Days 20, 21, and 22 – Vamos a la playa
Originally published on Mason Hikes the PCT 2017.
Mileage: I guess technically 4.
BEEEEEEAAAACH.
FOOOOOOOOOOD.
FRRRIIIIEENNDDS.
When I started hitching on Friday morning, I didn’t have high hopes. I was almost immediately proved wrong when the first car I saw picked me up and drive me to LA. Awesome! Thanks Michelle! Turns out she had been setting up a retreat out in the mountains, so she was heading back into LA and had space in the car. The generosity of some people amazes me.
I started my vacation from my vacation with my favorite pastime: eating.
Delicious food AND the manager talked to me about my hike and decided that a hungry hiker like me needed some free ice cream for my pancakes. 😋 So good.
From breakfast, I bussed to Venice Beach, bringing the total cost of my side trip (so far) to $3. Not too bad… I had to sit in the beach and watch police cars get stuck in the sand until the beach house was ready, but I was having a good time. I even went swimming in my clothes so I didn’t smell as bad! Yay!
After the beach, I spent the rest of the day surprising everyone that didn’t think I would be there and having a good time with my friends. The whole weekend was a lovely break from my hike and I enjoyed every minute of it.
On Sunday, I needed to say my goodbyes and head back out to the trail, so I headed out with my friend Dan and a bunch of people driving to San Francisco with him, which I really appreciated.
I got dropped at the trailhead around sunset, so I hiked for a few miles until it got dark. I was making my way to a campsite a mile ahead of me when I heard a terrifying sound. It was the sound of a woman screaming, but somehow combined with a growl. The first time I heard it, I thought it might be someone in trouble, but when it happened again, I knew what it was immediately: a mountain lion. If you haven’t ever heard a mountain lion scream, listen: https://youtube.com/watch?v=pxo8X5uIWRE
It originally seemed far away, but as I stood and listened, it got closer and closer. I walked as fast as I could, but everytime I stopped to listen, it was getting closer. I **really **didn’t want to fight a mountain lion on my first back on the trail, so I called it a night and set up camp. The lion eventually stopped screaming, but oh boy was that terrifying while it lasted.