We called up a trail angel, Mary, who had left her name at the desk. We asked for a ride to the train station for 9 of us. She kindly said yes. She actually said, "Might as well have some fun before you die in the desert." Encouraging :)
As we were preparing to leave, Mary called and said why don't my husband and I just take you all the way there. No need for trains. It was so kind. They took us there and picked us up. To top it off she stopped by subway so we could get some fresh veggies and sandwiches. We were so stunned by her constant generosity that we still talk about her most days on trail. She is a trail angel for the ages.
Getting back to our adventures...
We made it to Magic Mountain!
It was Heather's first time on a roller coaster and Emily's first time since childhood. So we of course decided to do the most frightening ones first.
We spent our day running from coaster to coaster, screaming our lungs out, and waiting in very long lines. Although the park was packed with people we never had a very hard time spotting members of our group. Pct hikers stick out in a very well dressed, nice-smelling crowd...
When we arrived back at the KOA we met two new hikers: Two Wars and Beans. They did 1000 miles on the AT and decided to hop over to the PCT. Because why not?
The next day brought some amazing sights. We traveled through Vasquez Rocks State Park, a place where countless movie scenes had been filmed. It was stunning in the morning light. Nathan especially was loving the area because he is a geologist. He was geeking out and it was awesome.
Later that day we went from Agua Dulce, a sweet little town, back to the desert. The next couple days brought tough climbs, killer heat, and some heat-induced puking. It was unpleasant but we still managed to have a good time.
Our next stop was Casa de Luna! It was an oasis in the desert. Terry, the owner of la casa, was extremely generous. She opened up her home to us, fed us taco salad and pancakes, and gave us epic Hawaiian shirts to wear. The place was magical. We even stayed in a magical manzanita forest. Needless to say we had the best night of sleep thus far! We loved every minute at Casa de Luna. We left our names on the wall and departed well-rested and well-fed.
Leaving la casa was hard but we eventually got back on trail. We pushed out the miles and hit our biggest milestone yet... 500 MILES!!! Man were we stoked! Officially thru-hikers! Woot woot! That was an amazing day. The trail family was so proud!
After our epic milestone we headed to a beautiful campsite overlooking Hikertown. We watched the sunset over the desert and readied ourselves for the LA aqueducts.
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