that I shouldn't pillage any more hiker boxes, since I could be depriving a literally poor hiker.
Sorry, mom. I did think about that, but Don thought it was OK since he's really at the tail end of the pack.
Mom also said, "I was hoping Don would write poetic sayings like John Muir instead of about his fast food."
to which Don replied, "ok, i'll start writing poetic things. how about, there once was a man from nantucket..."
Showing posts with label hiker box. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hiker box. Show all posts
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Thursday, May 28, 2009
The Hiker Box
I first mentioned the hiker box in Don's journal, way back on Day 1 (when I thought about nabbing the Nutella).
Hiker Boxes are basically boxes at common thru-hiker stops where hikers can ditch anything they don't want to lug around anymore - food or gear. And the deserted items are free for anyone to take. They're often at post offices, like the first one I saw in Warner Springs.
Nature's Inn happened to have a set of hiker boxes - one each for food and gear. Rummaging through those boxes was like discovering buried treasure. It also provides a pretty interesting glimpse into other people's lives. The food box contained several cans of escargot (Who hikes with escargot??? Don said there are several French hikers this season...), various bottles of cooking oil, bags of granola and cereal, gummy fruit chews, pasta, nuts, trail mix... I took a box of multi grain crackers, a jar of peanut butter, and two little boxes of chicken broth. Note that all were unopened.
The Ziploc bags of almonds and trail mix also looked particularly tempting, so I tried a nut from each to check for freshness. As I swallowed the last bits, Don said, "You shouldn't trust anything that's been opened - you never know where someone's hands have been, and shared food is a common source of Giardia." He couldn't have said this earlier?! I worried about my stomach for the next few hours, but thankfully suffered no ill effects. (Hmm, did that mean the nuts were safe and I could've taken them after all?)
The gear box had several Nalgene-type bottles with broken lids, many fuel cans, duct tape, a tampon, and all sorts of other junk. I took a Victoria's Secret shopping bag (who was hiking with THAT?) to stash all my loot. Don took a couple fuel cans, a sheet of Tyvec since his ground cloth was all torn up, and some sort of partial sleeping pad. His brand new super duper ultra lightest-weight-available (ie expensive) full length pad sprang a leak a few nights earlier. So much for that.
I hope to see (pillage?) many more hiker boxes as I meet up with Don along the trail!
Hiker Boxes are basically boxes at common thru-hiker stops where hikers can ditch anything they don't want to lug around anymore - food or gear. And the deserted items are free for anyone to take. They're often at post offices, like the first one I saw in Warner Springs.
Nature's Inn happened to have a set of hiker boxes - one each for food and gear. Rummaging through those boxes was like discovering buried treasure. It also provides a pretty interesting glimpse into other people's lives. The food box contained several cans of escargot (Who hikes with escargot??? Don said there are several French hikers this season...), various bottles of cooking oil, bags of granola and cereal, gummy fruit chews, pasta, nuts, trail mix... I took a box of multi grain crackers, a jar of peanut butter, and two little boxes of chicken broth. Note that all were unopened.
The Ziploc bags of almonds and trail mix also looked particularly tempting, so I tried a nut from each to check for freshness. As I swallowed the last bits, Don said, "You shouldn't trust anything that's been opened - you never know where someone's hands have been, and shared food is a common source of Giardia." He couldn't have said this earlier?! I worried about my stomach for the next few hours, but thankfully suffered no ill effects. (Hmm, did that mean the nuts were safe and I could've taken them after all?)
The gear box had several Nalgene-type bottles with broken lids, many fuel cans, duct tape, a tampon, and all sorts of other junk. I took a Victoria's Secret shopping bag (who was hiking with THAT?) to stash all my loot. Don took a couple fuel cans, a sheet of Tyvec since his ground cloth was all torn up, and some sort of partial sleeping pad. His brand new super duper ultra lightest-weight-available (ie expensive) full length pad sprang a leak a few nights earlier. So much for that.
I hope to see (pillage?) many more hiker boxes as I meet up with Don along the trail!
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Nature's Inn
Nature's Inn is pretty darn awesome! It caters to PCT thru-hikers ~ provides water caches along the trail, has a big PCT welcome sign out front, and has special PCT hiker rates. Our room cost less than the one-person rate at the nearby Motel 6! (Motel 6 is totally overpriced!)
The owner fills the rooms with goodies - Bear Naked granola, Green and Black organic chocolates, Gatorade, Emergen-C, and Airborne packets, instant oatmeal, coffee, hot chocolate, tea, gum... and there's a bowl of apples and oranges in the office. (Can you tell the way to my heart is free food?) There's also a big tub and Epsom salt for tired hiker feet.
Our room had a skylight and rocking chair recliner, both of which I want at my own home! On the porch, there are hanging swing chairs, and leashes and water bowls outside every door (for your pet pooch. or misbehaving spouse?).
There's a rec room with a couch, pool table, computer with Internet, record player, books, TV, DVD player, PCT paraphernalia, and daily water reports. And my all-time favorite - the hiker boxes!
More on hiker boxes in a later post.
The owner fills the rooms with goodies - Bear Naked granola, Green and Black organic chocolates, Gatorade, Emergen-C, and Airborne packets, instant oatmeal, coffee, hot chocolate, tea, gum... and there's a bowl of apples and oranges in the office. (Can you tell the way to my heart is free food?) There's also a big tub and Epsom salt for tired hiker feet.
Our room had a skylight and rocking chair recliner, both of which I want at my own home! On the porch, there are hanging swing chairs, and leashes and water bowls outside every door (for your pet pooch. or misbehaving spouse?).
There's a rec room with a couch, pool table, computer with Internet, record player, books, TV, DVD player, PCT paraphernalia, and daily water reports. And my all-time favorite - the hiker boxes!
More on hiker boxes in a later post.
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