A woodpecker woke us up today. Just in case you were wondering.
The Ohana Cafe didn’t open until 9, so Nick and I had time to pack up and go to the post office before breakfast. I had a random medical bill to pay (Mary sent it in the resupply box), Nick needed to send in his Thermorest Uberlight pad because it had several holes in it (he was blowing it up several times a night), and I decided to send my umbrella back to Mary.
We both have umbrellas for sun protection, but I haven’t been using it because 1. It’s a pain to attach to my pack 2. It’s usually too windy to use. There wasn’t a good box to send the umbrella back in, so I ended up taping two boxes together. It looked terrible but I suppose it will work? Weirdly, as I was attempting to tape the boxes together, I almost started to cry when the tape got stuck to itself. I have no idea why that, of all things, upset me. Maybe it’s because I hadn’t eaten breakfast? Not sure.
We got to the restaurant at 8:30 and were the first customers there. Even though they weren’t open yet, we were able to sit outside and use the Wi-Fi, which was incredibly fast since nobody else was using it. I sent the blog posts to Theresa in no time (in contrast to the hours it sometimes takes) and even download a few new podcasts to listen to.
Breakfast wasn’t quite as chaotic as yesterday, but that could also be because we were the first ones to order. I ordered two bacon, egg, and cheese sandwiches with potatoes, Nick ordered the kama’aina breakfast (eggs, rice, and Portuguese sausage), and we also ordered biscuits and gravy, which we shared. It was incredible.
Cody, Bodhi, Sin Nombre, Napoleon, and two other hikers joined us, which was great. Because of how the orders came out, however, I did something I never do - I ate before everyone at the table was served. Obviously nobody cared and it wasn’t a big deal, but in my other life I am unable to eat unless everyone has their food.
Bodhi and Cody are on the left, Napoleon is behind them, a hiker I don’t know is in the tan hat in the back, and Sin Nombre is next to him, sorting a beard
Another thing I did that I haven’t done in a long time is drink coffee. I’ve been drinking MUD/WTR, a mushroom coffee alternative drink, and while I love it… it’s not coffee. I had something like 3 cups of coffee this morning and it was delicious. Typically I’d meet my dear friend Leslie for coffee every weekend, so it seemed appropriate to have coffee today, which I believe is Saturday (I lose track of time out here).
While at breakfast, Nick got a message from Mary saying we should have a postcard from our friend Beth. I’m so glad she told us because I wouldn’t have known to look for it otherwise. After hugging Ngaire goodbye, we went back to the Toaster House to collect our packs and to search for the postcard. I ended up finding it propped against a window (there were so many hiker packages in the house and they were stacked all over with no organizational strategy at all, so I feel like it’s a miracle I found it).
Getting mail is always fun, but getting letters on the trail is even better. I think hand written letters are just wonderful, and Beth’s postcard put me in a marvelous mood. Thank you for thinking of us, Beth!
In her letter, Beth asked what a hiker box is, and I’m sure some other people reading this might have the same question. A hiker box is a place where hikers put things they don’t want anymore but that might be useful to someone else. Waste not, want not. It can be food or clothing or toiletries or … basically anything. They can be magical places (who knows what you’ll find!) but they can also be a little scary if they aren’t organized. Sometimes a hiker might be sick of eating a particular item, so they hiker box it because it might appeal to another hiker. Take today, for example. I walked by the hiker box after finding the postcard and scored an entire bag of Oreos for Nick. Someone decided they were sick of them but to Nick they are a treat.
Like I said, often hiker boxes are a disorganized disaster. When they are disorganized they can be unappealing to go through (although I think it’s always a good idea to look because you never know what you’ll find.). However, some places that know what’s up will organize them. The Toaster House knows what’s up - their hiker box system is amazing. They have a box outside for the newest stuff; at the end of the day they take whatever is still there and organize it into a hiker cabinet. It was refreshing to see it so well-organized and we could have done a full resupply just from hiker box stuff.
The hiker box at the Toaster House is really a hiker cabinet
I always leave my old hiking shoes in the hiker box, and if we have a surplus of something (like sunscreen sticks, hand sanitizer, or food), it always goes in the hiker box.
After I scored the Oreos from the hiker box, we hiked out.
Water is again an issue on this stretch, so we hiked 16 miles to another hiker-friendly ranch called TLC Ranch. They provide water, a little shelter, a composting toilet, and use of their land to camp. Most of the ranches on this road have no trespassing signs so it’s wonderful to have places like this.
I found the road walk to be rather enjoyable. That caffeine really gave me an energy boost and I felt like I could hike forever. Nothing is bothering me too much, either, so I didn’t have to expend mental energy on the Pain Cave. I walked pretty much non-stop. I paused a few times to pee (ladies, for real, you need to get a pStyle) and once because I thought I felt a hot spot on the bottom of my foot - I felt it prudent to take a look and tend to it before it got worse (it was fine). Otherwise I just walked.
I listened to some interesting podcasts, to include one where Pony was interviewed. I was very entertained and it was almost as good as hiking with him. He articulates the thru-hiking life very well - if you are interested you should check out Podcast Link
I also listened to a few episodes from “A Slight Change of Plans” and found them very well done. Just wanted to share for those of you who might be looking for a new podcast. :)
In addition to listening to podcasts and music, the scenery around me also kept my mind occupied. For a while I was entertained by a fence with cowboy boots randomly placed on the posts - it was fun to see what kind of boot I’d see next.
After the fence, I was entertained by three birds. The birds were playfully dancing in the wind and I stopped to watch them for a moment because they seemed so joyful.
Most everyone who drove past me waved and smiled, so that was nice, too. And I remembered to eat plenty of snacks. All in all, the walk was good.
When I got to TLC ranch, only Sin Nombre and Monk were here. Then Blink arrived, followed by Cody and Bodhi.
Nick had sent me a Bivy message saying he was taking a long break and probably wouldn’t make it until 6, but he arrived shortly after Cody and Bodhi. He told me he had been planning to take a nap under a tree, which is why he sent the message. However, his plan was thwarted because he ended up sitting on an ants nest. He was eating lunch and starting to notice them crawling on him, and by the time he realized what he had done they were everywhere. Then he said he made the mistake of shaking out his mat upwind, so he had ants in even more places. Hahaha (Thankfully they weren’t fire ants).
Also, Nick’s umbrella got caught in an unfortunate gust of wind and broke. (He should have sent his back with mine!)
About 6 other hikers arrived after Nick. We all sat around the table and chatted/ate (it was so windy that putting up tents had to wait)
a candid shot of hikers at TLC Ranch
We also had the pleasure of meeting the family who lets us use their property and drink their water. I made sure to give their little girl a figure. :)
The wonderful family of TLC Ranch
Along the road:
Camp:
