Last night the damp chill intensified as the clouds we had been walking through settled around us at North Fork Saddle Camp. The blustery wind gradually decreased, allowing the clouds to love on everything in camp.
As per our standing agreement, 6am is our hiking start time. But this morning I listen for sounds from Dealer’s rent before making the move to sit up and change out of my sleep shirt to my hiking shirt.
But I rally soon after that and we are all three ready to leave camp at 6am.
Cloud cover
The clouds have moved higher this morning. The obscure the lazy sun who seem content to let the clouds elbow him aside.
Seven and Dealer get ahead of me and I take this picture. It’s one of Seven’s favorite of the hike.
They reciprocate.
The trail feels ancient under these cloudy skies. The tread is soft, almost sandy, inviting one to stand and contemplate the dappled hillsides.
But the air is heavy and chill, laden with ghostly energy – a playground for spirits. We hurry down, guiltily pausing to take a picture of this or that.
Showtime
The flowers along the trail do their best to throw off the gloom. But it’s no use. Without the sun, the flowers have lost their biggest advocate. Who will cheer for them after we pass?
There is a new flower on the trail today. It’s difficult to photograph because it is so small. Eight of them side by side would make an inch.
But the best way to appreciate them is from a distance. Here they cover an entire hillside.
Down to Acton
Finally we can see down to Soledad Canyon Road. The Acton KOA is there, and the city of Acton is four miles up the road. A commuter train line runs along the road. We hurry down.
In the parking lot at the bottom of the canyon are two men standing next to a car. One man is a hiker returning to the trail. The other is his friend and driver. The driver is going back into town. He offers us a ride. I expect nothing less, but I am also so very grateful.
Seven and Dealer have booked a “she shed” less than two miles out of town. I am staying in a fenced courtyard behind the Acton Saloon. The saloon is a lively meeting place for hikers. I join some of them at the table.
There is a place to do laundry using a hose and two buckets. I want to wash all my clothes at once, but I don’t have anything to wear while I do. Oh wait! What’s this here in the crook of a tree? A dress? And it looks like my size!
A few more hikers filter into the courtyard by the end of the day. We stake out positions around the perimeter. More chores tomorrow. And more planning. Some hot stretches are ahead. I want to be ready for them.
The next day is busy with shopping, post office visits, an ice cold shower in the courtyard (OK, it was more like a sponge bath), and uploading blog posts.
Dealer, Seven and I are trying to figure out how to get back to the trail 4 miles away in the morning. Then it’s off to Hikertown and then one of the biggest challenges on the desert trail – the hike above the Los Ángeles aqueduct. It is on all our minds.
- June 6, 2023
- Starting marker: 436.1
- Ending marker: 444.3
- Total miles hiked: 8
- Total PCT miles: 414
You need to show more leg in that dress to get some rides back to the trail head! 🙂
Really? Then Mike would have to “unsee” it again.