May 11 & 12. Days 23 & 24.

Loitering in Cajon Pass.

Miles hiked: 0.

Don't have much to show for the last two days. Hung out at the hotel, focused mainly on letting my leg muscle and feet heal up and recover a bit, and also waiting for the new shoes I ordered to arrive. I also undertook a careful study of the trajectory of TV commercials through the day, from Humane Society and life insurance before noon, to alcohol and condoms after dark. Cars and car insurance have equal air time throughout the day. The other thing I did a lot was watch food shows then go eat some more fast food. One bright point of the food situation at this highway intersection was the fruit vendors on the corners, who would chop up watermelon, cantaloupe, mango, jicama, coconut and cucumber, then sprinkle it with salt and lime juice.

All the shoes arrived on Tue the 12th, so figuring out which pair was the right one gave me something to do for an hour or so. Once that was taken care of I had to figure out how to get the reject shoes back to their previous owners. For some reason I'd thought they would come with pre-paid return shipping labels. 

They didn't.

So I was in a bit of a pickle, needing some way to pay postage, but being about 20 miles from the nearest post office. I decided it was time to call in a favor I wasn't owed at all. My friend Annie has some family in the nearby town of Wrightwood, and she had given me their contact info before the hike.

Calling them ended up being a great decision. Not only did they come pick me up and take me to the Wrightwood P.O., they also had me over for a great dinner of prime rib, roasted potatoes, cucumber and tomato salad, and fruit. I even got to hang out with their dog. Thanks so much Tracey, Dan and family for having me into your house!!

Back on the trail tomorrow!

Birds: 

Good grief. I guess there were some fulmars and gulls on The Deadliest Catch.