Powerhouse Fire Detour

It was very hard to leave the Andersons’ this morning. Joe and Terrie run a very welcoming oasis for hikers, called variously Casa de Luna or Hippie Daycare. After another pancake breakfast, I painted my rock for their garden, and hopped in the shuttle Terrie was running back to the trailhead.

The trail is closed for a section here due to the Powerhouse Fire of 2013 so I started road walking on HalfMile’s unofficial detour. It went right through Lake Hughes so I stopped for a quick resupply at the country store and then lunch with some hikers at the Rock Inn. It was pretty much full of hikers and bikers. Excellent burger!

I finished the road portion of the walk and went back up an old trail to get to the PCT. It was steep and overgrown with poison oak in sections so I was happy to be back on the relatively not steep and clear PCT.

I intended to go farther, but ended up at 17.6 miles for the day. It was dinner time and I’d just run into Party again, and after figuring some logistics for the next couple of days, it made sense to stop at the Sawmill Campground for the night, a quarter mile off trail. It’s accessible to car campers so I was hoping the weary travelers would get offered some hot dogs but it didn’t happen. Looks like we do get to listen to loud music all night though.