Saturday, June 18, 2011

June 17, 2011

Zero day in Independence/Bishop

Ahhh, how nice it is to give the body a break from hiking, especially when that hiking has involved slogging through the snow at elevation.

We slept in, went to Jenny's to eat breakfast, and then packed up our stuff so we could get out on the road to get a hitch to Bishop, 40 miles north of Independence, which is more of a full service town complete with Vons (Safeway).

Standing along the main road through town it took us about an hour to get a hitch. A large crew cab pickup truck pulled over for 12 Ounce and I, and the backseat was so wide that all four of us were able to fit in comfortably. The names of the couple that picked us up are Dave and Joann, who live in Bishop on the reservation. On the drive we told them about what we were doing, much to their surprise. They had heard of the trail but didn't realize that it went all the way from Mexico to Canada, and even asked us where our car was. It's always fun to talk to people who are unaware of the magnitude of thru-hiking the PCT.

Once in town we went to the Ramada where we will be staying tonight and tomorrow, but our room wasn't ready and they wouldn't store our bags for us, so we wandered around the town a little, went to a couple gear shops and a thrift store, and then to Schat's Bakery for lunch.

Wow. What an overwhelming place. Fresh baked cookies, breads, sweet breads, gelato, sandwich bar, jams, jellies, syrups, salts, and more, stacked as tall as me, or higher. It was like a thru-hikers dream come true. Almost overwhelming after the lack of food and people we had seen the past week.
We ate lunch there and bought some other baked goods to eat as snacks the next couple days. If you're ever driving through Bishop, Schats Bakery is a must see and eat.

After lunch we were able to check-in to the room and we hung out there the rest of the day, doing laundry and relaxing by the pool a bit.

Tomorrow we will do some planning and resupply, but more importantly, eat and relax more. What a great place.

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2 comments:

  1. Know that sounds more like a day I could handle. I have yet to comment on your blogs but not because of a lack of interest it is because I print them off and read them in the evenings to the boy. Your blogs have become Zade’s favorite night time story. He often asks if we get to read the mountain man story tonight. We have enjoyed it all from prep days to lazy well earned days like June 17th. I always knew you were cool but man you are cooler than cool. Remember to continue to view your cup as half full and find the positive in even the worst situations.

    Your jealous friend
    Roland

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  2. Thank you Roland and Zade! It's good to hear that you are enjoying my adventure as well! So far there has been very little bad, and lots of good and great. As fellow hiker Drop Dead said, "don't be afraid to trade the good life for the great life."

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