Vasquez Rocks and Hiker Heaven
I woke up to cold, fat drops of condensation falling on my face. Any part of the tarp I touched with any part of my body or gear became wet with freezing condensation.
It took me a while to break camp and dry my gear enough to pack.
I had a nutrition bar for breakfast while my guardian enjoyed the sun as I packed.
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This was the first time I ever pitched a tarp. Here it is, with a "porch" set up using my spare trekking pole. The trail is immediately behind the tarp.
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I thought the rocks would help keep the cold away, but they ended up restricting air flow and contributing to the excess of condensation I experienced that first morning.
Even tho I had practiced my set up, I was surprised to see how large my shelter was once on the trail.
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| Temperatures reached freezing point but I never noticed once in my sleeping bag. |
A great morning indeed!
Booboo waited cozy under the sun as I broke camp.
My trail umbrella is a hack from a Walmart chair umbrella. I did not use the bottom of it and simply attached a carabeener with duct tape to the rod.
Saw this on a hikers page. Sew ribbon to the back of your socks and you can hang them from you pack to dry as you walk. It worked great today. I also do the same with my shirt, which is usually wet and is the first thing I take off and change when I arrive at camp.
I cut some cheap socks to put on top of my boots as gaters. So far, they work great! No pebbles or dirt in my boots. I lace my boots holding on to the front on the gaters folded over (not visible in photo) so the stay in place. I also use nylon knee-high stockings under my socks as liners to prevent blisters. They work great!
Umbrella in action. First casualty of the hike: lost my eye glasses somewhere in Vasquez rocks. Next time I'll get the string holder for them. I don't do lotions as I dislike most fake smells and chemicals in them. I find my SPF shirts in excellent condition at Goodwill and have yet to pay more than $6 for one. I just carry a little sunscreen lotion in a zip lock for my hands and button up my shirt sleeves. Even in the summer.
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| The mountainside will soon be filled with color! |
Looking towards Hwy 14
Looking bellow while walking on the trail towards Hwy 14
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| My first glimpse of Vasquez Rocks in the distance |
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| Somewhere there is a child convinced that his/her handmade dinosaurs sculptures guard the tunnel under HWY 14. |
Came upon a local couple day hiking who were surprised to see so much water all around today. They asked me if I was going to stay with the trail angel in Agua Dulce and I said no, I intend to walk 3 miles past Agua dulce.
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| The structure that stops large debry from going into the underpass tunnel. |
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The water was crystal clear. In all the years I lived in CA, this is the first underpass tunnel that does not smell like urine. |
This is also one of the spots where Glen Vilpu, legendary animation artist and instructor at Los Angeles Academy of Figurative Art, brings his students to study plain aire painting, part of my reason for wanting to visit it.
Somewhere along the way, I missed a sign. I was .17 of a mile off course. Most reasonable people would turn back and get back on the trail. Most.
I decided to sit down and share my simple trail lunch with my guardian.
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My view at lunch. It was only past 2pm, but the temperature started to fall quickly. The fist thing I do when I take my pack off is cover my back so it doesn't spasm as I stop moving and changes temperature abruptly. Out comes my $9, hooded REI synthetic puffy thrift story find (thank you Santa Clarita Goodwill). Gotta boast because I totally scored on that one! |
Knowing that I would be tired in the evening, I started cooking supper: dehydrated Lima beans with onion and barley. I placed a little water in a zip lock and placed it in my DIY bag cozy, held with a paper clip. I learned this trick from Jupiter Hikes. He just completed his Eastern continental trail (Quebec to Key West) without carrying a stove. His entire kitchen consisted of an empty Jiffy PB jar and a plastic spork from Wendys. Wanna try that for 6 months while hiking over 4k miles?
I then placed my food cozy between my bag liner and the back of my bag. My body heat would warm it enough and it would be ready by the time I got to camp.
And then I decided to keep going instead of turning back. I figured I would intercept the trail a bit ahead, according to the map.
I followed a little traveled equestrian trail out of the park, into what seemed like an abandoned area.
Although gated, the way out was unlocked. I felt very glad to not have to backtrack from here to the trail in the park!
Back on track, I remembered why
Booboo is the best hiking buddy: Not once did he complain, argue or question my decision to explore this option. ; ) Also, how smart I was to get a more reliable phone service and purchased the Guthook's PCT app section I was walking.
I finally reached the local market at Agua Dulce and had a snack. Knowing that I had a long hike tomorrow without much water, I reloaded my 3 litters and downed the last one. I left the apple and 1 sneakers bar to enjoy later. I charged my phone and battery pack from the outlet outside the store, checked tonight's weather and I studied my paper map. The map mentioned "Hiker heaven", a place ran by the trail angel the couple mentioned earlier. The weather report said 80% rain tonight. Unless I wanted to spend hours charging my electronics, I had to leave with them almost empty for the next 6 days. And c'mon! Who wouldn't want to check out a place called "Hiker heaven"? So I ditched the 3 miles left of the day and headed 1.1 miles east of the PCT for the night.
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| on my way to Hiker's heaven |
Jeff and Donna, the property owners, were surprised to see me. I had called several times since the market place, but there was no answer. Their season doesn't start until March but they immediately showed Booboo and I to the trailer they have designated for hikers, where working volunteers help out the hundreds of hikers they host daily in the peak of the season.
This is our bedroom for the night. Pure luxury to a hiker (and a hotel Prius dweller).
They host hundreds of hikers, offer a shower, free wifi, a computer tent, accept mail drops and shuttle people to and from the trail and coming from LAX via Santa Clarita as part of their help. All this is offered for free and donations are accepted.
The perfect touch in a hiker's bedroom: trail maps on the ceiling! : )
Ummm.... Yeah. Just choose your brand. Save your 3 oz of Dr. Bromers soap for the trail.
Checking back on my ziplock bag dinner, it was ready! and now delicious after warming it up on the stove!
Doug and Jesse are the host volunteers at the moment. They will each begin their PCT walk in late March. Doug (L) has been working here for a little while and is an AT thru hiker. Jesse is a "green" hiker and computer wiz from Indiana.
We completely geeked out and talked all about gear. These are our gas stoves. We compared weights, products and shared pictures. Mine is in the middle. I showed them what I carry in my toiletry, food and first aide bags and showed Jesse the knots I have just learned.
Doug shared his treasured ice cream with me. (yum!)
I finally reached the local market at Agua Dulce and had a snack. Knowing that I had a long hike tomorrow without much water, I reloaded my 3 litters and downed the last one. I left the apple and 1 sneakers bar to enjoy later. I charged my phone and battery pack from the outlet outside the store, checked tonight's weather and I studied my paper map. The map mentioned "Hiker heaven", a place ran by the trail angel the couple mentioned earlier. The weather report said 80% rain tonight. Unless I wanted to spend hours charging my electronics, I had to leave with them almost empty for the next 6 days. And c'mon! Who wouldn't want to check out a place called "Hiker heaven"? So I ditched the 3 miles left of the day and headed 1.1 miles east of the PCT for the night.
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