DAY 28: CITY CHORES

miles: 0

After back to back movies in our queen size beds, we slept a solid 9 hours. None of us had been sleeping well the past few nights.

This Best Western is surprisingly  nice, with its pristine pool, hot tub, and lounge area, Located in the midst of traffic intersection hell, it was like an oasis to us. 

CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST. 

Waffles.

Cereal.

Other hikers trickling in.

My feet were borderline un-usable. Completely shot. It feels as though they are made of wood and that I'm balancing on them when I stand, worse than the average hiker hobble. You can tell who is a thru-hiker and who is not instantly (for many reasons). The "hiker hobble" is one way to identify us.

Leaving the trail is not an option, so in order to heal up, we must take the necessary zero days to figure out what's causing the pain, try different methods, and experiment. We'll figure it out soon enough.

We contacted a Trail Angel, Sandizzle, who's number we got from a few other hikers. SANDIZZLE AGREED TO TAKE US TO REI, in the town of Rancho Cucamonga. OH. My. God. This was the best case scenario, and it was happening!

This is all we needed. New shoes and major rest, injury research and stretching for all three of us.

Sandizzle picked us up in her Honda Civic at 11:00am and we flew down the interstate, sometimes reaching 90 miles per hour. I cannot express how grateful we were for Sandizzle's help. It was her day off from school, and she regularly shuttled hikers around in her free time.

This is a serious Trail Angel. THANK YOU SANDIZZLE!!!!

We spent quite a bit if time in REI marveling at the goods. We each got a new pair of shoes, Angela got a new shirt. It's a bit overwhelming for me to be in large stores these days.

Sandizzle even drove us to Wrightwood, where we checked in to "The Pines Hotel" (it was the cheapest)...

We hung around at the Post Office parking lot for a while, as hikers tend to do because its a central meeting area, perfect for catching up with people you haven't seen in a while, sharing goods from our boxes, talkin' talk...

Homeless hiker hangout = post office.

Angela and Ben taking care of business. 

My so many things... It really hits you in town, when you are carrying everything you own in your back AND lugging boxes and bags, how truly "homeless" and "transient" you are. Not in the derogatory way, but in the true sense of the word.

When we get to town, we tend to splurge on produce...

We soent most of the night JUST... RELAXING. 

Wrightwood is so so so so cute! I think it's my favorite trail town so far. You can walk everywhere, the local market is fabulous, and everyone is ridiculously friendly. Everyone we saw or met said "hello" and more often than not, asked us how we were doing. 

The evening brought cozy dinner table time, all of us eating our own meals. There was a FARMERS MARKET from 4-7 which was an unexpected specialty. I bought too many nectarines and an avocado for later. 

Hula hoop wars was being played outside our cabin window and I went to investigate who the participants were... There was Veggie, cigarette drooping out of his mouth, brown bag in hand, throwing hula hoops with a long-haired child named Patrick. 

Patrick was a curious and exuberant 11 year old who seemed to be staying at the Pines Motel indefinitely with his "Nanna". 

I became a spectator and slowly, other hikers arrived to join in on the game: Ben, Track Meat, Sagittar, Spark, Chik Chak... We had quite the laugh, everyone taking turns competing with Patrick, violently throwing multiple hula hoops at one another. 

Good end to the night.

Oh, and here's a photo of the "hiker box" at the Pines Motel office