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More trail magic and a lesson learned (D-5)

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The day was pleasant with lots of wind again, but the trail was mostly flat or gently uphill.  It also went through a very large meadow with only grass and cows for miles around 🙂.  My goal was to reach Warner Springs since I had seen this sign yesterday at Scissors Crossing.
The shower, recharging & WiFi along with possible cold/hot drinks was very tempting.  BTW, this is the first time I found out that there was a name - "bucket shower" & "bucket laundry" - for what I had thought was normal bathing and washing clothes all during my childhood in India 😀.

Made it to Warner Springs after 23 miles, well before the 7 pm closing time.  The Community Resource Center provides all these services for PCT hikers.  Though the Center itself was closed (no cold/hot drinks alas), their grounds were open and showers/laundry/recharging were all available and I made full use of it. Very thankful to the Center!

Sinks for laundry and then shower stalls on the back porch

Before I forget, had trail magic lunch thanks to a San Diego-based couple whose son had completed the PCT a few years ago & had been a beneficiary of trail angels. They were doing this now as a way of "pay-it-forward".  Respect! 🙏

Post-laundry, some of my clothes were still slightly wet and I figured I would hang them up in the tent overnight to dry. I kept the tent fly (the outer "door") open to facilitate some wind.  In the middle of the night, I woke up cold assuming it was cos of the open fly, but as soon as I got up, my head hit wet tent walls! Condensation inside the tent 🤦🏽‍♂️, thanks to wet clothes. Duh me!  Then I had the brilliant idea of keeping the tent mesh door open while keeping the fly closed. However, within a few minutes, I had some scraping noises and turning on the headlamp revealed a 2-inch long ant strolling next to the tent.  There went my idea of keeping the door open!  Lesson learned: never dry your clothes inside the tent. Leave them outside.

It was cold wind which meant hiking with the fleece on the whole day

The famous 3rd Gate water cache which has 4 pallets of gallon jugs of water and is the most reliable water cache in the desert

Today:




Comments

Kusum said…
Wow Ravi, you are clocking more and more every day! Trail angles, bucket laundry, bucket shower- learning new phrases every day. Your blogging is great. Keep it up.
April 22, 2022 at 3:02 PM
LisaB said…
I would have made the same clothes drying error that you did. Keep having fun! I’m having fun watching your journey.
April 22, 2022 at 7:07 PM
Kavitha said…
Wonderful to read about your hike, Ravi!! So inspirational! 😍
April 23, 2022 at 10:00 AM
Vipul said…
I am late but as I read through it in sequence I am now amazed with what you are doing, that world you are experiencing, can't explain enough.. Thanks Ravi for sharing
April 29, 2022 at 7:04 PM
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