breakfast with HappyMeal and Overload. It was so wonderful to finally get to talk to other hikers again as we have been in a lull since the Hat Creek Rim. This place had other magic in store for us this evening when we went out to the Etna Brewing Co. for dinner.. We met Holden there and he had his girlfriend along with three other friends coming in from the east. It turns out that Holden and his gal, Loni, lived one town over in NJ from my hometown and he took his SATs years ago at my High School! I love the small world occurrences! It was wonderful to talk of all the places we knew in common, the roads and 'secret' routes to get somewhere, the small reverse theater, and the best spots for seasonal pumpkin ice cream. These unexpected visitors were a wonderful breath and amazing people with which to spend the evening. I hope to see them out in civilization again sometime.
The last few days of trail have been nothing short of wonderful. It has helped that the trail conditions have moderated and that things have become smoother. Last night we hiked until 10PM to reach the trailhead for a true zero day today. This allowed us to be atop a saddle at a time of night we would otherwise already be in camp. In one direction was the rising of the nearly full moon and on the other, the fluorescent sherbert sunset. Words will not aid me here, so please use your imaginations as you await post-hike photographs. :)
We have secured a ride back to the trailhead tomorrow morning at 9AM and will be further celebrating DAY 100!!!! Yes, that's right, Day 100. Only 1,000 miles and a day to go. Our next real stop is Ashland, Oregon which means also that ALL of California will be walked in about 5 days time. Love it! It is our hope that our Cardinals will catch us there as we got a message from Pod revealing that they should be within a day of us! It is wonderful always whether on this trail or across the world to miss and be missed. Now please, what are YOU up to? Only two states left to write letters! ;)
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