Speaking of that, Washington seems to be the most well represented state on the trail. More so than California which was a surprise for me. The difference in American culture is apparent on the trail with all regions living up to their stereotypes.
As far as foreigners go on the trail, the Germans lead the pack by a huge margin (every single one is also weird). I thought Canada would be number one since that is where the trail ends. Europeans account for maybe 20-30% of the people on trail. I asked a Swiss couple how the Sierras compare to the Alps. "The sierras are more wild and dangerous".
I've been playing a game of leap frog with two Japanese guys. There is a lot of code switching when we speak which leaves other people in the general vicinity a little confused when we converse.
I'm thinking of staying one more night in Mammoth. This is a super chill city. It's the kind of place I wish I could live, then a while later wish I didn't because of tourists. But I still like it here. It's also one of the lasts stops outside of South Lake Tahoe where there is a hostel to meet other hikers. The next will probably be Ashland, OR but I could be wrong.
Yesterday was a wild ride of mishaps. After sending some gear home to reduce weight, I went to McDonalds. I ended up eatting two double cheeseburgers, two hot n spicy Mcchickens, twenty McNuggets, and a large strawberry shake. Thats right at 3,000 calories. I gobbled it up in twenty minutes and felt fine. Then I went to Von's which is a carbon copy of Safeway, to buy my resupply. While there, I saw some chocolate milk. YES! I bought half a gallon. I then went out front with the other hiker trash and proceeded to drink half of it. Houdini/Panini, a soft spoken Australian hiker covered in Japanese style tattoos witnessed me slip into a food coma. I felt disgusting. The milk was a poor idea. The lack of dairy in my diet probably contributed. I had to fight off vomiting for an hour and spent probably another hour trying to get back to baseline. Two hours nearly wasted when Legend showed up.
He's an old hiker whose done the PCT at least three times. I think at the moment, he lives off of donations he makes from serving pancakes or giving rides. He has two vehicles he drives on trail. How does he do that? He parks one at point A, drives to point B, hikes back to point A, and drives back to point B with with the other vehicle. If someone needs a ride, he'll toss them the keys to his car and let them take it, so long as they park it at point B. He makes enough money on donations and living out of a van to get by. He was quite the character.
Some hiker "Legend, do you drink?"
L "no, I don't drink. My vices are caffeine, sugar, and women. But I'm interested in fast cars and drinking... They're cheaper and less hassle than women!"
The cadence at which he said it is hard to convey in text but it made me chuckle.
Eventually my stomach settled and I was on my way back to the hostel. I caught one of the free buses around town and was on my way. Shortly after getting off the bus, I realized I forgot my dry sack "full" of clothes (just two things really). I ran back to the stop, caught the next bus, and managed to get the current driver to radio the other about my sack. Luckily no one took or stole it on the first bus. I was able to retrieve it but that's some more time wasted.
Now here I am. I'm getting hungry but if I can think of anything else to write, I will. If you have a question, now is the time to ask. I'll be in mammoth for at leastfew more hours, if not another night.
-Jerry
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