You ever heard of Ridgecrest, CA? Not me, even though I’ve lived in California for many decades. But I visited this desert town twice this year while on the trail. And both times Pancakes (Laura) made the experience memorable…plus I gained weight thanks to her home cooking.
The folks at TC Outfitters in Kennedy Meadows connected me with her when I was looking for a ride after walking 700 miles from Campo.
Pancakes offers reasonably priced rooms for PCT hikers, and she knows exactly what hikers need: Shower, laundry, groceries and best of all a hearty breakfast featuring sausages wrapped in her signature “pancakes.”
Pancakes has spent her whole life serving people. She’s raised many foster kids in her loving home in addition to a few of her own and adopted ones. In her spare time, she cooks up lunch and dinner for veterans at Ridgecrest’s American Legion Hall.
From Ridgecrest, it’s possible to hitch or take a bus to Bakersfield or head south to the Los Angeles area. But the town itself is interesting. Ridgecrest is home to more PhD’s per capita in the country, mainly physicists and math wizards who work at China Lake Naval Weapons Station. They in turn help attract businesses like Red Rock Books which houses all the classics, plus big sections of science fiction and high-level math puzzle books.