Day 35 trail magic x 2

Miles hiked: 15.95
Camped at: Picnic area mile 329.7
Hikers I camped with: 2
Total up/down: 2,478' / -2,222'
Steps: 48,730

Waking up on the overflow was strange. The wierd thing about going to bed at night is not knowing what your surroundings look like. We were on a large flat surface with a large ramp going down several hundred feet. I looked around and tried to understand how this was supose to work, but couldn't figure it out from what I could see.

We were soon joined by 4 other hikers that all sat down nearby while I packed up my stuff and soon we headed back on the trail and down hill. Not far down from where I slept was a small river, there were no stones to walk across so I would need to walk through the water. It was only a couple inches deep, but it was cold! I took off my shoes and ace bandage and walked across, I actually paused for a minute to let the cold water work some magic on my ankle. As we continued down the trail Andrea pointed out a plant that was edible. She explained that it could be cooked like spinach and added to dinner, so she picked a bunch and put it in her pack for later. 

Just about a mile later I came to a road crossing, and there was trail magic! Coppertone, who I had read about in blogs from last year was handing out his damous root beer floats or pie Ala mode! It was a bit early in the day for something so sweet but there was no way I was going to pass this up! Pie Ala mode it is, pecan pie with strawberry ice cream to be exact. Soon it was time to say goodbye and head down the trail. I am going to take it easy today and baby my ankle.

Today was one of those days when we walked along the side of a mountain, weaving in and out of slowly moving alongside a valley. It's easy hiking but it feels like you are moving slowly as the scenery takes forever to change! As I walked along I stopped in my tracks. A large snake was laying mostly in the brush, but about 8 inches from his head back was blocking the trail. It is brown in color, but isn't rattling and is rather large, I realize he is not a threat but I would like him to move on his own. Soon another hiker comes along and starts rolling rocks at him, he doesn't move, then one gets too close for comfort and he turns and slithers away. 

I am coming up on 10 miles so I start thinking about finding a place to sit and have lunch. I am hiking behind a damn, on the other side is a large lake, Silverwood lake, sitting on a little bridge is Unicorn, who is hiking with her dog charlie, and Andrea. It is really windy and in the shade it is cold enough that I put on my puffy. I don't want to sit here and eat so I suggest the area uphill a bit where there are large concrete and metal pipe pieces, the kind you always wanted to play in as a kid. I head over to one and Andrea joins me, we soon find out this break from the wind turns into a wind tunnel. I eat my lunch quickly and am ready to get hiking, it wasn't very relaxing at all. As soon as I walk about 1/4 mile I see trail magic #2 for the day! A women is standing outside her truck and asks me if I want some turkey noodle soup. Ummm let me think that over.... of course I want some! Now in normal everyday life if you walked past a truck in the middle of nowhere and someone offered you soup you would probably run, but on the pct the kindness of strangers is all around us and we learn to embrace it. So many people go out of their way to support the hikers on the trail it just amazes me! This women and her husband also keep a water cache just up the trail from where she is parked. The soup was delicious and she even offered me juice and an orange to take with! I headed up the trail and grabbed a little water and signed their book, thanking them for all they do for us. 

The trail soon went up and over the hill and now I can see the lake. It is beautiful and reminds me of wisconsin. The trail follows along the lake and I soon comment that I think I will camp nearby. I am feeling very comforted by my surroundings and I don't want to leave. There is a campground on the other side so I decide I'll camp there. I can also see a picnic area before that that looks nice, and it has bathrooms, I decided to check it out when I get over there. I find a small trail leading down to the picnic area, the trail is step and I realize it will be a pain to climb back up. There is another hiker down there when I get there, he is swiss and mentions everyone is camping at the campground so he heads off. I use the bathroom and head back up the hill to the trail. When I finally come off the trail at the campground it is creepy and vacant. The bathrooms are lock and there is no one in sight. I walk along the deserted road deeper into the campground, I soon see Andrea filtering water from a small stream. We talk about this place then I head down the road further, still nothing, I walk back to stream and now she is joined by a couple who is getting water and decides to make dinner there. They notice the greens that Andrea had picked and tell her they did the same! I say goodbye and head back to the trail. About a half a mile away is another picnic area, so I decided to look for hikers to camp with there. At the path to the picnic area I see a couple women and two horses, one of the women is doing the trail on horseback, they are camped here for the night and tell me that others are camping nearby.i wander around looking and soon find a couple near a covered picnic area, there is a sink and and outlet, I am immediately sold on the area and pick a spot to camp!