Day Nine - Friday, June 1

So it's a bit strange to wake up in a hotel room. I went out and got a new Western Mountaineering sleeping bag and a tarp. The bag is a +20º ultralite, only 1 lb 6 oz for woman's size and stuffs down much smaller than my other bag. The guy at the outdoor store gave me a discount because I'm on the PCT. Everybody here is so nice and most places in town offer some discount on food, supplies, etc to the PCT hikers. I had to buy another PCT-Southern California book since I had sent the pages for this next section to Anza and I skipped it. I really like this town. I am going come back here and bring Rocky after I finish the PCT.

Jerry got a call from this guy Carl from Tahoe who wants to do the rest of the PCT with me. He called me and I told him he can come out but I am going to try to catch Tattoo Joe and do 35 -40 mile days. He needs to be prepared be on his own since I plan to go hard every day and can't wait for him. He thinks he will try to meet me at Wrightwood. I ran into Dale Sutton, a fast race walker who is here to do a 10K race tomorrow. We talked about me doing the 5K race at 7:15 before I take off on the trail again. I've never run a 5K and it only costs $10, could be fun.

I'm sending my old bag back to Jerry and will return it to REI when I get back. It is too big for fast packing. I asked Jerry to buy me a tarptent Contrail to use after the desert. It is lighter and smaller than my tent and it has a floor! Oh, but it is only for one person.

I went to the library and caught up on my e-mail and read everybody's comments on my blog. Thanks again, I love all your support. Jerry is maintaining my blog while I am on the trail. You can contact him at runninjer@comcast.net. If you come out to see me and take any pictures, you can e-mail them to Jerry so he can post on my blog. I gave Fast Jerry a card telling him how much I appreciate what a great friend he is and how much his help means to me. I know that my dream of the PCT would have been a lot harder to achieve. With his help I know that my goal of doing it fast will happen. Thank you so much, Fast Jerry!

I looked around town for somewhere to get a massage but couldn't find anyone. The manager of my hotel said I could go in the hot tub but I told him I didn't have a suit. He said I could go in naked and only half the town would be around to check me out. LOL!! So I did since the hot tub is under a redwood cover. So here I am relaxing and staying hydrated. ;-)