A Wonderful Commercial Break From the PCT

Greetings everyone!

I've been in Sacramento,CA for the past day and a half visiting some amazing friends and taking a break from the trail. Thank you Laura and Jason for an absolutely wonderful stay full of awesome conversations, incredible food, and a hot tub that was to die for! You guys are awesome and you are now considered PCT Trail Angels! Thank you!!!!

It has been quite the rainy past day and a half here. I sat in bed listening to the rain pelt the side of the house. It was wonderful to to be warm, dry, and in a comfortable bed listening to that from inside. I was glad not to be out on the trail at that moment.

Along with the rain, some nice thunderstorms rolled through the area yesterday. I spent about an hour with my arm wrapped around Laura and Jason's yellow lab who, let's just say, is not the greatest fan of thunderstorms. Poor little Stella just shook, and shook, and shook. I'm told she's not looking forward to the 4th of July in a few months. What an absolutely cute and sweet puppy dog to have spent the last day and a half with!

Last night when everyone else went to bed, I sat in the hot tub outside into the night. Almost fell asleep out there. I watched the clouds roll past quickly and occasionally the crescent moon peaked through. It was like a storybook.....toasty, warm, relaxed, and the muscles asking, "why haven't you treated us like this earlier?" I'm trying to figure out how to bring that hot tub with me on trail. Ohhhhhh, was that nice!!!

Laura and Jason were incredibly nice to let me stay at their place—even with their second bathroom under construction. That meant I had to use the bathroom in their bedroom. What could possibly go wrong with sneaking in there in the middle of the night, right?

So there I am, tiptoeing into their room like a burglar with a bladder emergency. The bathroom has one of those sliding doors, and I’m trying so hard to be quiet. But of course, the door refuses to cooperate. I can’t get a grip on it, it’s making just enough noise to be suspicious, and I’m standing there awkwardly, committed to the mission.

Then suddenly, from the darkness of the bed, in a half-asleep voice, Jason goes:

“Stella… go to sleep.”

Stella the dog was not even in the room.

She somehow got blamed for everything.

I had to use every ounce of self-control not to burst out laughing right there in the dark.

Meanwhile, Laura was still awake outside the room. I came out laughing and soon we were both laughing. She came to my rescue (and helped with the impossible door).

Honestly, who knew a midnight bathroom trip could turn into a full comedy scene?

Sorry Stella for getting you in trouble.

When I wasn't playing with Stella or holding her tight during a thunderstorm yesterday, I was researching the next part of the trail. Just before midnight tonight, I'll board a train bound for northern California (specifically the town of Dunsmuir). From there, I'll restart my hike northbound all the way to the Canadian border. The goal is to return down south later when the snow in the Sierras has melted.

It sounds like I could be dealing with some snow where I'm headed, but the elevations peak around 6500 feet or so, not over 13,000 feet like I would get in the Sierras. There are a few thru hikers I know that are doing the same thing I am......jumping north for the meantime. It's going to be a much quieter trail up there with a vast amount of hikers still far south. This is definitely going to be a brand new chapter in this journey!

So, I'm going to finish my laundry and my tea and start the process of moving northward. My lower right shin is still sore, but much improved from a number of days ago. Hopefully this amount of rest was good enough for it.

Another HUGE thanks to Laura and Jason! You guys are truly awesome! Thank you for adding to this journey!!

Also, a special thanks to my husband who is taking care of the fort back home and helping me with a lot of logistics out here!

I feel very lucky in so many ways with all the incredible people in my life!!

Talk to you down the trail .......

Jason, Laura, and me. What wonderful people!

My train to Sacramento. I'll jump on one tonight also. Love trains! This has increased my desire to do a cross country trip on a train! Anybody want to join me sometime?