Hikers and smartphones slept in, exhausted by their efforts to catch up with the non-PCT world. The day started, and the TV came on. The incredible pace and speed of information delivery stunned me a bit. I guess moving along at 3 mph tends to slow all the senses down. I gave up on the box and focused on my cheesecake breakfast. Then it was out to the pool to write. There a young guy taught me ” if it’s for free, it’s for me, and I’ll take three.” One has to keep their ears open.

Orbit versus cheesecake in Bishop

The morning slipped out the back door as the afternoon came through the front. Motel 6 wanted their room back so we moved our base of operations over to the Vons picnic grounds. I dropped $125 on seven days of food and the four of us spent the next four hours in front of Vons gorging and packing food for the hike to Mammoth. My hats off to the graciousness of our Von’s hosts.

The packs worthy of a benchpress, and procrastination exhausted, we walked to the edge of town and stuck out our thumbs. It took three rides to reach the trailhead. Tina first, who recalled us with her own hitchhiking stories. Then a mom and son duo headed out to clean out a local casino and finally Tom and his wife who had hiked the PCT in 1985. In that year there were 20 other hikers on the trail. Their tent alone weighed nine pounds, which is more than Orbit’s entire pack. This year one son is on the PCT, the other on the CDT- Continental Divide Trail, doomed to repeat the sins of their parents. And, of course, in this very small, big world we have mutual friends in Flagstaff, Arizona.

The lateness of our arrival at the trailhead made our hike back up Kearsarge Pass short-lived. We camped under, around and on a large boulder balanced on the edge of a lake. I drifted off savoring my father’s day conversation with my daughter. She told me of the wonder of her life and the PCT PowerPoint presentation she had delivered to her class. I miss her so.