5.30.18

You ever know when an angel will come and save your life!

I woke to a gorgeous sunrise! Our camp the night before was atop Skinner Peak, and when we rose we had a magnificent view as reward for climbing the mountains the night before. What a great way to start the day! I chatted with the trio who camped nearby as I started to pack up. They were a couple hiking the trail with their daughter. This was a first for me to find on the trail, I had not encountered another full on family.

After finishing up my packing I stood ready to take on the day with coffee in hand. I said fairwell to the family and walked to where Cowboy (Mike), Sissyphus (Hidde), and Ladybig (Paul) were camped. They were still packing up so I decided to press on. The golden light was still magnificent as I trekked on. The light streamed through the trees and lit the beaten trail as it winded across the mountain.

As the trail decended the forest I took in all the trees, chirping birds, and scarce squirrels I could see. The day was perfect temps and it was just a lovely trail winding through the mouanins. I soon found a nice spot break and the fellas caught up and passed me up. After I was done I pressed on and the trasil finally escped the mountainside and spit us onto an old dirt road that crossed an open high desert. The trail bumped up and down, until finally finding its way over a saddle and we started the last decent to walked pass.

Long and stretched out switchbacks skirted us on the moutnainside and we once again decended to the desert. The sun began to warm us as it did. I sipped on the last bit of water out of 1 bottle, knowing I’d have just 0.5 liters in another left to hold me over. We needed to get to the trailhead. Trekking on, trying to keep up woth Ladybugs long legs as we chatted, we decended the trail. Finally we popped out to find Garlic, a trail Angel, under a pavilion making up some guac! Man what a treat, trail magic is the best!

Couple of cold beers, guac, chips, and resfreshing water brought us all back to life. We needed to get to Lake Isabella and hitching was the first mode on all our minds. We walked towards the road we saw a lady dropping off a hiker (Happy) and we flagged her down. She said to jump on in and we threw our packs in her hatch. Her name was Lisa and was in town visiting her father on a break from teaching and going to school (for her teaching degree).

She was great! She drove us the 1 miles to Onyx so Sissyphus could pick up a package at the post office, then waited on us and drove us all the way into town. We stopped at a place called the Shadys Bar and got food and a beer to recharge our sprits. There was a pool table nearby and we all had a go at playing. Afterwards Lisa offered to give us a ride 0.5 miles down the road to the Vons (grocery store) we were so glad. Upon arrival, she said she enjoyed hanging out with us and didnt have much to do that day so she was going to give us a ride back to the trailhead after we finished shopping. What a true angel all the way! We quickly shopped and chatted in the car on the ride back. Once there we cooked up smores for all the hikers camping nearby before finally crashing out. Lisa made our days, its always nice to find kindess in places you never expect it!

Trail Angel:

Lisa – 32, An elementary school teacher, living in Berkeley. Her father lives in Lake Isabella, a truck driver, whom she learned her sharp whit and can-do attitude from. She aspires to hike the PCT herself once her school is completed.