Wrightwood is a small town, not too far from San Bernardino and LA. It has the reputation of being the most hiker friendly town and it has certainly lived up to it’s name. We met up with Cameron at the hardware store, which is in the middle of town, and the three of us headed to breakfast. After filling up on omelets, pancakes, and generally as much food as we could handle, we met up with Horizon and Merkel and the five of us went to pick up our packages at the hardware store and post office. While hanging outside of the hardware store, trying to figure out a plan for the day, a lady came up and asked us if we needed a place to stay for the night. She was willing to host all five of us, and we couldn’t say no. All she asked is that we help her move a few pieces of furniture and give her some time to clean things up a bit. Cameron had gotten a ride into town with a guy named Brett and he came to check on us during this exchange and he offered to drive us to the lady’s place whenever we wanted to. We had a few hours to kill so we went to the library for a bit, then in the mid-afternoon we got pizza.
True to his word, Brett drove us to Gail’s house when we called him. We ended up at a two story log cabin on the edge of town for the evening. Gail was very nice and had bought us snacks and drinks, although we were too full to eat much. We passed a nice evening hanging out, sorting through our food and doing some laundry. Although Gail was very nice, the situation was a little bit strange so the next morning (after sleeping in for the first time!), we all headed out and walked into town for breakfast.
The weather forecast was calling for rain in the afternoon so we delayed leaving town until we had a better idea of what would actually happen. While at breakfast, Brett stopped by and said we could hang out at his place during the day if we wanted to. When we heard a crack of thunder in the not too far distance, our decision was made: we were taking our first full zero in Wrightwood. (A “zero” is a day when you do not hike or make forward progress on the trail).
We ended up spending the day watching movies, hanging out at the library, and eating. Brett made us dinner and let us all spend the night at his house when it rained for a few hours in the afternoon. He is by far the nicest guy we have met on the trail. He even made breakfast for us the next day (at 5 am!) and drove the five of us back to the trail. He really went above and beyond the call of a trail angel and we’ll all remember him for it.
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