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When an in-town day calls (D-18; 351.9 - 369.3 miles)

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Woke up this morning to a wet tent - inside and more so, outside.  Looked outside and I was above the clouds literally 😀. 

I had left my backpack outside to dry and it was coated with water droplets 🤦🏽‍♂️

Wiped down everything as best as I could and then set off to climb the rest of the mountain up to Guffy Campground at 9000+ ft.  Mornings are always better for hiking and it was true today too.  A similar climb yesterday afternoon was so much more harder than this morning.

Love somebody's creativity here! Put a smile on my face 🙂

Entered Angeles National Forest today

Even a puddle like this on a dirt road crossing the trail is considered a water source

I was expecting to reach Guffy Campground later that afternoon, but was there at this currently-empty site by lunchtime.  Had lunch there on my own (upma burrito...my own creation 😋)

It was then I decided that I could make it into Wrightwood town today itself, instead of waiting till tomorrow. This would give me more in-town time, though it would also mean me an extra day of lodging cost in a rather expensive town. The lure of sleeping on a bed along with other in-town amenities won over cost considerations very quickly though 😀.

On the way down to the trailhead, I passed by a couple of fenced-in ponds next to ski-lifts.
Presumably the ponds have water for ice-making?

Reached the trailhead & started walking towards town, but within a minute a car full of wonderful young people stopped and gave me a ride into town.  Once again, trail angels to the rescue!

I didn't have any lodging reserved for tonight, but luckily a couple of calls later found a room to stay. 

Strangely this town does not have a laundromat nor do the lodges offer any laundry option, except, as you might guessed, bucket washing!

These were the "buckets" left outside every room so that hikers could hand wash their clothes and it was up to us to dry them wherever/however possible. Boy! Only now I realized how painful bucket laundry is and how much our parents (esp. moms who did most of this work) struggled before washing machines became affordable. Respect!

Btw, the petrol station in town offers free grilled items like a hot dog, corn dog etc to PCT hikers. And the grocery store has a rack of items for free too (see below)

Data:
(I had to trim the data, as I forgot to turn off the watch when I got into the car and turned it off only after reaching town)

Comments

Shiva said…
The next best thing after sliced bread- upma burrito 👌🏿👌🏿
May 5, 2022 at 3:44 PM
Kavita G-DLS said…
Thoroughly enjoying your honest posts and great pics ..!!!!
May 8, 2022 at 4:27 AM
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