Day Twenty-one: Camp at Mile 260 to Big Bear Hostel. 6 miles.
I slept in this morning till the sun was fully into camp. It was colder here last night than it was yesterday at higher altitude, and I woke up to find a good deal of frost on my sleeping bag. After drying everything for a bit I started walking at 8, but I only had a few miles to go to get to get to the trailhead at Highway 18. There were about 10 people waiting at a small pullout on the highway. Several sat on their packs in the middle of the pullout. I pointed out that drivers would be more likely to stop if they could actually pull over without running people down, but my argument was apparently not convincing. So I called the Big Bear Hostel to ask about their shuttles. When I told the guy there were 10 people at the trailhead, they said they were sending 2 cars. The cars showed up like clockwork and took us all down the hill to town, and we got a quick tour on the way. I got checked in, collected my resupply box, did laundry, all the usual chores.
Hospitality is a big deal in every culture I know. Hikers limp into town so tired, smelly, and hungry that people managing to get you a shower, or fed, or a bed become a really big deal. I’ve stayed with two trail angels now, and two hiker organizations, and they were very different—but all doing their own version of catering to the needs of hikers. Some people do communal cooking, some people let you order out, some people point you at local restaurants, etc. The specifics of how these folks go about offering hospitality—systems, priorities, rules—not only make for great people watching, but constitute little utopian experiments. All the hikers I’ve met are avid aficionados of this part of trail culture.
I took my first really hot shower since starting the trail here. Soon after that the weather started blowing in and it got windy and cold. There’s 3 inches of snow expected. I plan to stay through Saturday night and hit the trail, hopefully fresher, on Sunday morning.
Heron Hikes 