We packed up, wanting to be ready in case another car happened by, but after an hour or so, we decided to walk a little ways. It was 7 miles down the road to a main road that would take us out to the highway. We didn't want to have to walk those 7 miles, but since we had no idea when anyone would be leaving, we decided to make some progress.
We walked a bit, sat in the sun a bit, and when two cars drove by in an hour, both going the wrong way, we got up to walk again. We resigned ourselves to the fact that we would be walking the 7 miles down to the main road.
After a couple more miles, we finally had a truck come our way, and we jumped in the back, happy to finally have a ride. They took us most of the way to the highway, but were turning off to head home. This is where it gets funny.
A pickup truck with three twentysomethings drove by, and 100 yrds down the road, turned around and secided to give us a ride "into town," as they put it. We hopped in the back with all their luggage, and were excited to find a big pillow to sit on. They dropped us at a gas station, and as they went to ask directions to wherever they were going, we walked out to the highway to see if we could get a ride. Guess who picks us up? Yep, the same pickup with the same comfy pillow. They were headed our way, and took us all the way to Yreka. We got a kick out of being picked up by he same car twice in a row.
At Yreka, they dropped us at another gas station. Here we would have to hitch on the on-ramp to the interstate. They drove off, and we hung around for a few minutes before walking over to the I-5 on-ramp. We stood there for maybe 5 minutes when who should appear but the same pickup truck. They pulled over, and we now learned that they were headed to Sacramento. Redding, where we were headed, was on the way, and they were happy to drop us there on their way by. We couldn't believe it! What are the odds off being picked up by the same people three times in a row? We laughed, thinking that this could only happen when riding in the back of a pickup, since we couldn't talk to anyone in the cab during the ride.
Our plan was to connect with Paul and Amanda in Redding for the night. Paul had been an RD at IWU when we were there, and they had also hiked the PCT in 2003, the same year Mark hiked with Coach. We had run into a couple from Scotland on the trail who had gotten the idea to hike from Paul and Amanda while they were doing some schooling in the UK. It was a random connection, but we were excited to connect with them and meet the new addition to their family, Finn.
We were dropped at yet another gas station, where Paul and Amanda picked us up. It was evident right away that they had been thru- hikers. They offered up all the things that thru hikers are looking for: showers, laundry, internet, food. They even asked the question, "Do you want some cotton to wear while you're here?" which is just another way of asking, "Do you want to wear something other than hiking clothes?"
We had a blast with them. It was fun hearing about their journey and the job Paul just started as a professor of Outdoor Leadership at a local university. It was fun sharing stories about the hike since they had an idea of what it is like. When we got there, they had no desire to really hike the desert sections they missed. By the time we left they were itching to throw Finn in a backpack and hit the trail. They were more than generous. It's amazing how previous thru-hikers are always excited for the chance to "pay it forward" and be trail angels to other hikers.
We topped off the night with dinner from the famous In-and-Out Burger and then we made homemade ice cream in this crazy contraption from REI. It was some of the best ever!
We had such a blast with them, and look forward to the possiblity of connecting with them again before we fly home!
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