Agua Dulce, CA

Greetings friends, 454 miles and counting.  It's hard to believe all of the awesome experiences I've had only happened in a month, and I've got 4 more to go so plenty of time for more adventures.  This town is not unlike the others we've descended upon.  Banners in front of businesses greet PCT Hikers and barely a block into town someone stops to ask if we need a ride anywhere.  This time of year it is tricky because anywhere under 3,000 is a balmy 95 degrees through most of the day, not hiking weather.  Despite the heat and odd sleeping hours, the landscape is still nothing short of awesome.  Rock outcrops dominate the horizon while sage and cactus cover the searing ground.  Every ridge brings something new.

We just went through the area northeast of LA that was burned in a massive fire in 2009, the Station Fire.  We passed by a memorial for 16 firefighters who lost their lives and the evidence was all around us.  No shade to speak of and any tree still standing is black with char.  Fire is a natural part of the ecology for many of the ecosystems of the west and the desert is no exception.  There are plants specifically adapted to take advantage of a fire.  The Poodle Dog Bush (no idea what the scientific name is) happens to be one of them and is also a particularly unfriendly plant.  The seed pod lies waiting for a fire and once the landscape is cleared of any competitors the plant bursts open in a frenzy of green that just so happens to be incredibly toxic.  No hiker wants to find out if they are allergic to it so many walk the dirt roads for >30 miles.  Our best information says it is worse than a bad case of poison oak and the trail is not the time to go to the ER.

Now happily away from the Poodle Dog Bush we walk north in search of the High Sierras with promise of ample water and shade in another 250 miles.  But for now the desert is a beautiful surprise.

Happy Trails
~beads