Mile 248.24 to 265.75

Last night were at camp and in our tents early when Fun Dip, Viper, and a whole crew of hikers rolled up. Most of the tent sites were taken and they had to fan out to find somewhat level ground. We warned Hip (real name) that the site he chose was the poop site. Apparently, some asshole crapped in a perfectly flat tent site and didn’t even pack out their toilet paper. Since Hip doesn’t have a trail name, I was hoping he we would put his tent stake in one of the buried poop holes so I could name him Poop Stake. Unfortunately, he managed to avoid the hidden poops.

We were the first out of camp per usual and left wearing our rain gear as we were still at 8,600 ft. and it was windy and cold.  After a few miles, we passed this weird compound where they had sad looking animals pacing back and forth in the tiny cages.  Apparently, they are used in Hollywood movies and TV shows. All we could see was a grizzly bear, but there are tigers and other animals too. We moved on before we got too depressed.

A few miles later, we ran into something to lift our spirits. A dumpster full of goodies and a sofa just sitting on the side of the trail. Trail magic strikes again. I grabbed a black cherry soda, crackers, and an apple and we all took a break on the sofa. Fun Dip and Viper rolled up. They are meeting a relative from L.A. in Big Bear Lake and were looking forward to a hotel room and food.

The trail was pretty easy today and the miles came easy. The smells of the pines trees and the shade they provided made us happy hikers. We rested by a stream and ate linner (lunch & dinner) before heading out.

Burnout told me about the three years he worked as a smoke chaser in Minnesota fighting wildfires. I sounded like spurts of intense action mixed with boring stretches waiting for something to happen. You got winters off though so that seems pretty cool.

We got into camp, just .3 miles from the highway we will hitch from into Big Bear Lake tomorrow morning. We shot the shit and tried to give Carla a trail name. We tried Cinderella since she has sewn up the crotch of my pants and the hem of Burnout’s pants, but she rejected it. So far she has rejected Strap on, Lost and Found, Frauline (my favorite), Rip and Ripstein. We will keep trying.

Burnout told us the story of how he shit his pants on the Appalachian Trail. Apparently he felt the diarrhea coming on and he ran to find a poop spot and got his shorts down halfway when disaster struck and he fertilized the liner in his shorts and the ground. Luckily I haven’t had any problems yet.

Carla way underpacked food for this section, but has been quiet about it. We all thought she just didn’t eat a lot, but today she cut open her peanut jar with a tiny pair of scissors just so she could lick the last of the peanut butter out. She then told us that she has been fantasizing about food the whole time she has been hiking. I gave her a packet of golden selects Idahoan instant mashed potatoes and Burnout gave her some bars. We can’t have the little Frauline die on us.

Everyone has been having a good laugh at my expense since I lost my spoon three days ago. Me eating ramen was been the most entertaining as I try to shake and shimmy it into my mouth without getting it all over my face. Carla just stares at me and laughs until she is red in the face. I’m making a real good first impression of Americans for her. By the third day, she did offer me her spoon and I took her up on the offer. In Big Bear Lake I am getting at least three spoons lest this happen again.

Burnout innocently, or so I thought, asked me the name of my website and now my hiking partners have found the blog. They read passages out loud and had a good laugh. Everyone realized that I have no clue how to spell Baldy’s name since I never watched Harry Potter. Her name changes in almost every post. I promised to continue spelling her name wrong since it has become tradition by now. It was a little surreal to have that happen, but I told everyone as it was happening that it would be in the blog and here it is.

We are all dreaming of a big breakfast, stuffed crust pizza, and $1 fish tacos in town tomorrow. Can’t wait to get in there.