Breakfast was at Bob's Ranch House restaurant. I had the Rancher's Breakfast: 3 eggs, hash browns, 3 bacon, 3 sausage, and 2 pancakes. Domestix and I joined Matt and then we were joined by 6 other hikers. All but one had the same breakfast! Afterwards we rode borrowed bicycles to the coffee shop, hardware store, and grocery in search of a gas canister for my camp stove. If I couldn't find one it meant that most of my meals would not rehydrate property and would be a bit crunchy. Everyone was out and didn't expect to get any soon. It was time to get creative!
At the post office as I was picking up my resupply box I asked all of the locals who looked fit if they were hikers and if they might have an extra used gas canister at home that they might give away or sell. A very nice woman who worked at the Scott Valley Alternative Education High School came to my rescue! Hailey ran home and grabbed a brand new canister and then met me at her office. Her generosity exemplifies the good hearts of the people of Etna as well as many of the people I've met on the trail. Hailey has joined the ranks of the Trail Angels who perform Trail Magic to help the hikers on the PCT. Thanks, Hailey!
Hailey wasn't a backpacker per se, but was definitely a camper, horse rider, and rancher. She showed me a video of her 6 year old herding the family cattle to the high country. Wow, what a life learning to be a real cowboy at six! I had heard some of her cow's bells on the trail the day before.
When I returned to Hikers Hut to try to hitch a ride back to Etna Summit I couldn't find Domestix. Just as a Good Samaritan stopped to pick up hikers I spotted her and asked her to hurry so we could ride along. She grabbed her pack and jumped into the back of the truck with me and two others. Just as we arrived at the Summit she realized she had forgotten her phone. She had to go back but assured me she meet me later at our camp spot. I went on and it wasn't until I unpacked and set up my tent seven miles down the trail that I realized I had left my charger, headlamp, and solar charger behind. I was hoping she would see them, but as luck would have it, her phone was not plugged in near my equipment. I would need to call the Hut as soon as I could get service and hope that the owners could find my things and agree to send them to me in Ashland, Oregon. In any case it would have to wait until tomorrow.
Hikers hut
Camping on the lawn.
Trail Angel Hailey.
Flowers on the parched hillsides.
Hikingsolo
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