Day 29-34: miles 369-454

Made it to Agua Dulce early this morning and got some amazing time to relax. We're headed out early tomorrow morning to avoid the worst of the heat - we're about to enter the Mojave, and though we've been told it's mild for this time of year, the heat is still oppressive at midday. We've officially exited the snow - until we reach the Sierra in about 300 miles!

Day 29: miles 369-374

We had a short day of 5 miles coming out of Wrightwood - a bit of a hill and quite a bit of snow, but otherwise pretty easy miles. We got there early and all hung out for a while. It's a big group of us tonight, since we joined with another group of Biscuits, Boombox, Garden Gnome, Tiffany, and Abby. Boombox and Abby will be summitting Mt Baden Powell starting at 3:30 the next morning, while the snow is still hard, and the rest of us will continue on for the road walk. So we're all cowboy camping at the base of the mountain, right next to the closed Hwy 2. It was a gorgeous sunset for sure!

Day 30: miles 374-393(ish)

The day of the road walk! The road walk is about equal in distance to the actual PCT, but is much less elevation and very little snow. Definitely hard on the feet though. We slept in a bit and started off, then got to the side trail where Boombox and Abby would be coming down the mountain. Though they started about 5 hours before us and were doing more or less the same mileage, we waited about 3 hours for them to come down. The uphill was straight up, and the downhill was apparently incredibly sketchy and tedious. Very glad I did the road walk, especially since I don't have microspikes and an ice axe like they did. Once they came down, they definitely weren't moving again any time soon, so Chef, Cheers, Shade, Garden Gnome, and I continued on.

The road walk was a little tedious, and hurt the bottom of the feet, but oh my god was it gorgeous. Amazing views of the San Gabriel mountains on one side and the sprawling Mojave on the other. There was a ton of snow built up on the sides of the road, and we got very surprised by a plow thundering past us on the road. They're clearly working to open the road soon, but between the snow and copious rockslides, they've got their work cut out for them. After Islip Saddle, the road opened up again, but the only cars we saw were the occasional fancy cars out for a scenic, fast drive. We rejoined the trail for a mile or so and then got off immediately for an alternate for the endangered yellow-legged frog. On that alternate was the Buckhorn Campground, an established campsite beneath pines and cedars, with a rushing river flowing below. Probably my favorite campsite yet, it was so lovely and peaceful. Glad to have gotten the road walk done in one day!

Day 31: miles 393-411.7

Back on the trail today - it felt very good to leave the pavement behind! A really gorgeous section in the morning along "Pleasant View Wilderness", with two fairly technical river crossings before an intense uphill that had me gasping. We emerged at the top of Cloudburst Summit, which is such a good name, and then had a nice leisurely downhill to the 400 mile marker. Ever since the road walk the day before, we'd been walking through the aftermath of the Station Fire, which really devastated the area. It was very exposed and dusty, and lots of poodle-dog bush - a shrub that gives horrible burning sensations for 24+ hours if you touch it. But between all the burnt trees and scary poodles, there were also a great deal of wildflowers and small shrubs just starting to grow. We ended the day with a rough uphill and heavy water carry, but got to the top of the hill and enjoyed the great views and ideal camping spot. Shade and Cheers cowboy camped and were planning to enjoy a sure-to-be amazing sunrise!

Day 32: miles 411.7-436.1

Huge day today!! A perfect cruiser downhill in the morning as we wound down the mountain, doing over six miles in just under two hours, arriving at the Mill Creek Fire Station around 9, where we filled up water, used the privy, and chilled a bit. Speaking of privies, the last few days have been so cushy with the highway rest stops and established campsites - I haven't dug a cathole in over five days!!

We then had an intense uphill overlooking the Angeles Crest Highway. A bit of downhill where we had lunch at a stream, and then more up, up, up. I kept thinking we had to be done with it before rounding a corner and finding that the trail had uncovered yet more uphill for me. At lunch, we had talked about a specific campsite, but when I arrived, no one else was waiting. Luckily I had service and Chef let me know that they had continued on to a ranger station 5.7 miles ahead. Ugh!! I was definitely ready to stop for the day but wanted to camp with the group, so I wearily pushed on. It was a really pretty section but some intense downhill that was rough on my tired feet and knees. When I arrived, I plopped down and took a nice, long break, feeling much better after I rested a bit. The caretaker of the station came round with Coca Cola and a Rice Krispie, which was much appreciated! There was fantastic service too and I got to post the previous blog post and call home.

Day 33: miles 436.1-453.3

In contrast to yesterday, today was pretty slow and chill. We started off with a trudging uphill before heading down into the Soledad Canyon. What a pretty section - we were out of the burn area now and were greeted by gorgeous flowering thick-leaved Yerba Santa and sandy white trails. It was 8 miles down to the Acton RV park, where we took a great siesta with ice cream and cold drinks, waiting out the worst of the heat. I took advantage of the swimming pool and found the leak in my sleeping pad! Then we set out again and tackled a big hill, which was equal parts torturous and gorgeous. We finally got down to lush riparian area right under the roaring I-14, where we rested and filtered water at the underpass. Then we headed into Vasquez Rocks, with these fantastical red, striated rocks jutting out of the landscape. It's where a lot of films have been shot, like Blazing Saddles, Twilight Zone, Star Trek, and a bunch of cowboy films. As we passed through, this random guy Tim was smoking in a cave and was eager to let us know that there was a perfect camping spot at the top of this ridge. He said he was a volunteer with the park and that was where PCT hikers always went. We happily carried on, finding the ridge and setting up our tents. There, we relaxed for a couple hours and were about to start dinner when an actual ranger came up to inform us that we were definitely not allowed to camp in this area. When we apologized and explained that Tim told us differently, she immediately knew who we were talking about and said he hangs around but isn't an actual volunteer with the park at all. Feeling thoroughly bamboozled, we hiked down to the parking lot and had dinner at the picnic tables there. We couldn't find any no camping signs on the notice boards or on their website, so we decided to cowboy camp at the edge of the parking lot next to a picnic area. It was genuinely really gorgeous and we got to see the sunset over the rocks, so I wasn't too disappointed even though we didn't get the cushy ridge campsite.

Day 34: miles 453.3-454.7

Only about a mile and a half to town! We woke up to the sunrise and set out early, hoping to make it to one of the only restaurants as it opened at 7. The town of Agua Dulce is very tiny, but has more than I expected. There's three restaurants, two owned by the same family, a liquor store that has a bit of food, and a hardware store with fuel cans. And most importantly, it has Serenity's Oasis, a hiker hub with shade, hammocks, resupply, showers, and laundry. We had a fantastic breakfast and headed over to the Oasis, where we set up our tents and sprawled out on the lawn chairs. I had a great epsom salt soak and one of the best showers of the trail so far. We headed back to the main road for lunch, then relaxed on the hammocks for several hours, doing laundry and resupply, then went back once more for dinner. It was a Friday night and it felt like the whole town had congregated in the restaurant - there was live music too, and the musician seemed to know everyone there. I had an absolutely fantastic plate of fettuccine alfredo. We headed back to the Oasis and settled in for the night. We're hoping to leave early to escape the heat, since we've got a decent hill to climb tomorrow.

I'm really excited to see my dad in a couple days, do the LA Aqueduct, and see the Mojave! I'll likely check in again in Tehachapi. It's really crazy to think that I've hiked more than 450 miles - it really doesn't feel like it! It's amazing how far you go when you just start walking and don't stop! I'm impressed with how good my body feels - my feet are often sore, but nothing acute, and my legs have occasional aches but not too bad at all. Here's hoping everything continues to feel okay as it gets hotter and dustier.