460.0-517.6 HikerTown (Lake fire closure/hitch)

Hound and I set off pretty early from camp trying to beat the heat... we knew most of the day was gradual climbing and I was trying to make it as close to HikerTown that I could get ... so I could meet Scout the next day, who was kindly bringing me a resupply back from his trip to Palm Springs for second vaccine...

I was booking it... so much so that our climbing roles were reversed... my line became “almost to the top” and Hound’s became the cursing... we were also trying to decide a plan because we were approaching another fire closure around Lake Hughes.... another long road walk was an option, but narrow shoulders and passing cars... most people were hitching... we went back and forth on options...

Around noon... I stopped to “powder my nose” and thought I noticed some blood in my urine... it was really hard to tell because well dirt doesn’t show color as much as a porcelain bowl... a little while later I had to go again and checked with some tp... yep definitely blood.... I was still quite a ways from anywhere to get help.... and anxiety took over... worried that what may be a simple uti... could turn into kidney infection with the stress I was putting on my body and 10 more miles in the heat with very little water.... I caught up to Hound... he helped talk me down by stating the obvious... all I can do is move forward toward help... right around the trail closure area, he met up with a dayhiker and negotiated a ride for me to Hikertown.... I really didn’t want to miss 8 miles of my continuous footpath that the ride was cause me to skip... but I knew it was the right call for my health and by the time I caught up to the dayhiker 14 miles from where the issue started .... anxiety and exhaustion were taking over... And I still had quite a few miles to go and felt like I had to keep up... dayhiker with a tiny pack holding a water bottle vs Amy loaded down... keeping up was hard... and he didn’t take a single break... finally we made it to the car.... not sure if the tears now falling gave it away... but he could sense I was not okay and was amazing... assuring me it would be okay... his wife gets uti’s all the time... surely that is what it was and he would stop on the way for some cranberry juice (recommended by his wife).

I arrived at Hikertown and found Warp Drive there (first time I had seen her since she and Scout skipped the snow around Idyllwyld)... a familiar face was all I needed... there were some other hikers there and Rover, an AT thru hike veteran, went in, spoke to the owner, Richard, for me and arranged a ride for first thing in the morning 40 miles away to the nearest urgent care.

HikerTown.... I can’t possibly do it justice with words... but it is a story I feel I need to try and share. Nestled between two interstates, not far from Tejon Ranch... near the one horse town of Neenatch.... right on trail sits a property. A property that Richard and his wife bought a few decades ago (before apps made hiking the trail and stops and info easily exchanged... and hikers relied on trail journals and books) as an investment and place to escape from city life occasionally.... the first night they stayed on their new property... his wife woke him up the next morning and said “honey, there is a homeless guy camped on the lawn”.... Richard went out to shew him away.... and the guy said he just needed some water and his guidebook said the owner of this house provided it to hikers.... Richard offered him water.... explained he was the new owner and asked for the hiker to spread the word that it was not a stop anymore.... the next morning there were more tents... more hikers in need of water... When they explained the trail went from Mexico to Canada... Richard thought surely these people are mental... and he built a fence and set up some spickets outside the perimeter - surely this will stop the madness.... a week later grilling out some hamburgers and eyeing the tents now outside the fence - a brave hiker approached his wife and begged for a hotdog.... she obliged and the other hikers followed lead... after realizing the hikers were harmless and learning of the trail... they started to build hikertown.... which today looks like an old western movie set... storage buildings converted to shelters for campers to sleep In surround a communal courtyard... Martha and the groundskeeper keep hikers fed with yummy meals, fresh towels for outside showers, rides to the market, a delivery system for resupply boxes... all for free or donations... it was quite an interesting experience....and will continue into my day tomorrow....

The only room available when I arrived was ironically the “doctor’s office” it seemed fitting as I downed over a gallon of cranberry juice....