Day 36, Acton KOA to Hiker Heaven

I was feeling especially agitated this morning by these thoughts. The weather didn’t help. Everything was covered in dew when I woke up. A misty cloud hung low in Soledad Canyon.

I quickly packed my things and left. Most of the Woohoo Crew were still in their tents. I left just after 7 a.m. before everyone else.

Soon after getting back on the trail, I had to cross the Santa Clara River. The water was so shallow that calling it a river seemed grandiose.

Perhaps that was why I took the crossing a little too nonchalantly and slipped on a log. I didn’t fall in but got a foot wet.

The air remained cool and the fog became thicker as I began a long climb from the canyon bottom and up a ridge.

There were a couple of other hikers on the trail, but I couldn't see any of the tramily.

While the fog began to clear after 8:30 a.m., the sky remained hazy for another hour.

The trail got much easier after the initial climb. It continued over rolling, grassy hills. My unsettled mood improved with the trail conditions.

Despite the hazy sky, I was now able to see distant ridges. This was an enjoyable section of trail because of the weather and terrain.

A tunnel went under the highway, which is also known as the Antelope Valley Freeway.

By now the time was 11 a.m. and the weather was becoming warmer. I stopped just before the tunnel entrance where I found some shade. While I was taking my short break, Steel Belted, Falls, and Rainbow Sherbet caught up to me.

When I was finished with my break, Falls and Rainbow Sherbet stayed behind to wait for the others, but Steel Belted left with me.

We entered the park, which featured many unique rock formations. Some were weathered and round, while others were broken and jagged.

Being a Sunday, there were many horseback riders and day hikers on the trail today. We had to step off the trail more than once when horses came by.

The trail meandered between several rock outcroppings and then through a narrow canyon.

I stopped to take many pictures, but Steel Belted stopped more frequently. I didn’t intend to, but I soon left him behind.

Some of these rocks looked familiar. That’s because the park has often been used as a location for movies, TV shows, and music videos. It’s been used so often, in fact, that a Wikipedia page was created to list as many as possible.

The park has been especially popular as a filming location for Western and science fiction shows, including at least one episode of all of the Star Trek series. One rock formation is so closely associated with that series it has gained the nickname "Kirk's Rock.”

I stopped near Kirk’s Rock to chat briefly with a two day hikers. They told me their son had completed the Appalachian Trail in 2017, the same year I did, but I didn’t recall meeting him. He was now hiking the PCT and was about 350 miles behind me.

Before long, I reached the high point of the park and could look down toward the town of Agua Dulce. This was a small community with a few businesses and a population of a little over 3,300. The trail went through the middle of town and my destination, Hiker Heaven, was on the edge of town.

When I arrived in the business section of town, I walked first to a grocery store to check it out. I had read the store was struggling to stay open and was not well-stocked for hikers.

Duke and Duchess were there, and we agreed a resupply from here was doable though not that great.

Steel Belted and I checked out a little more of Agua Dulce after lunch, then started walking to the hostel. Up ahead, I saw a pickup truck stop for Marmalade and another hiker. I shouted, “Got room for two more?” The driver waited for Steel Belted and me to jump in.

Though I called Hiker Heaven a hostel, the name doesn’t do it justice. In fact, it is difficult to describe the place.

The owners, Donna and Jeff Saufley, are true trail angels. They opened all of their property to hikers and don’t require payment.

I counted more than 30 tents squeezed into their yard today.

Nearby were some large tents set up for hiker needs, like charging electronic devices and repairing gear. Loaner towels and clothes were provided, as were two showers.

Just as Scout and Frodo had done, Donna and Jeff had volunteers on hand to help with some of the chores, such as doing laundry and tracking down packages that had been shipped there.

Donna and Jeff tried once before to close Hiker Heaven, but they have announced again they intend to close. If they do, I feel fortunate to be among the last class of PCT hikers to stay there.

I picked up a couple of boxes I had sent here, the memory cards I ordered on the trail, and a new pair of shoes.

Including some training hikes, I put a little more than 500 miles on the shoes I had worn so far on this hike. They were definitely in need of replacement. A large hole had worn through the side of my right shoe, and my sock was now poking through. I couldn’t have gone much farther wearing the old pair.

Though I wasn’t surprised to only get 500 miles of use out of the shoes, I was disappointed in the way they failed. I wondered if the extra wear was caused by the microspikes I used on snow. The shoes I had shipped to me were the same model, so I was hoping this pair would hold up better this time.

I realized today I should replace my Sawyer Micro Squeeze water filter. This was a big disappointment. It was promoted as being smaller than the regular Squeeze filter but provided a flow rate that was nearly as good. I only found that to be true for a couple of weeks. Now it was painfully slow to use.

I sent a text message to Gilly, who was one of the tramily members who took an Uber to REI, and asked her to pick up a regular Squeeze for me.