A little town time isn’t so bad 😉

Operation: Get Baby to Big Bear!!!

That is our affectionate title for the day. We were both worn out from the week and all it’s challenges from Mother Nature’s little natural elements. But most importantly we deemed the increase in elevation and snow pack on the north side of the mountain to be beyond the gear we have and patience we have today. Safety first, friends. We don’t have micro spikes or an ice axe. (Side note: we heard that on the area of Fuller Ridge that we bypassed, a hiker fell 1,000 feet and was saved by falling on his pack on a boulder. We knew that snow was too much for us right now. Well played.) We had what felt like a very nice stroll down a dirt road from the cabin area we stayed at last night. It was about 8 Miles & we got to walk side by side which was very nice so we could  chat. At one point, Rob saw mistletoe on the ground and picked it up for a smooch. What a romantic. We hitched a ride fairly quickly from Ray, a  local. He originally passed us and then turned around to get us. Hitching makes you meet so many great people who you wouldn’t normally. The hostel we were going to stay in is closed for renovations before hiker season (yeah, we are ahead of the crowd) so we are staying in a cabin close by. It has a kitchen which is nice. The nicest guy manages the property and was soooo sweet to take me up to the grocery store and back. I got two nights worth of dinner, breakfast and basically enough food to feed a family of ten. Have I mentioned all this hiking is making me incredibly hungry!!!!!  Steak, baked potatoes, carbonara and a little salad for greens. YUM! we had a little champagne toast to celebrate completing one tenth of the trail. Let’s be real, we have a lot more to go, but it feels great.

Minnow (Boston’s trail name now) and Mellow showed up late in the evening after a really long day of hiking and hitching. We fed them, gave them some stout drinks and we all enjoyed catching up about the last few days.  Canary is behind and we are sure she is OK but we will be eager to hear from her tomorrow. ❤ Hiking family is great. We all stayed up laughing and chatting until late.