Our animal alarm this morning was a turkey, gobbling it’s little head off. It wasn’t quite as annoying as the roosters in Maui, but it was close.
For the first time this hike (it won’t be the last), we woke up to frost on the tent. It’s a good thing I sleep with my water filter or else it would have been ruined. Since the beginning of the hike, I’ve been sleeping with my water filter, external battery, Bivy Stick, headlamp, and phone. I put everything in a stuff sack with my hiking clothes and then cuddle up with it all under my quilt. This way my filter and electronics are protected from the cold and my hiking clothes are toasty warm when I put them on in the morning.
Even though the water at the pond tasted ok, I didn’t want to filter more if I didn’t have to. There was a water cache about 5 miles away, but we didn’t want to rely on it. The last comment about the cache in the FarOut app said it was empty, so last night we texted the woman who maintains the cache, Jetta, asking if that report was true. We checked the Bivy app this morning and she let us know she had just refilled it. Excellent.
trail angels like Jetta make the hike so much better
On the way to the cache, I had the pleasure of hiking with and getting to know Sin Nombre. It was mostly gravel road walking today and road walks are always better with someone to talk to; sadly, he didn’t need water at the cache and kept on going. It’s just as well - there was a pretty significant rocky downhill a little while later that slowed me down so I wouldn’t have been able to keep up with him, anyway.
even though Jetta had just refilled the cache, there were only about 5 gallons left when we got there. There are so many hikers out here!
The rest of the day was a blur - I simply put in my headphones and hiked, alone with my thoughts. Towards the end of the day I passed Master Chef and Fuego, who were getting water from a spigot. I didn’t need any water (I had taken 3 liters from the cache) so I hiked on. I would have stopped to chat but I knew I’d see them here, at the Davila Ranch.
There are a LOT of hikers here at the ranch, actually. In addition to Master Chef and Fuego, there is Blink, M&M, Sin Nombre, Joker and Red Man, Milkman, and about 7 other hikers I didn’t get a chance to meet. But this is definitely a great place to stop. Nobody lives on-site yet they maintain a shower (with conditioner!), a bathroom, washers and dryers, a refrigerator full of eggs and onions and potatoes, a sink, and an area with hot plates and pans and utensils. It’s everything a hiker needs. Again, it’s trail angels like this who make the hike so much better.
read all about the Davila Ranch
Master Chef in pink at the sink, the shed to the right is the ‘kitchen’, the sheds to the left contain the bathroom, separate shower, and laundry
We showered, Nick made us an amazing egg onion potato scramble, and we shared a washer with Master Chef and Fuego. I like how everyone seems to be respectful and is doing their part to keep this place operating smoothly. For example, hikers washed and folded the dirty towels and loaner clothes, everyone washed up their dirty dishes after cooking, and things seem orderly and controlled. I don’t know why this surprises me but it’s nice to see. Without someone on-site I can see how a few ‘bad’, irresponsible hikers could ruin it for everyone else, but so far, so good. Maybe I need to give people more credit?
Along the trail:
I didn’t take many pictures at all today - I was in a zone (don’t worry, I remembered to eat a lot of snacks).
Camp:
