May 23 & 24, 2017

It’s amazing how quickly a zero day (a day with no walking) can pass!

After hiking into Tehachapi we were exhausted. We got up in time for breakfast at our hotel on the morning (surprisingly good) and then the hours quickly slipped away. While Michael set to work cleaning our backpacks (getting stinky), I headed to the Post Office.

My dreams of making Michael do chores such as going to pick up packages have quickly slipped away. It turns out that it’s much easier for innocent and harmless-looking me to get a hitch ;). This time actually took awhile, but I caught quite the ride!

A local (didn’t catch his name) pulled up and drove me to the Post Office, waited while I got my package (surprisingly fast), gave me a tour of town with restaurant recommendations, and then dropped me off at my hotel again. Awesome! Another gift from a trail angel!!

We sorted through our food and then headed over to Kmart to pick up extra food and an additional layer for the Sierras (although they only had leggings for me — no men’s leggings). The rest of the afternoon simply disappeared. Michael napped and I worked in finding first-hand intel on the Sierra snow situation. Not much is out there yet, although people love to fear monger.

We finally hopped into the pool in late afternoon — after deciding that we should extend our stay by another day. We’re both exhausted and I’d rather wait here than at Kennedy Meadows. Plus, we got no where close to finishing our town chores!

The pool area was full of PCT hikers, including Tinman, Captain Bubbles, Red (Martin), and Caley. Beers at the pool transitioned to dinner out with the group at a local Mediterranean place — yum!

This morning, we enjoyed breakfast at the hotel again before Michael headed to the local Big 5 to pick up his Sierra gear. He couldn’t get a ride there and had to be walk the whole way (1 mile). He got his gear and picked up a few more groceries before getting a hitch back. Then he stitched up his damaged shoe with a needle and thread. And by thread I mean dental floss. He took a picture:

 I spent most of the day uploading blog entries, figuring out Sierra details, booking flights for our wedding next month, and watching an NCIS marathon. This is the life!  
I think it was a great decision to stay another day. Yesterday I was completely exhausted and today I’m feeling a lot better. The next section has a big food and water carry, so we’ll need our strength heading our. Almost makes me want another zero… just kidding (sort of)!

It might be awhile before we have signal again to upload entries. Wish us luck!

Currently ailments:

Elizabeth: none.

Michael: none.