Outdoor Adventures with Ancient Brit
PCT 2002 - May 10th
Day 31: Friday 10th May Mattox Canyon – Aqua Dulce
The first objective of the day was Soledad Canyon, a green oasis with a strongly
flowing creek. Unfortunately the peace was spoilt by the large number of RV parks in
the valley and the 6-lane highway filling the valley with noise and fumes.
“Cloudwalker”, “Jaybird”, Nate and Parker, who had camped at one of the RV parks in
the canyon, had been kept awake to the early hours of the morning by other campers
partying into the night. Friday and Saturday nights are times to keep away from
campgrounds accessible by car.
The main interest of the morning’s walk was the “Vasquez Formation” rocks above
Soledad Canyon. These sandstone conglomerate rocks, named after the Vasquez Rocks
at Aqua Dulce, were the same rock formation as the Mormon Rocks in the Cajon Pass,
but had then separated from them because of movement along the San Andreas Fault.
“Purboy” caught up with me as we entered the Vasquez Rocks County Park in Aqua
Dulce. He had had a few days off and was going very well. This was the pattern of his
walk, as he tended to overexert himself and then need a few days to recover. The
Vasquez Rocks are a fantastic rock formation. World famous to cinemagoers as they
have been used in numerous Hollywood westerns and more recently used as the set for
the Flintstones films.
We stopped for a pizza at the pizza house in Aqua Dulce before heading for the
“Hiker’s Heaven”.
A few years ago, three young scruffy hikers asked Donna Saufley if there was
anywhere they could stay in Aqua Dulce. She told them there was nowhere to stay, but
then she took pity on them and invited them to stay with her. She had not even heard of
the PCT despite the fact it passed within half-a-mile of her house. She put up those
youngsters in her guesthouse, a 4-room caravan set alongside her house. This
eventually led to Donna and her husband Geoff opening up their house to PCT thru-
hikers. Now practically all thru-hikers will spend at least one night with her, often
resting up for several days, at what has come to be known as the “Hiker’s Heaven”.
Already present when I arrived with “Purboy” were “Billy Goat” Nate, “Jaybird”,
Parker and “Captain Cheerio”. As well as the guesthouse, now permanently turned
over to the hikers, there was their motor home, where I spent the night, and, later in
the season, they put up several large tents in their yard (garden). Laundry, showers, e-
mail facilities and telephone were all available and, now that the Aqua Dulce Post Office
had closed down, they acted as a base for the receipt of supply parcels. I had not only
left a supply here for the next few days, but also had also left my “drift bag” here. The
drift bag is the bag thru-hikers send on ahead with spare supplies so they re-equip as
necessary. My drift bag contained a lot of books that I had brought out from England as
well as spare clothing and equipment I might need when we got to the snow-covered
mountains.
This was the last we saw of “Captain Cheerio”. He had to fly back to Seattle to deal
with some Real Estate business for his father and it seems that he never returned to the
trail.
We went out for dinner with Donna and Geoff to the Mexican Restaurant in Aqua
Dulce. Mexican Restaurants usually provide good food at very reasonable prices and this
one was no exception, with an excellent meal, with hiker size portions, for about $15 per
person. After dinner we watched the comical video made by “The Otter” on his north to
south attempt on the Pacific Crest Trail. It was at Aqua Dulce, in the middle of winter
that he eventually gave up.
Most of the people offering hospitality to the thru-hikers were retired and the service
offered by the Saufleys was even more remarkable when it is realised that they both
had full-time professional careers.
Day 31: 15.0 miles 6.10 hours Camp: “Hiker’s Heaven”, Aqua Dulce
The first objective of the day was Soledad Canyon, a green oasis with a strongly
flowing creek. Unfortunately the peace was spoilt by the large number of RV parks in
the valley and the 6-lane highway filling the valley with noise and fumes.
“Cloudwalker”, “Jaybird”, Nate and Parker, who had camped at one of the RV parks in
the canyon, had been kept awake to the early hours of the morning by other campers
partying into the night. Friday and Saturday nights are times to keep away from
campgrounds accessible by car.
The main interest of the morning’s walk was the “Vasquez Formation” rocks above
Soledad Canyon. These sandstone conglomerate rocks, named after the Vasquez Rocks
at Aqua Dulce, were the same rock formation as the Mormon Rocks in the Cajon Pass,
but had then separated from them because of movement along the San Andreas Fault.
“Purboy” caught up with me as we entered the Vasquez Rocks County Park in Aqua
Dulce. He had had a few days off and was going very well. This was the pattern of his
walk, as he tended to overexert himself and then need a few days to recover. The
Vasquez Rocks are a fantastic rock formation. World famous to cinemagoers as they
have been used in numerous Hollywood westerns and more recently used as the set for
the Flintstones films.
We stopped for a pizza at the pizza house in Aqua Dulce before heading for the
“Hiker’s Heaven”.
A few years ago, three young scruffy hikers asked Donna Saufley if there was
anywhere they could stay in Aqua Dulce. She told them there was nowhere to stay, but
then she took pity on them and invited them to stay with her. She had not even heard of
the PCT despite the fact it passed within half-a-mile of her house. She put up those
youngsters in her guesthouse, a 4-room caravan set alongside her house. This
eventually led to Donna and her husband Geoff opening up their house to PCT thru-
hikers. Now practically all thru-hikers will spend at least one night with her, often
resting up for several days, at what has come to be known as the “Hiker’s Heaven”.
Already present when I arrived with “Purboy” were “Billy Goat” Nate, “Jaybird”,
Parker and “Captain Cheerio”. As well as the guesthouse, now permanently turned
over to the hikers, there was their motor home, where I spent the night, and, later in
the season, they put up several large tents in their yard (garden). Laundry, showers, e-
mail facilities and telephone were all available and, now that the Aqua Dulce Post Office
had closed down, they acted as a base for the receipt of supply parcels. I had not only
left a supply here for the next few days, but also had also left my “drift bag” here. The
drift bag is the bag thru-hikers send on ahead with spare supplies so they re-equip as
necessary. My drift bag contained a lot of books that I had brought out from England as
well as spare clothing and equipment I might need when we got to the snow-covered
mountains.
This was the last we saw of “Captain Cheerio”. He had to fly back to Seattle to deal
with some Real Estate business for his father and it seems that he never returned to the
trail.
We went out for dinner with Donna and Geoff to the Mexican Restaurant in Aqua
Dulce. Mexican Restaurants usually provide good food at very reasonable prices and this
one was no exception, with an excellent meal, with hiker size portions, for about $15 per
person. After dinner we watched the comical video made by “The Otter” on his north to
south attempt on the Pacific Crest Trail. It was at Aqua Dulce, in the middle of winter
that he eventually gave up.
Most of the people offering hospitality to the thru-hikers were retired and the service
offered by the Saufleys was even more remarkable when it is realised that they both
had full-time professional careers.
Day 31: 15.0 miles 6.10 hours Camp: “Hiker’s Heaven”, Aqua Dulce
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Sandstone conglomerate
crags above Soledad
Canyon
crags above Soledad
Canyon
Purboy at Vasquez Rocks
Purboy at Vasquez Rocks
Vasquez Rocks
Donna at
Hiker's Heaven
Hiker's Heaven
Geoff and Captain
Cheerio at Hiker's
Heaven
Cheerio at Hiker's
Heaven