What social butterflies we were today. We caught up with Pint in the morning as we were packing up, said goodbye, then walked into Old Station. Outside the small store we met Werewolf and Luna whom we had met earlier in the desert and chatted for a while. We discovered that there were in fact 2 Old Stations, new Old Station and old Old Station and that old Old Station, 4 miles away, had a gas station, where, if they had it, we needed to pick up Heet for our stove. There was also a good cafe for breakfast. We started walking back to the trailhead, paralleling the road, and as a car approached we stuck out our thumbs. .. and the car stopped! Two guys on vacation, one from New Zealand, were on their way to the cafe!
The gas station did indeed sell Heet (denatured alcohol/antifreeze) and I found the last bottle tucked behind some other product. This was our lucky day as the next place we could buy it is 5 days away.
The breakfast at JJ's was the best we've had on the trail. Everything was home made, including the sausages. And not just maple syrup, but a selection of strawberry and blackberry purée. And, for the first time on the trail, not margarine or fake spread but 100% genuine butter. We had conversations with 7 sets of people while we were there. Friendly town. Pint arrived half way through and joined us. We also met hikers Double Sprainbow and Roid Trip.
We learned that a hiker was taken away in an ambulance yesterday from the trail ahead. There is a heat wave going on, we're talking triple digits, and the next section is a steep climb and then goes along an exposed ridge with no water. T still has her chest infection and woke in the middle of last night with a coughing fit. Decided we would hitch to Burney Falls, which at least sounded cooler, and continue from there.
First though we hiked to the underground lava caves near Old Station with Pint. We went in one end and came out the other. Pint wanted to stay in there to cool down for a while so we said goodbye in the dark.
Almost immediately, as we walked towards the highway to hitch, a woman that we had talked briefly to at the entrance offered to give us a ride. She and her son and nephew were going fishing at Burney Falls. We had a lovely conversation in the car and she took us right into the park where she gave us a fishing hook, line and weights. We will try to use our hiking poles as rods!
We needed to buy food for this next 4-5 day section and no sooner had we walked to the visitors section when a hiker recognized us as PCTers and asked if we needed food. She had been sent too much so handed us a bag with almost enough for 3 days.
We then bought root beer floats and chatted to other hikers and a couple of cyclists who are cycling across the States.
Luck seemed to be on our side all day. Except for when I thought I would take a surreptitious dip in the river under the bridge after viewing the Falls. I saw Tracy gesturing with wild eyes, pointing above me. I thought she was joking, but as I pulled up my shorts I saw a family of five peering avidly over the side of the bridge.
Today was so hot it was surreal. Tomorrow is supposed to be slightly cooler, but we are setting the alarm for 5am just incase.
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