August 5th - Ridge above Siphon Lake to Etna

Spent last night cowboy camping next to a tree below the trail. It was one of those rare days when we couldn't find a flat place to camp when it was time to stop. Luckily Tom is very good at making a camp spot out of nothing. The ground was soft and we were super cozy snuggling up to each other. However, I spent most of the night tossing and turning, afraid the mosquitoes and spiders were eating me alive. How did I manage cowboy camping in the desert?

We both woke up in a good mood - the town of Etna was only a short 15 mile hike away! We couldn't wait for a real shower, a real bed and real food - something we hadn't had in reality since South Lake Tahoe several weeks ago.

Had beautiful views with long traverses most of the morning - helped the miles go by quickly. Before we knew it we were at the Etna Summit and the road to Etna. Anxiously we headed to the road, wondering how long it would take to get a ride on the very low traffic road. Luckily we only had to wait 5 minutes until the first car stopped.

A nice gentleman by the name of Arnold introduced himself. Amazingly he did not know of the PCT and was not from the area. He just happened to be driving through on a road trip. Typically, it's locals that are aware of the PCT that puck up us stinky hikers. Glad Arnold took a chance on us!

Firt thing we did when we hit town was find the Etna Motel. In such a small town, I didn't have high expectations, but this motel is great! Relatively new with very clean rooms. We feel that we are living in luxury.

After our lodging was secure, we headed over to the brewpub in town. Guess beer and grub was more of a priority than showering (Obviously being on the trail has significantly lowered our level of cleanliness)

Tom was thrilled to finally come to a town with a barber. Luckily the barber was open and Tom finally got his hair cut. He had not cut his hear since his buzz cut before heading down to San Diego. He had developed quite the mop on his head. But now it is super short again. He is still debating whether to keep the beard or not.

Checking email and grocery shopping followed. Finally got back to the room and showered. Now just resting up enjoying not walking! Laundry will have to wait until tomorrow.

~Tori