Day 28 - Leaving a magical place — Walking People Out of Poverty

May 13

Depart Casa de Luna (Mile 478.20)

Arrive Mile 502.50

After my arrival at Casa de Luna, last night, I quickly set about putting up my tent and getting my bedding organized. Due to my relatively late arrival, it was past 6 pm when I arrived, and was anxious to get cleaned up.

I managed to accomplish my tasks and was back at the house, where everyone was gathering, at around 6:50 pm. There I had the great pleasure of meeting the volunteers who help run Casa de Luna. The first person I met was the sole male, Loner, who had given me the introduction to the property upon my arrival. I then met Hustler, and thoroughly enjoyed sitting on the deck and chatting with her. It turned out that Hustler knows her flora and fauna, although I did not discover this until later in my trip. Turns out Hustler was genuinely interested in my charity walk and she posted on one of my blogs. I then had the great pleasure of meeting Terry who has been running Casa de Luna for 19 consecutive years, and what an amazing job Terry and her fantastic volunteers do. I really believe that it’s the various Trail Angels and volunteers who are the glue that hold the trail together. I think, and a lot of PCT’ers agree, that without this support it would be extremely difficult to navigate the trail.

The last member of Terry’s support group was Twinkle Toes, who I met when the group posed for the obligatory photo. At 7 o’clock everyone was called to attention when Terry announced the protocol to be observed during the serving of dinner, and Terry was ably assisted by Loner. There was a large table covered by an awning and on it were the ingredients for the meal. Two large crockpot’s were bubbling away, one containing re-fried beans and the other with cheese. Terry explained that you were to fill your plate with a nacho chips, and to ensure they were level, not heaped, otherwise the rest of the food would likely end up on the floor. When it came to my turn I followed instructions, and after topping my nachos with beans added the chopped lettuce. As I was watching my cholesterol levels I passed on the sour cream, as well as the olives, (not something I’m keen on), and found a seat on the deck. The food was simple but delicious and I returned for seconds.

After dinner Terry announced that she was going to be giving away free Casa de Luna bandanas but to get one you had to put on a dance for her and there was no shortage of takers, including yours truly. There really were some exceptional dancers!. It was a fun evening and I met lots of interesting people. As the day had been a long one I slipped away early, and was in my sleeping bag by 8:30 pm and quickly fell to sleep.

The nice thing about being in bed early is you tend to get up early, and, if the motivation takes you, be out on the trail. The nice thing about this particular morning was the allure of pancakes and coffee, which Terry and her team were putting on. That was another reason to get moving. Knowing this I was packed and ready to roll, so I hoisted my bag on my back and silently threaded my way down the path between the slumbering campers. Not everyone was asleep and I joined the other hikers at the house, where I was invited in by Hustler, who was flipping pancakes, for a chat. I don’t find pancakes to be particularly filling, so I made sure to eat more than I normally would, in the hope they would keep me going. It was a wrench to leave this magical place and I deeply regret not taking more photos.

Just like the day previous I was in the first vehicle to leave, at 7:30 am, and had the pleasure of Miles to Go and his girlfriend Flash Gordon, who hale from Portland, Maine for company. We were soon at the trail and off we went together. Once the climbs started to get steeper I urged my new friends to go ahead. The first part of the mornings walk took us up into the mist, and I endured a long constant climb that went on and on. Eventually this gave way to an equally long downhill section. I eventually caught up with Miles to Go and Flash Gordon, who had stopped for lunch and they kindly let me join them. Afterwards we enjoyed a lovely walk together and late in the afternoon we reached Mile 500, although we were somewhat confused, as there was not one but three markers signifying the fact. Shortly after Miles and Flash decided to stop for the day and offered to share their campsite, but it looked a little tight and so I told them I would see if I could find something more suitable up the trail. I carried on up the trail and found a big open grassy area, which looked perfect although it meant cooking on the trail, as that was the only area suitable for lighting a stove. I quickly pitched my tent and set up for the night before cooking dinner. It had been a great day.