Day 28: Convergence at Casa de Luna

We had heard word the next spring on trail had received the nickname ‘Fart Water Spring’, due to its sulphuric properties. Upon seeing the sad, leafy puddle that was Fart Water Spring, we opted to skip it and instead head to the water cache further down the road, which was supposed to still be full.

Alas, this turned out to be false. The only thing remaining were a bunch of empty plastic bottles, with one filled with muddy water, not nearly enough for the both of us.. I instantly regretted us passing on the spring and got angry at myself for choosing convenience over certainty. The next source was 12 miles away, too risky in the heat with so little water. The only option was to get a hitch from the nearby road into town and get water there. I gave the remaining water to Jive Turkey so he could push on alone and Coyote and I headed to the road.

A few minutes in, someone stopped and offered to get us water. What a hero! But right after, another car pulls over and shouts at us that they have water. Relief washed over me. They introduced themselves as Terry and Poppa Joe, ex-trail angels who came back one more time to support their friend, Reaper, who was hiking the trail. While we were helping with refilling the water cache, Terry tells us they’re hosting hikers tonight and also cooking food for them at their house called Casa de Luna. I thanked them for the invitation, not knowing yet what I was being offered here.

We raced through the day. Even with the heat, I felt I was flying. At 2pm, we reached the fire station, our end goal of the day and also made it to the 20 mile mark, faster than we’d ever done before. Coyote was so beat he didn’t say a word upon arrival, just threw his groundsheet on the concrete, plopped down on it, pulled his hat over his eyes and fell asleep.

Petra, a girl from one of the other groups there, told me the hosting at Casa de Luna was supposed to be amazing, making me doubt if we shouldn’t go, as the fire station was right next to a mayor road, which usually doesn’t make for good sleeping.

Coyote woke up and we chilled a bit in the grass there. We met a couple of Belgians who lamented their perceived lack of community along the trail, which they cited as the reason for them not really enjoying the trail. Everything in the past month considered, it was very hard to not roll my eyes at them and tell them it’s most likely their own fault, not the community.

We then made the decision to check out Casa de Luna, lured by the promise of home-cooked food. The belgians decided not to join, but instead hike on alone.. Freaking Belgians.

We got a difficult hitch into Green Valley, where Casa de Luna was. First, we made an intermediary stop at the gas station for appetizers. Grit, High Five and No Bear joined us outside at the table. Suddenly Jive Turkey and Calves (more about Calves and his redemption arc tomorrow) turned up, both in very high spirits. They needed more drinks for the party at Casa de Luna. Eager we joined them on their way back and soon after, we made it to the house.

‘Hey Catch Up!’ someone waved at me.
‘Tommy Hawk!’ I shouted back, almost jumping of joy. It’d been a week since I saw him, my hopes of ever catching up to his group sorely diminished. Remedy and Gnome were in the kitchen, helping out with the food. Remedy gave me a hug when she saw me and said she had been hoping to see us again. They were not the only ones we knew. Machine and Lost and Found were there too, along with Lukas, Double Down and the others who came with us from the gas station. The taco salad we had for dinner was the best thing I’d had in days. It felt like an evening with old friends, even though I hadn’t known anyone for more than 10 days.

Mash, Merlin, Marble, Half ‘n Half, Lavalamp and Lucky Charm made it to the house later in the evening. Speaking of Lucky Charm, there was a second Lucky Charm present that night. The only logical solution to me seemed a fight to the death, but neither Lucky Charm went for it.

The final surprise came when Spice and Fitz popped up. Spice had received my message about where we were staying tonight and this had convinced her to push the final miles to the fire station.

We slept in the manzanita forest, in the back of the garden. What a day.