Start: 0630:  Hyatt Lake outlet
End: 1930: near Brown Mountain
Miles (today): 27
Miles (cumulative): 1810.5 (1648.5 PCT, 94 alternate, 68 off)

Trail Magic!

We experienced so much trail magic today that after breakfast I only ate one snack (I usually eat at least 7 snacks throughout the day), didn't bother with lunch, and probably didn't have to eat dinner (but I did).  It was awesome.  I can definitively say that there is no such thing as too much trail magic (although we probably could have hiked a hell of a lot further without it, but what fun would that be?)

It all started around 1000, right after I checked my position and realized I was 0.3 miles short of doing 10 miles before 1000.  Just as I was about to reach into my hip pocket for snack  #2, I noticed a truck pull up on the gravel road ahead and stop right next to the trail crossing.  A wonderfully nice man (Magic Rob) asked if I needed a snack, and, since turning down food is just silly, I said "Sure!".  His truck was stocked with all sorts of delicious food - it was incredible.  His father, Buff, is hiking the trail and just so happens to be hiking this section today, so Magic Rob is meeting him at all the road crossings.  Rob told me to look for some magic at the next crossing in 2 miles and also said there would be sandwiches at the crossing in 5 miles.  Wow!  My day suddenly got a little brighter.

By noon I caught up with Buff, who I have heard a lot about but never had the pleasure of meeting until today.  He was hiking with his daughter, Amy, and even though I really wanted those sandwiches (less than 0.1 miles away), I enjoyed talking to the both of them.  Buff started hiking the trail on his 63 birthday and he is just an extraordinary guy!  I can't believe I haven't met him until today!  When Goldie caught up to us we all hiked to the truck, where Rob and Michael (Amy's husband) were waiting.

Rob made us ALT sandwiches (avocado, lettuce, tomato) that were so tasty I had two.  He also had chips and cookies and fruit and beer and water...but that ALT sandwich was the best.  We all sat in the shade and enjoyed each others company while we devoured the food.  Nick wasn't far behind me and, much to my surprise, Fat Cathy and B Squared showed up, too.  It was great seeing them again!!!

After lunch, where I lingered for over an hour, Nick and I set off again - Mark and Mary (Nick's parents) were waiting for us just 6 miles ahead.  Before we got there, though, there was another road crossing where, you guessed it, I ran into Rob and Michael again.  Nick had been a bit too fast and missed them, but I, being slow on the downhills, got to the road just as they pulled up.  I chatted with them a little more, drank a V8, and then made my way to where Mark and Mary were (the next road crossing- there were a lot of road crossings today!)

It turns out Mark and Mary were doing some trail magic, too!!!!

It was awesome!  The first thing Mary handed me was a peach to make up for the one I lost to the trail coming out of Sierra City - it made me laugh (I can tell she reads the blog).  On the table they had apples, fresh carrots and celery (OMG, I could have eaten all of them), cookies, and water.  They also had some hand sanitizer and a place for trash (yes!).  It was so great to see them and to catch up with them and to share this experience with them!   They got to meet quite a few of our fellow thru-hikers: before we got there they met Garfield, Tripper, and Sour Patch; while we were there they met Storm Chaser, Flash, Rat, Ant, Great White Turtle, Buff, Goldie, Snacks, Moonshine, B Squared, and Fat Cathy.  

We both enjoyed our hour with Mark and Mary and it was tough to leave them;  however, we had to get in at least 7 more miles. We had only hiked about 2 of those miles when I saw this:

Even though I had to walk 0.1 miles off trail and even though I was full from all the food I had eaten up until then, I went because turning down trail magic is just silly.  

I'm so glad I did - it was so cool!  1 track, Veggie Gourmet, and Jolly Llama had a little 'Bistro' set up.  It was themed, too, meaning everyone had to put on a little costume of sorts.  They had been there for 3 days and were running out of food but I still enjoyed a salad and some amazing French toast (I learned the secret to their amazing French toast was that they mixed the eggs with melted ice cream instead of milk). 

Everyone who had enjoyed Mark and Mary's magic was there, except for Nick, who decided to skip the magic (he's crazy!).  As it was getting late I only stayed 30 minutes and then got back on the trail to find Nick.

Since I had been ahead of him before the last trail magic there was a good chance he thought I was still ahead of him ... But we had agreed that we wouldn't go further than mile 1766 so I wasn't too worried.  However, as I hiked the last few miles, I WAS worried about finding a campsite - there were so many lava fields around the trail that campsites were minimal.  Nick found one, though (of course he did).

Despite stopping for all the various trail magic, we still managed to somehow fit in 27 miles.  Pretty decent all things considered. :)

Along the trail: