October 25

Distance: 18.7 miles | Ascent: 4120′ | Descent; 2500′

Mile marker: 2219.7

Lunch: J&A – soft serve ice cream with sprinkles (A+)

Dinner: J – beef stew (A), A – orange chicken (A)

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Serenity’s Oasis is the best hiker hangout spot on the whole trail. Farmer John, who drives laps around his property on an electric tricycle for fun, is almost insistent that we relax and have a good time. We had hot showers with a towel, laundry, and chill vibes. We were excited for the slow morning.

We sorted through our resupply, cooked the leftover hot dogs from last night for ourselves and our friends (breakfast dogs!), and did one last load of laundry. This hike is making us appreciate really simple things like towels and soap and chairs. We’re beginning to feel like everyone should experience something like a thruhike to reset and reframe their expectations and biases.

We left for the coffee shop in town, where we ran into our friend from the Sierras. “TimTam” had just gotten into town and was hiding from the midday heat at the coffee shop. After a few hours and a few coffees, we finally got back to the hiking thing. The slow start wasn’t laziness. We had a serious climb into the San Gabriel Mountains south of Agua Dulce. Rather than get an early start and hit it in the 3pm heat, we took a slow start to hit it as the sun was setting and the day getting cooler. When we decided to leave, we got some soft serves to go for our road walk. Eating them felt like a sport. The ice creams melted as quickly as we could eat them.

Just south of Agua Dulce is Vasquez Rocks County Park. Apparently, that’s where they filmed some Star Trek or Star Wars thing. We don’t really know because we’re not that variety of nerdy. The rocks were cool! Though, maybe not as cool as Red Rocks.

At the visitor’s center, we found a park ranger offering the hard-to-find official PCT hang tags, so Alex finally got one! It only took 2200 miles, but now she’s an official PCTer! The tag is essentially a luggage tag featuring a PCT logo that you attach to your pack. They’re handed out to NOBOs at the start of their hike, but SOBOs don’t get the tags unless they run into a ranger that happens to be carrying some. Many SOBOs have been on a mission to acquire a pack tag for months – it’s a big deal. Due to the staffing cuts across the USFS and the NPS, it’s been especially difficult this year.

There was a beehive in the rocks!

We hiked out of the park and then saw a tarantula! He’s was a cute little fuzzy guy, maybe 3″ in diameter. Just in time for spooky season.

Aftet sunset we also saw a few, or one presumably annoyed, poorwill(s?) sitting on the trail. Apparently, it’s rare to see them this time of year here. They’re adorable little birds that look somewhat like tiny round owls.

We got stopped for dinner as we got to a trailhead. A guy in a car that had just pulled in was absolutely stoked to talk to us. He is a huge fan of the PCT and is hoping to do it someday. We hope he gets to pursue his thruhike dreams! Just a few days prior, he had miraculously survived a car crash that left his car smashed behind recognition (he was hit by a drunk driver). He shared that the close call made him even more grateful to be able to get out and enjoy the outdoors. We try not to take for granted our ability to be out here doing this.

As we ate, TimTam, our coffee shop friend, rolled up. He had the same plan to crush the climb at night. We chatted a little before he ran up ahead of us. In the dark, we could see his headlight bobbing up the hill. We also saw the lights of a train with a glass roof!

The climb was a challenge. Maybe we’re getting weaker. Even though the average ascent was something like 450 ft/mile, it came in spurts that felt more like climbing a wall. We stopped to break only 200′ before the top.

When we finally rolled into camp after 10 pm, we were surprised to be greeted enthusiastically by name from a man we didn’t recognize. He knew some key details about us, and we thought we might be hallucinating from exhaustion. In the dark, Jason thought he was our prior landlord from Colorado. He wasn’t. He turned out to be a member of a trail crew that had met some fellow hikers and were foretold of our arrival. Even though we were startled, we were quick to accept drinks and a cookie from the stranger. We have really failed the whole ‘don’t take candy from strangers thing’ while doing this hike. The stranger even said there would be breakfast in the morning.

We found a flat spot to sleep and didn’t bother setting up the tent. It was a relatively still night, the climb had warmed us up, and it was late. We didn’t want to disturb people by making too much noise. We slept great under the stars.