Day 77 - All the Buses - June 21
I woke up very early to catch the first bus to Carson City at 5:30 am. Tripod came with me. Then we caught a bus to Reno. The third bus was at 1:45 pm and it was only 8:45 am when we arrived. So, I mailed a package home with my snow gaiters. I wish I could send all my snow equipment home, but I need it for some snow patches ahead.
I went to a park right by the Truckee River for a breakte some food. Then I went to the movie theater to see Wonder Woman. It was an entertaining movie. There was a scene towards the beginning where she's carrying a sword and shield in World War I London and sticking out like a sore thumb. I feel like that carrying my Whippet and backpack around town. People are looking at you wondering what is going on. Some new kind of homeless person? I do sort of feel like a Samarai pulling out a sword when I get my trekking poles out of my backpack. They slide out from about the same place you would carry a sword.
Going to the third bus to Susanville, we saw other hikers. Bumblebee and Django are from Germany. A guy I hadn't met before named Dan also joined us. I called Osprey about my sternum strap that had fallen off recently and my hip belt that had a crack in it. There was another thru-hiker catching the bus. At the next stop, A young German guy with a pack got on and sat next to me. We talked for a bit. He had just come from Yosemite, where he had worked on a small farm for room and board. He was traveling around the country, he had started in Miami and worked his way north to Raleigh, then hopped over to the West Coast.
Another thru hiker joined us at this bus stop. Her half brother who lives in Reno had decided to give her a ride this far. There was a chatty guy in an A's t-shirt on the third bus to Chester narrating the ride, saying hello to everyone, even the cows and the folks on the street. We went over a bump and he yelled out, "What a chiropractor!". Another thru-hiker had joined us for this bus. The bus driver lowered the handicap ramp in the back to make it easier to unload all the hiker packs.
When we arrived, we first went to the Lutheran church, where they let you camp on their lawn for free. There was a Port a John and not much else. All of us decided it would be better to get on the trail tonight if we could get a hitch. It is about ten miles to the trail from here, and it was 6:30. Two folks were gone before we left the church. Either they got a hitch right away or they went into a restaurant. Me, Tripod, Bumblebee and Django all stuck our thumbs out but no one pulled over. Around 7, Bumblebee and Django said they would stay there. Ok, we'll just try for fifteen more minutes. It's harder to get a hitch later in the day. Tripod said maybe this cop will give us a ride. Ok, sure. The cop was turning into the ice cream place across the street, but then he came back out and pulled over to us. A ride in a cop car! Bumblebee and Django were close enough to see, and they got a ride from Robert also. It was awesome! Tripod sat in the front and the three of us squeezed into the backseat where there was some gear also. Robert is an ultrarunner whose very familiar with this stretch of trail because he likes to train here. He's done the Tahoe Rim Trail Race and he likes to pick up hikers when he's not busy.
It was so nice to be back on dry trail, without a snow patch in sight. The forest is lovely and the terrain is flat. Lots of big pine trees and soft pine needles underfoot. I love the smell of a pine forest. We hiked just 1/2 mile before making camp. I had some heavy food from town to eat; a grapefruit and a banana.
I went to a park right by the Truckee River for a breakte some food. Then I went to the movie theater to see Wonder Woman. It was an entertaining movie. There was a scene towards the beginning where she's carrying a sword and shield in World War I London and sticking out like a sore thumb. I feel like that carrying my Whippet and backpack around town. People are looking at you wondering what is going on. Some new kind of homeless person? I do sort of feel like a Samarai pulling out a sword when I get my trekking poles out of my backpack. They slide out from about the same place you would carry a sword.
Going to the third bus to Susanville, we saw other hikers. Bumblebee and Django are from Germany. A guy I hadn't met before named Dan also joined us. I called Osprey about my sternum strap that had fallen off recently and my hip belt that had a crack in it. There was another thru-hiker catching the bus. At the next stop, A young German guy with a pack got on and sat next to me. We talked for a bit. He had just come from Yosemite, where he had worked on a small farm for room and board. He was traveling around the country, he had started in Miami and worked his way north to Raleigh, then hopped over to the West Coast.
Another thru hiker joined us at this bus stop. Her half brother who lives in Reno had decided to give her a ride this far. There was a chatty guy in an A's t-shirt on the third bus to Chester narrating the ride, saying hello to everyone, even the cows and the folks on the street. We went over a bump and he yelled out, "What a chiropractor!". Another thru-hiker had joined us for this bus. The bus driver lowered the handicap ramp in the back to make it easier to unload all the hiker packs.
When we arrived, we first went to the Lutheran church, where they let you camp on their lawn for free. There was a Port a John and not much else. All of us decided it would be better to get on the trail tonight if we could get a hitch. It is about ten miles to the trail from here, and it was 6:30. Two folks were gone before we left the church. Either they got a hitch right away or they went into a restaurant. Me, Tripod, Bumblebee and Django all stuck our thumbs out but no one pulled over. Around 7, Bumblebee and Django said they would stay there. Ok, we'll just try for fifteen more minutes. It's harder to get a hitch later in the day. Tripod said maybe this cop will give us a ride. Ok, sure. The cop was turning into the ice cream place across the street, but then he came back out and pulled over to us. A ride in a cop car! Bumblebee and Django were close enough to see, and they got a ride from Robert also. It was awesome! Tripod sat in the front and the three of us squeezed into the backseat where there was some gear also. Robert is an ultrarunner whose very familiar with this stretch of trail because he likes to train here. He's done the Tahoe Rim Trail Race and he likes to pick up hikers when he's not busy.
It was so nice to be back on dry trail, without a snow patch in sight. The forest is lovely and the terrain is flat. Lots of big pine trees and soft pine needles underfoot. I love the smell of a pine forest. We hiked just 1/2 mile before making camp. I had some heavy food from town to eat; a grapefruit and a banana.
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