By coincidence, the date for my annual Celebrate Anza event coincided with Cinco de Mayo — May 5. The weather forecast called for calm winds, sunny skies, and a high temperature around 85: perfect weather for a trailside barbecue. Everything went off without a hitch. Fifteen invited guests (mostly Trail Gorillas — PCT trail volunteers in southern California) enjoyed the festivities, along with 23 hikers during the actual “grill open hours” of 11-3 and a couple dozen more who ate up the leftovers that evening. One invited guest hiked in from Highway 74 and one invited guest rode his horse in from Highway 74, so it was a great mix of people and stock.

As usual, I offered hikers this weekend the opportunity to mail a postcard to their mother for Mother’s Day on me. I got 38 takers: 31 domestic and 7 international. I mailed them all on Monday, May 7.