May 28th 2009 - Arrastre Camp to Big Bear City

We both had trouble sleeping. Guess we were dreaming too much of sleeping in a real bed, a warm shower, and good food. Once again we were up before sunrise. We cruised out the last 9 miles - we went so fast we hit the highway 2 hours quicker than we thought we would. 9 miles before 8am - not too shabby! There wasn't much traffic on Hwy 18 so I was a little worried about getting a hitch. But Tom put me in front - made sure I looked super girly so that we could get a ride into Big Bear City. For some reason people are more likely to pick up a chick. :)

We were feeling bummed out after the 1st couple of cars passed us by. But next thing we knew, a car from the opposite direction did a U-Turn. Turns out Chrissy, a botanist for the Forest Service, was on her way to work - drove past us and then felt bad since we "looked nice". So she turned around and picked us up. She was really sweet - we were the 1st ever hitchhikers she picked up. We thanked her profusely and tried to make a good impression so that she might be willing to pick up more PCT-ers in the future.

Chrissy took us to Thelma's - the reportedly "must visit" restaurant in Big Bear City. Based on our friend Suge's recommendation, I had the Popeye omelette with fresh squeezed orange juice. Yum!

Next on our agenda was finding a place to stay - there were 2 main options - the Nature's Inn and Motel 6. Unlike the previous trail towns we visited, this town was much more spaced out. We headed to Nature's Inn first - in hopes of supporting the Mom & Pop establishment. However, after walking 1.2 miles to the Inn, the office was not going to open for another 4 hours.

Our need and desire for a shower was too strong, so we headed in the opposite direction 1.5 miles to the Motel 6. They allowed us to check in right when we arrived, so we got all showered and did our laundry. Also ran into Tom & Colby who had made it to the Motel 6 as well.

The rest of the day was spent resting and relaxing. We attempted to get familiar with the town. There was reportedly public transportation but no one in town seemed to know much about it. I have to say we were less than impressed with the town. :(