March 26, 2021
Zero!! Those of us in the living room were awake early. Bass and I were awake around 3:00am, unbeknownst to each other. He eventually got up to shower and I just laid there because the girls bathroom is attached to MJ’s bedroom and she said it was fine to visit in the night but I didn’t want to disturb her. I really need a shower, though, lol. I didn’t take one yesterday because I wanted to do my laundry first, but there was a waiting list. I didn’t want to crawl back into dirty clothes after a shower. So, a slept dirty. Oh well. That wasn’t nearly so bad compared to the fact that my air mattress deflated twice in the night. That is my number one task for the day: fixing my air mattress.
MJ’s house has a gentle alarm that sounds every time someone opens the back or front door. It announces that a door is opening and which door it is. It’s a little annoying, but I come from a house where a randomly opening door usually sets half a dozen dogs barking, so a soft-spoken alarm was no big deal for me.
Eventually I got up anyway and made coffee. Everyone else was still sleeping, though. Ghosthiker was out like a light, which made me happy. At least one of us was getting a full nights sleep. I loitered quietly in the kitchen enjoying my coffee until others slowly started coming back to life, then I snuck off to take a shower. I couldn’t take it anymore. My sleep clothes weren’t really that dirty, I decided. MJ had tons of shampoo and conditioner and said I was welcome to use as much of whatever I wanted – she’s such a gem! This was a special treat for me because I have so much hair. It wasn’t a problem on the PCT because I had it cut really short, but this time it’s long and kind of a pain to deal with.
Turns out Bass is a chef in the Front Country and he made soufflés for everyone for breakfast, and MJ had freshly baked bread, and everything was amazing. I actually almost missed getting some because I went immediately from my shower to a little corner of the patio outside to start organizing my stuff. MJ took Ghosthiker, Roam, and Cameron to Phoenix for the afternoon to hit up REI, Walmart, and a dispensary for some “safety meeting” supplies. I stayed behind to do chores and keep the laundry going for MJ. There were a lot of used towels and linens to wash, and I certainly didn’t mind doing it. Again, I come fro a big family. I’m used to doing basic chores for large groups, and it was an easy enough thing to do to say thank you for letting us stay in her warm, dry house.
I didn’t really sit down to relax until about 11:30am, but honestly, it was a lot of fun just bustling around a house with other hikers. I love the hiker-hostel atmosphere, if I’m being honest. Being in a shared space with a bunch of like-minded strangers is extremely comforting. I even went into town with Bass for a bit to hit up the store, the Post Office, and a coffee shop. It was weird to go do these chores with someone other than Ghosthiker, lol!
Turns out Bass had a leak in his air mattress as well, so we decided to make one tub of soapy water and help each other find the leaks. Good thing we did, because Bass was the only one who could hear the air leaking out. Apparently my hearing is absolute garbage when it comes to listening for the high-pitched hiss of escaping air (Hm, might be time to get my hearing implants replaced).
Once we patched up our air mattresses, we grabbed Oklahoma and the three of us went into town to grab a late lunch at the local BBQ place, which was delicious. We stopped by the local grocery store to grab a few things to make fish tacos for everyone for dinner (Bass volunteered to cook and I volunteered to help, since that seems to be the way things are done around here) and then we went back to the house.
It was also Bass and Oklahoma’s birthdays this past week, so we had cheesecake and ice cream to celebrate. I also had part of a brownie that Cameron brought for me from the dispensary, so I didn’t last too much longer after that, if I’m being honest.
All in all, it was a very fun and productive day.
Sarah Hikes 
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