Day 7 – Barrel Springs to Warner Springs

MM: 109.5

Trail Miles: 8.5

Miles Walked: 10.1

After the big day yesterday (24miles), I was glad to have an easy day. Every big day came with a price – blisters, sore feet, knees – and I felt like I needed to give my body a break.

It was the warmest day yet, but we made Warner Springs by 1145. We had stopped by eagle rock – a rock formation that looks exactly like, you guessed it – an eagle – and snapped a few pics. The trail today was pretty, very different from yesterday’s desert scrub. If you’re old enough to have watched the 1970s TV show Little House on the Prairie, you can picture the terrain. Wide open spaces, rolling hills, dotted by large Live Oak trees. I could picture the shows opening credits with Michael Landan as Pa in a horse drawn carriage and Laura running down a hill to catch him.

Slim and I were leap frogging with the Canadian couple I’d run into at the Julian Lodge. Wanderer and Medicine Woman were friends hiking together. Wanderer”s hike was raising money for a charity, Opportunities International, that does micro-financing in countries like Rwanda. Medicine Woman was joining him for 4 weeks of his hike. We all arrived at Warner together.

The Warner Springs Resource Center hosts PCT hikers this time of year. They provide water, free bucket showers and laundry (detergent for $1), clothesline’s for drying, 24 hr bathrooms, a wide open field to camp in, WiFi and charging stations. There’s a small store selling typical thru-hiker food and an air conditioned building with a small kitchen. Even after only 7 days on the trail, it was like hiker heaven.

I had to make the P.O. by 1:30, so I stashed my pack,then set off with my hiker hobble for the 1 mile walk. I had to bypass a car show going on in an adjacent field, as well as a band that was playing and a vendor selling BBQ. — There were at least 30 hiker tents set up already, with a small herd on the way. That BBQ vendor was going to make a killing.

Last night I’d gotten a text from my friend Pic. She lives near San Diego and wanted to know if I needed anything. She was up for a road trip and so was coming up to hang out with us hiker trash. We had a lot of fun that afternoon. Pic wound up providing taxi and blister care to me and my new hiking friends. She even helped me pick out some Resource Center loaner clothes so I could bucket wash all my clothes. The get up was pretty funny. She fit right in and kept us laughing.

Overall it was just a great afternoon hanging out with my friend and relaxing. After the long week, it was a very welcome change.