[pct-l] SOBO hikers in Julian

[Tom Griffin]

Here is a story from the LA Times about two southbounders arriving in 
Julian and finding a ghost town. They might have a hard time finishing 
as news reports state that the Harris Fire appears to be heading toward 
Campo.

Tom Griffin
Seattle


  No respite in Julian

Hikers leave the trail in search of food and find a ghost town.
By Joe Mozingo, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
7:14 PM PDT, October 24, 2007
On their last leg of the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail Wednesday, the 
two brothers thumbed a ride into Julian to eat a gloriously greasy meal, 
have a beer and load up on provisions.

But the historic town, with its wood-porch storefronts and wagon wheel 
decor, was a veritable ghost town, with no power, no phones, no water, 
few people. Having receiving only snippets of news during the 
Canada-to-Mexico trek, they were flabbergasted -- and crestfallen.

"We knew there were fires, but we didn't think all of San Diego was on 
fire," Luke Larson said.

On Monday night, Luke, 26, and his brother Andrew, 22, saw the sky light 
up like a jack o' lantern from their campsite near Warner Springs. But 
they had seen fires earlier on their trek and didn't find it extraordinary.

Tuesday, an awe-inspiring column of black smoke rose off Mt. Palomar, 
more than 15 miles to the west. "The wind would back off and it would 
blow up like an atom bomb," Andrew said. "Then the wind would come and 
just cut it off."

They were not daunted by the spectacle. Andrew said he just finished 
four tours of duty in Afghanistan and Iraq with the infantry. Luke is a 
U.S. Forest Service Ranger in Aspen, Colo.

Both are lean and wiry from the trail. They are packing light: no tent; 
just tarps, sleeping bags and minimal clothes, to keep a pace of more 
than 20 miles per day.

In Julian, they finally found an open liquor store and loaded up on junk 
food: Salsitos, Zebra Cakes. But it wasn't what they had been dreaming 
of on that dust-bitten trail: meat and more meat.

With no hot meal in sight, they hitched a ride back to the trail. They 
still had 15 miles to cover that day.

And packages waiting at the post office in Mount Laguna.

Um.

"Really, you think the Post Office is closed?" Andrew asked.

They planned meet their parents Saturday at the Mexican border. Near the 
Harris fire.

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman.backcountry.net/pipermail/pct-l/attachments/20071024/69817523/attachment.html