The short walk to Drakesbad Guest Ranch was wonderful, though being there was even better. This location is a summer vacation ranch that caters to higher class. Though it has the feel of a rustic cabin settlement, they offer 4 and 5 course meals, swimming pool, hot tub and some of the nicest bathrooms and it's practically on the trail!
Some hikers have had their bad experiences though. Lost packages and poor service topping the list. Even the day before I arrived, a worker at the Ranch couldn't find a hikers package, so the hiker left to resupply at the next town (a days hike away). The hiker told the Ranch employee to put the contents of his box into the hiker-box should it show up. Later that same day, the box was found (the employee had just missed it) and it had some really good stuff in it. Score for us hikers who arrived here today.
I mostly did Zero day things for the rest of the afternoon. Shower, laundry, organize my resupply and relax. In the evening time, Vertigo, Strapless, M&M, Nav and Hobbit had dinner at the meal house. All of the Ranch's guests ate until around 7:00 pm. The deal for PCT hikers is, after 7:00 pm, eat what ever they have extra of (minus the Salmon!). It was a 4 course meal with the best Desert I had on the entire trail. So good, I forgot to take a picture of it before it was gone. Guess you'll have to go try it out yourself.
Earlier in the day I was considering going into Drakesbad to resupply, then hiking 9 additional miles before setting up camp. This would keep me close to the 18.4 miles I needed to walk each day. Once I experienced the comfort at Drakesbad, I had very little motivation to leave early and follow through with my plan. This, I would soon find out, would be an incredibly good decision. I would, plan on getting up early tomorrow and hiking at least 19 miles.
Also a note about the last picture. The mileage shown to Canada is WAY off. Nevertheless, I thought it was a very cool work of art.
