I hike out early with Lydia from the ranger station.
It’s only 7 and it’s already really hot. The trail is very exposed and dusty but hey! Haven’t seen any poodle dog bush yet so that’s wonderful! 

   

We’re really looking forward to ordering pizza at the KOA campground.

The miles zip by. It isn’t long before we can see the KOA below us. The trail snakes up an exposed ridge on the other side…. That looks like a fun section to do in the heat of the day…. We decide to chill at the KOA and wait for the air to cool off.

We pass a line of trailers and tents to the camp’s store. They have ice cream and microwaveable food!! I buy a cranberry juice, an izzy soda, an orange push pop, 2 rice and bean burrito, and a jolly rancher sorbet and a large gatoraid.

  
Disco, Awesome Possum, and Jeppe arrive. We sit on some cushioned patio chairs and relax in the shade. It’s so nice. After eating our snacks, Lydia and I head off to do laundry and shower. 

We walk into the bathrooms and wow, I haven’t seen myself in a mirror in awhile. My shirt has a nice sweaty tydye look to it. I can’t wait to do laundry! 

    

 We put everything in the wash and take turns showering.
The water feels so nice! Since I’m washing everything I have to wear my rain gear while I wait. It’s so hot out, the rain gear doesn’t breath at all. 

30 min and the wash is done! We pull out or clothes and….. They’re even dirtier. How??? So. Gross. After all the hikers coming through here the washer has collected a lot of dirt. We put the clothes in a different machine and they come out dirty again!

I’m sweating in my rain gear, it is awful. I might have to jump in the shower again. I’ve just about had it when the sister team shows up, Melissa and Skylar. They offer to split their load with us in the last washer we havnt tried. Third time’s the charm! Our clothes come out clean. Finally! 

Lydia and I find a picknick table in the shade. We order pizza and Chinese food! The Chinese food shows up and it’s so good. We end up waiting for the pizza, and waiting. Two hours go by and we call them. They forgot to put the order in. Gah. We want to get hiking soon. 

Cappie joins us at our table. He shows me how to clean my pot with dirt and a cap of water. Pretty cool! The rest of his hiking group rolls in. One of them, Animal Style, tries to get water from the sprinklers.   

 

Some houses drive through the lawn.    

The pizza finally shows up as we’re leaving. We give it to Cappie and his group.

It just goes to show that you don’t need to be putting in miles to have a tough day. 

We head back out at 6 pm. I’m so glad we waited to beat the heat. The trail is shaded and cool. The sunset paints the dry landscape in soft gold.

    
We plan on waking up super early to hike in to Hiker Heaven before the sun gets too hot.

   
 
Camped at mile 447.46 of the PCT
Miles hiked today: 11.38