Miles hiked: 8.2.
Had a sort of mellow morning, but nothing like the first few days back on he trail, and got hiking by 6:20. It was a great morning for checking out tracks on the trail, with the low sunlight coming in from the side and showtime every detail in the dust. There were deer, insects, what I think were Mourning Dove and also either Mountain Quail or California Towhee, and the real icing on the cake were a set of Mountain Lion tracks heading back up the trail for about a quarter mile, only a half mile of so from the ranger station. I spent quite a bit of time scanning all the rocky outcroppings and brush patches all over the hillside I was on, but saw no kitty.
The view this morning continued to be spectacular, looking out over tangled and mysterious arid hills and small mountains. I wondered what stories this country has to tell, and is still telling now. With he sparse vegetation out in the desert you can see all the marks people have left over the years. You can see where they've gone, but often you can't figure out why they when there. Water? Minerals? Solitude? Escape? With hours and hours walking and looking out over all these little jeep roads and donkey trails you have plenty of time to wonder about all the people who have made a life out here where there's so little yet so much. At one point I saw a bunch of orange objects moving along a ridge in the middle distance. I looked through the Hubble and saw several men in jumpsuits and with Camelbacks running along a trail, and then remembered seeing on the map that there's some sort of prison facility nearby.
Despite some steep sections where I had to slow way down, I covered the 8 and a bit miles to be KOA in 3.5 hours, and just like that I was down out of the Transverse Range and done with the last of the real mountains of Southern California. My pace this morning made me pretty happy and optimistic about covering good ground over the next section. From Acton north to Highway 58 should take me 5 days, and there are some long waterless stretches, so being able to hike faster than I was a few days ago will allow me to carry a bit less water and food. The next 250 or so miles to Kennedy Meadows (the "gateway to the sierras") will be the hottest and driest and probably hardest stretch so far. We'll cross over a corner of the flat floor of the Mojave Desert, and we'll wind in and out of miles of dry low hills to cross this low ground between the Transverse Range and the Sierras.
At the KOA there was a whole gaggle of hikers sprawled out on the lawn, with backpacks and tents and sink-washed clothes spread out. There were all the people I'd met over the last few days and more I didn't know. We all spent the rest of the hot afternoon lounging around. Some people hitchhiker into Acton to get beer and food. There was swimming in the pool and sitting in the hot tub. Showers were taken. Volleyball and shuffleboard were played. Naps were taken. Happy people with a few beers in them told funny stories a bit louder than they should. More food was ordered from the pizza/burger joint in town that delivers the 5 miles out to the KOA. More beer showed up. Evening came and some people put the last of their beers in their packs and headed out to cover a few more miles under the cool full moon. The rest of us went in the hot tub and had some more beer and some people continued their loud stories a little too late, but it didn't really matter since we're right next to some train tracks that stayed busy late and a road and there are all sorts of lights on around the campground. I did pretty good with earplugs and my neck muff over my eyes.
Birds:
Western Bluebird
Common Raven
Ash-throated Flycatcher
Spotted Towhee
California Towhee
Common Poor-will
Mountain Quail
Sage Sparrow
Black-chinned Sparrow
Mourning Dove
Western Scrub-jay
Wrentit
Black Phoebe
Black-headed Grosbeak
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