Mop Up Tour Complete!!

We walked the 3.7 miles to Hwy 36 relatively quickly.  It was a gentle descent, and then an ever so brief climb back up to the road.  We hit the road, cleaned ourselves up a bit, and walked over to a PCT sign to take a few pictures our our glorious finish.  We took a couple, and just as we went to take one last picture, the words, "System Error" popped up on our camera screen.  Our camera had been temperamental since northern California, and we had considered trying to get a new one along the way.  We hadn't, and it had held out til the end.  The very end.  We took our final pictures and it went and died.  Well, we think it died.  We need to play with it a bit more to make sure.  We are still hopeful that it will kick back in after some rest, but even if it died, that camera went the distance.  It traveled with Mark around the world, went on several smaller trips, and then walked the PCT with us.  It was a trooper.  

We started hitching around 9:30am.  The goal was to hitch Hwy 36 west to the town of Red Bluff, and then have our friend, Amanda, come and pick us up.  We would be staying with them again in Redding for a day or so.  It took 45 minutes before we got our first ride.  The guy was only going about 5 more miles down the road and then turning off, but we figured any distance was better than nothing, so we hopped in.  He dropped us off at an intersection with Hwy 32.  There wasn't TONS of traffic, but there was enough, and plenty of people who could have given us a ride.  It was getting close to noon when we finally gave up, tired from standing in the hot sun, and decided to walk down the road a ways, away from that wretched intersection.

I don't know if it was the look of desperation in my eyes or the fact that Mark threw up his arms in frustration that made them turn around; maybe it was simply a change of heart or conversation that was had between them, but we were picked up shortly after noon by a very nice couple on vacation.  They were headed up into Lassen National Park, and they gave us a ride to the tiny little town of Mineral, 18 miles down the road.  We were famished, and decided to refuel by eating some cheeseburgers before heading back out to the road.  

As we were getting ready to leave (and I dreading this process that could take hours again), we saw another couple at a table nearby getting up as well.  We scooted out the door and began walking across the parking lot just as they were driving our way.  I stuck out my thumb and smiled at them, and they pulled over immediately and offered us a ride.  I was so happy!  They were headed to Red Bluff, so it was the last ride we would have to hitch for.  Woohoo!  I don't think we had ever had a hitch that took that long on our whole entire hike.  Hwy 36 just wasn't a hiker friendly area...at least not in September.

Wes and Judy dropped us at a McDonalds, and soon after Amanda and Finn, her baby, showed up to escort us back to Redding.  It was so nice to be in the company of friends, and to know that we were at the end of our travels and near-homelessness. We had another great night chatting with them and playing with Finn before retiring to a great nights rest in, yes, a bed :).

What a journey.  

Total Miles:1335.8

Miles Today: 3.7

Camp 147: Stonehouse's - Redding, CA