Hiker House Hopping

After leaving Hiker Heaven in good spirits, we were fortunate enough to enjoy overcast skies without the threat of rain. Despite being in the desert, this kept the temperatures down and made the hiking much more bearable. Two days and 24 miles from Hiker Heaven we found ourselves at yet another fire closure. With an opportunity to stay at a another trail house -this one called Casa de Luna, we decided to take a day to stratigize and create a plan of action. After catching the first car that went by, before we could get in a white mini van flew up and asked if we were headed into Casa de Luna. It was none other than Terry Anderson herself, the owner and operator -along with her husband “Papa Joe.” We made our introductions then made our way to her house. With a much more passive form of management, this hiker house was considerably more relaxed than thd last. As one hiker put it, “The maximum stay at Hiker Heaven is two nights, at Casa de Luna, this is the minimum stay.” With complementary coffee and pancakes every morning, “Taco Salad,” for dinner each night, it was hard to leave. As it took us, and most other hikers, one lunar cycle to get here, this is where the house derives its name. We camped in the backyard, where dozens of isolated little campsites could be found amongst the jungle of mature manzanita.

After meeting our two-night minimum, we hit the pavement and made our 13 mile road walk around the fire closure. Along the way we passed by a wolf santuary where we were well recieved with a symphony of howls. As we walked by we met a couple of the care takers walking with their wolves. We stopped and talked with them for a good while, introducing us to the wolves as well. Freedom was a rescue from Palmer, Alaska while his counterpart Takota, the alpha male, was from the Mckenzie valley. Shortly after we left the wolf sanctuary, we came across an ostrich farm where we once again stopped and admired these strange creatures. After we finally departed the road, we only made a couple more miles to the upper shakes campground where we called it early and made fresh nettle tea.

The next day we found ourselves in beautiful oak savannas, decorated with hues of yellow, orange, red and green, as the mats of miner’s lettuce faded from wilted to thriving. Soon after we hit the 500 mile mark, leaving the bad taste of 90’s pop hits in our heads for the remainder of the day.

After another early rise in the dewy desert morning, we made our way to Hiker Town, our last resupply before Kennedy Meadows in 180 miles. The property appears to be the set of an old western movie, complete with a post office, school house, doctor’s office, flower shop and so on; prop guns and dust can be found everywhere. While we will make an early gettaway in the morning, we will soon transition into night hiking to cross this desert they call the Mojave.

Cheers from the trail!
Stump & Mandalynn