Day 24: Belden to Chester --unexpected ride and zero day!

June 28

We had planned to sleep in today, but are woken up at 7, because we just happened to pitch our tent in the one spot they are replacing siding. At 7am. So we get up and move into the hiker hut, which is now weirdly empty. Everyone gets an early start on the trail.

I soak my feet in Epsom salt and read letters from Jackie and Lizzy (thank you!!) and feel so much better.  We decide to walk the half mile to a roadside cafe (Belden isn't actually a town; it's a highway with one house, a weird resort that has weekend raves, and one cafe) for breakfast and a soccer game.

While eating we discuss our future plans. We're on a schedule because of Kacie's flight out on the 5th, but I could really use a zero day to rest my foot. There is no point staying in Belden for a zero, but we are also not looking forward to that ridiculous climb out of here. We decide to try and hitch to Chester--taking a zero there, and still staying on our schedule.

As we're asking the waitress how easy it will be to hitch to Chester, a couple behind us tells us that they are headed that way, and if we don't mind spending the day with them cruising off road in their topless jeep, they will drop us off in Chester. Umm. YES!

We spend the day going up high ass mountain jeep roads (soo glad we didn't have to climb out of here on our feet), getting a free jeep tour of a tiny mountain cemetery, Butt Lake (not a typo), and great conversation. Steven and Lora are some of the most interesting people I've met since I started! Steven used to be a wildland firefighter, and Lora was a rescue dispatcher. The life stories Steven tells us are captivating, and their view on life (do what makes you happy) is exactly what I needed to be reminded of. I AM doing what makes me happy--I AM happy!

Lora gives me a salve that her friend makes (Hemp Eaze) for my blisters, and insists I take the whole jar--are these people for real?! They go into a campground by Lake Almanor to visit some friends, and Kacie and I lounge by the lake for a little while, unable to believe our luck in meeting these people, and feeling like we are on an actual vacation.
They drop us off in Chester at The Pizza Factory, and we say goodbye to these awesome new friends. This is my kind of trail: social adventures. Some people have to hike every mile of the trail; I am more interested in the people and adventures I find along the way.

We get a huge pizza, a pitcher of beer AND get to watch another soccer game. Kacie turns in a lost checkbook she found in the bathroom, and they give us free icecream sandwiches for the good deed. I'm starting to feel spoiled. After sitting there for a few hours we decide we need to figure out where to stay for the night. All the hotels seem expensive, but it turns out we are right across the street from the Leisure RV park--a place I just happen to have in my notes that they allow tents for $15 a night! Plus showers!

We pitch our tent on soft grass (!!), enjoy a lovely shower, and make dinner in the rec room while we watch TV. Seriously, I feel like a fraud. Three showers in three days?!
Whatever. Judge me if you will; I am enjoying this zero to the fullest!

A nice guy comes over and invites us to their RV for a hot dinner with them and their kids--sweet! We decline because we have leftover pizza and trail meals, but I'm noticing that people are nicer to me when I'm dirty and smelly and have awkward tan lines. Go figure.

Crazy hair  during the jeep ride!

Relaxing at Lake Almanor

Napkin mustaches 

Good deed icecream tastes even sweeter