Acts of kindness

This morning something special happened. After packing up my gear I left the hotel room to get some breakfast. There were already a bunch of people sat down in the dining area among which a couple of thru-hikers. The other guests were all very interested and asked us a ton of questions, which we were happy to answer. One of the gentlemen said “I admire you guys”, it really lifted my early morning spirits. There was also a gentleman from Germany who asked me about several places in the Netherlands he’d been; he loved to go sailing there. As I was finishing up my breakfast, the German guy stood up and joined my table. He seemed to be looking to find the right words and appeared quite emotional, as he stated he was. He told me he had been thirteen, in 1953, when his boat hit rocks along a canal in the Netherlands. There were Dutch people around, who helped him out, patched up his boat, replaced parts, and send him on his way again. To receive such kindness as a German, only 8 years after the war, was something amazing to him, a very precious memory he told me. When he got up to leave, he gave me 20 dollars, “for the next time you’re getting breakfast. To return the kindness.” I was amazed, and very touched. As he was walking past me, he put an arm around my shoulder in acknowledgment, tears rolling down his face. And I did the only thing I knew I could do in that moment; I stood up and in the middle of the full dining area I gave this stranger a big hug. It was a moving experience. I touched his life, and he touched mine.

I feel that these things happen along the trail, there are some higher powers at work here.

Alright, 0730 time to get out of Cajon Pass. I didn’t want to get an Uber for the highway crossing again, so I walked over to the nearest gas-station and simply asked he first guy in sight if he’d want to give me a ride. And he did.

Straight after hitting the trail again, we were led through this grim looking underpass.

Ill admit, I was a bit reluctant to pass through what appeared to me as the one of the darkest places on this sweet earth (Moria, you fear to go into those mines…).

Made it through though. I imagine at night this place gets quite some activity of which I’d definitely wouldn’t want to be a part of.

To spice things up a bit more, the PCT led straight over a railway. And no, there was no official crossing section. Ah well…

After all this thrill-seeking the real hiking began. It was the first overcast day, and I welcomed the clouds gladly. The first section was nice, winding through hills taking me up and down. Even though there were pretty strong winds, I warmed up quickly.

I crossed through the still shaded valley and started another ascend. I hadn’t checked the elevation profile for today. Later I asked myself the following question:

Would you like know in advance you’re going to have a horribly long and tough day, or would you rather just find out as you go..?

Miles need to be crushed anyway…

When I thought I must have been getting nearly to the top I gave in, and checked the elevation-profile. Turned out today was going to be one of the most ridiculously long climbs so far. 5400 ft ascent. I hadn’t made it up a quarter of it yet. Oh the sheer joy… Of course by the time I started to get tired, the sun came out blazing at full strength. With maximum exposure, there’s not really mucht to do but push on.

I was hoping to get to the top of the climb before too late; there was a steep trail, 2.7 miles down, that would lead into Wrightwood. I learned that a bunch of hikers ahead of me would arrive there earlier today. As always the last hours of the day were a real grind, but I managed to get to the top around 1800.

I checked with the team down in the village to see if they’d want to hang back a little the next day, instead of hiking out early in the morning; otherwise it would hardly be worth the effort for me to get off trail and descent into town. I could also stay on the PCT, continue for another 6 miles the next day and hitch into Wrightwood, and this way skip the extra non-PCT miles. Fortunately everybody in WW would take it easy tomorrow, so I started hiking down. I ditched the last of my redundant water and rushed off the hillside, nullifying my hard-earned climb by dropping down 1500 feet in elevation. After this long day my feet hurt real bad, but I was excited I was going to see everybody again.

When I stumbled into the Mexican restaurant there was a group of some ten hikers there, welcoming me with big smiles!

It took four 25-mile-days to catch up with them, with a lot of solo hiking, but just that dinner alone was worth it.

Left to right: Jimmy, Natalie, Thad, BlueBeard

Going through these life changes
Gotta keep my feet moving
I’m looking up at the sky
Gonna keep my eyes open
Gonna keep my mind racing
I’ll keep on trying to fly

Don’t you know that life changes?
You know that love changes
The pain it rearranges,
Best friends become strangers
So you get up, you shake it off
Smile at everyone you meet
Put your best foot forward,
Chip on your shoulder,
It’s like you can’t be beat

Going through these life changes
Going through these life changes

Life Changes – Good Charlotte