Day 7 – The Quest for a Cheeseburger: Part II
Originally published on Mason Hikes the PCT 2017.
Mileage: 17 + 2 to/from cheeseburger town + 5.5 up towards the fire closure
When I woke up this morning, it was freezing cold out and everything was wet. I don’t know if it lightly rained or if this was morning dew, but whatever it was got my sleeping bag and tent pretty wet. I was then forced to towel off pretty much everything, but I knew I would need a sunny break to finish the job (side note: forgot to dry my stuff during that sunny break 😬)
Focusing back on the entire purpose for living today: 17 miles to “the best cheeseburger on trail.” I now dream of cheeseburgers when I’m not in a town, so I was a little excited. What makes the trek hard is that I’ve decided to cut back my pace a bit these last two days because I feel the tendons in my feet beginning to resent me. Uphills have always been fine on my quads and calves, but where my Achilles tendon attaches to my heel is starting to feel sore after long uphills, so I’m trying to address that before it gets worse.
After drying things as best I can, I set off on a ten mile jaunt to find Walden, an “oasis” in the middle of the desert with water, picnic tables, and one of those take-and-leave libraries filled with books. I hung out there to eat lunch, dry my socks (but not everything else), and sit under a tree for a few hours. It’s certainly no Walden Pond, but it’s as close as I’m going to get for now and I’m perfectly happy just the way it is.
On my way out of Walden, I ran into an older couple of southbound hikers that were heading for Warner Springs. When I told them I was just trying to get a cheeseburger, the man looked at his watch and said “Oh sorry son, they’re already closed!” I came closer to crying than I’d like to admit before realizing that I’d been planning this for three days and I’ve quintuple-checked the math. I was sure. “Silly old man,” I said, “you’re wrong and I hate you,” and walked off into the afternoon. That didn’t really happen, but he WAS wrong and after I said my goodbyes, I still had hope for a cheeseburger.
At this point, I have SEVEN miles to go to get my burger, so I zone out, daydream of burgers and how the restaurant is still open, and quickly pass the time until I’m on Highway 47. I tried to hitchhike for a second, but then decided that a mile isn’t too far and walked to Paradise Valley Café.
At this point, I could hardly contain my excitement and I walk in, sit down, and immediately order a water and a Jose burger, jalapenos on the side, as I had rehearsed in my head all day.
“We can’t make the Jose burger today, we don’t have all the ingredients, sorry.”
😭
Two days of planning: ruined. Oh well. I ordered some other delicious burger and some apple pie, had an amazing time, met up with some people I knew from Warner Springs and then had a cheeseburger-fueled power hike up towards the fire closure. Most people are skipping this section of trail and hitching directly into town, but so far it’s been really different and beautiful, so I’m glad I came.
