Scott kicks back with
a V-8 and a good book
in the Saufley's
shady yard.
Amy and Buddy Dog take a break
in the hammock. It doesn't get
much better than this, folks.
Scott, Beaker, and Amy pose for
a photo under the PCT welcome
banner wearing our Saufley
laundry outfits.
In case that wasn't enough for
you, how about a gander at our
backsides? They match too!
We decided to stay an additional day and relax. Agua Dulce is an interesting community. It is very rural. Each parcel of land is a multi-acre ranchette. Lots of people have horses. Everyone is very friendly here and very supportive of the hikers. It's hard to find on some maps, but it is a little northeast of Santa Clarita in the Antelope Valley off Highway 14. The Saufleys have 6 dogs, and all love people and we are having a wonderful time.
Donna and Jeff are terrific. They told us the very funny story about how they first started taking in hikers. This morning, they left to spend the day hiking Mt. Baden Powell and told us to enjoy ourselves. We begged for a task to earn our keep. Donna very reluctantly gave us the following difficult responsibilities of: 1) answering the phone and taking messages and, 2) picking up any other hikers, should any come in, and making them welcome. Pretty tough duty, huh?
We answered several calls and got to pick up a fellow hiker by the trail name of Beaker which made us feel quite productive. We don't have trail names. (At least none that we want people calling us.) After Beaker got all cleaned up, we all made the journey back to the store and then we got take out Mexican food for dinner. As luck would have it, it was Beaker's birthday, so we bought him a margarita to celebrate.
When Donna and Jeff returned later that day, Donna was very excited and said we would never guess what had happened to them. She said they had a very nice hike and were just departing the summit when, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a little piece of trash or something caught in the bushes. She bent down to grab it and saw it was a small crumpled piece of paper. She unfolded it to discover the following written on it:
Donna and Jeff Saufley
(address omitted)
Agua Dulce, CA 91350
Great story! Anyway, we have really enjoyed our stay with them and are reluctantly departing tomorrow morning. We have now completed 450 trail miles. Next time you hear from us, we will have braved the Mojave Desert. (We will not be stopping at the Country Store for those following on the official Amy and Scott map) but will be going straight on to Mojave. Until next time, farewell!