old station, ca

boy, my posts have started dwindling as my momentum has picked up.

since i hooked back up with tomato in truckee, we've been moving right along. since my stay in south lake tahoe i've averaged just under 30 miles a day. i've had really great stays with trail angels in bucks lake, belden, and now old station. bucks lake has great new trail angels in nancy and terry williams who shared their family's 4th of july barbecue with five of us hikers - tomato and i were their 5th and 6th hikers ever. belden trail angels laurie and brenda braaten are legendary and lived up to their reputation with shuttles and an incredible, all-we-could-eat breakfast for eight hikers. i bet brenda flipped over 70 pancakes that morning. and my stop here in old station with the heitmans has been short but sweet. they're going out of town for a wedding (hikers that met on the trail in '05) and Frodo (of the infamous Scout and Frodo trail angel couple) is here to help run the place along with Buck Larsony and Tadpole. in the four hours i've been here i've had a shower, done laundry, ate a fantasticly huge and delicious dinner -veggie lasagna (specially made for two of us), green salad (w/ avocado!), garlic bread (real garlic!), obcene amount of berry cobbler (frodo's mom made it!), and orange ice cream (homemade and hand cranked!)- and tomato and i borrowed a car to rush to the local store to resupply. now i'm yawning and trying to quickly finish up here.

unfortunately i haven't talked at all about the beautiful and fragrant wildflowers i've been hiking through, or the bear i (sorta) saw, or the pleasant weather, or how my $#@!$ pct atlas is still not in my possession (right now i'm hiking with a couple pictures on my camera of other peoples' guides) or the wonderful staff at drakesbad guest ranch (huge meals, showers, and natural hot springs - need i say more?), or much of anything really. perhaps next time.







tomato and i are shooting for ashland, oregon on the evening of the eighteenth. 350 miles in 10 days. it's a tall order, so we'll see what happens...