While on the PCT I got into the routine of staying a night in a motel about once every 10 days, so after checking the map I called ahead and booked a room at the Antlers Motel in Chester, a small town just south of Lassen National Park. I met up with Compass in the morning and we hiked toward the highway, talking about his experiences working for the Bureau of Land Management near Walker Pass where I had started my hike. We soon came across the marker designating the midway point of the PCT, exactly halfway between Mexico and Canada. Since I hadn’t started at the border it wasn’t very meaningful to me, but for Compass it meant he would now have less trail ahead than he had already hiked. I imagine knowing that fact would help a lot in the mental endeavor to complete the trail.
Chester lay too far down the highway to walk, so Compass and I set our bags down and stuck our thumbs out to try to catch a ride. Thus far on my journey I had only had to hitchhike once and was lucky enough to find a ride without even trying, but this time was more frustrating. Trucks, semis, family minivans, and sedans all zoomed by without a second look at the dirty and scraggly-looking hikers on the side of the road. We attempted calling some trail angels who had stapled their number to a log at the trailhead but they were unavailable. Hot, sweaty, and increasingly demoralized, we took turns at the road until eventually a suburban pulled up on the opposite side to drop some hikers off at the north trailhead. We quickly waved them down and gratefully hopped in, the driver depositing us outside Chester’s grocery store. I got a massive deli sandwich and soda, gulping it down with gusto in the air-conditioned coolness of the little eating area. I had learned a valuable lesson about hitching this day: patience is key.
Russell on the Road 