5.20.18. 8.2 miles.

Hiker Heaven truly is a heaven. I can’t believe all that they do for hikers, for only a donation. They have such an amazing set-up! Big dome-like tents all over the backyard for gear repairs, laundry, hang-outs, a huge area to pitch tents, a hiker lounge with a kitchen & bathroom, tons of port-a-potty’s, and lots of room for hanging out. They also have a huge hiker info bulletin with impt info and computers for hikers to use, and stacks of all the packages we have sent here. I also got to meet Donna Saufley, the woman who owns the house and makes Hiker Heaven a reality! She was great.

I slept in slightly but was woken up by the roosters crowing. It was ok because I had a lot to do. First things first was to figure out laundry. We got to put our clothes in a bag w a number and they do your laundry for you! Amazing! We also got to wear loaner clothes. Wearing cotton felt so good.

Next I got in line for the indoor shower, and it was amazing! The water was nice & warm and there were so many options for products! Shampoo & conditioner, shaving gel, razors, moisturizing body wash, q-tips, mouthwash, and more! It was so exciting. I thoroughly enjoyed my shower & putting on the nice, warm loaner clothes (it was super overcast and chilly this morning). I aslo has the chance to weigh myself and according to this scale, I’ve lost 10 lbs since Warner Springs!

LOL, Swayed, and I went out to breakfast in town when the shuttle came and we also finished just in time to get the shuttle back! I then organized my food: I had so much leftover, so I cleaned out some of that and added all of the goodies from my mom & Alice! Alice’s care package was so awesome! Thanks Alice!

While I was organizing we learned that there was a free hiker mingle lunch at the Agua Dulce women’s club, which was cool except I wasn’t hungry and we were sort of being required to attend and I was woefully unprepared bc I hadn’t done a lot of my chores like charging batteries and packing my bag and tending to my feet and stretching, posting blogs, etc. The food was great at the lunch but I felt stressed by not having enough time. Once we got back everything was super rushed trying to get everything ready before heading off on trail again. I wish I could zero here - nearos are so stressful for me!

We eventually got another shuttle and got hiking by 3:30 pm. I had my sights set on the camp at the top of the 2,000 ft climb out of town. I was hiking with Swayed but he ended up faster than me! The hill was a killer but it was actually kind of pretty & it was very overcast so at least it wasn’t hot. I was so tired at the top though and my glutes & calves were on fire. Swayed went on to the water, but I couldn’t go further tonight. I’ll meet up again with him in the morning. I’m happy with my mileage bc it puts me at a good distance for Casa de Luna, another trail angel, tomorrow!