Robert Francisco

Destination: Sacramento (home)
Starting Location: Manning Park Resort
Manning Park Resort to Sacramento

Found Dirty Bird & Numskull as we checked out of Manning Park Resort. And while they were still full of hiker stink Liz agreed to provide a ride to Seattle as long as we kept the windows down.
Crossing the border was interesting. No ID requested but the officer asked how we entered Canada. We responded we walked via a 5 month trek on the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail. “And now you are on your way to see a shrink, right?” “Something like that” we replied as we were waved back into the greatest country, regardless of its current screwed up leadership, in the world.
After being largely isolated in the outback for nearly 5 months it seemed as if things should have changed in the so called “real” world. Truth be known it is not very real at all. In fact it is much less real than walking, eating & sleeping. Regardless, when we pulled into the gas station I was struck with a feeling of having been in a serious time warp. Everything was exactly the same physically & yet I knew everything with me was different. Somehow transformed through a process of many many steps.
The pilot just announced we were 410 miles from Sacramento and we would arrive within 90 minutes. Convenient, I guess, given it would take me 3 weeks to walk that distance, but a whole lot less interesting. The young guys behind me are getting drunk and talking a lot of smack trying to one up each other. I would have previously been annoyed & I likely will again, but tonight I just smile with a certain arrogant air that I know something they don’t and it is magic