May 30. Day 29.

Cooper Canyon Camp to about PCT mile 411.7.

Miles hiked: 16.5.

The forest didn't catch on fire last night, which was nice.

I had another pretty lazy morning, but this will probably be my last of those for awhile because today the trail dropped down out of the mountains, and I think I might not get back to elevation until the Sierra. After climbing a couple miles up out of Cooper Canyon, the trail began a long descent down into the hot dry foothills north and west of the mountains. The trail wasn't very steep and I was able to keep up a good pace all the way down. I passed PCT mile 400; I'm not sure exactly how many miles I've walked so far, with the detours and the bits I've skipped, but I think I'm pretty close. I'm pretty sure I passed 400 miles walked at some point today.

A bit passed that was Camp Glenwood, which I guess is a private "camp" that scouts and other groups can come stay at. The camp consists of a single building about 800 square feet, an outhouse, and I think a small shed or two. Brad, the camp manager, was there for the weekend to do some work, and I and Mark (met last night) talked with him a while about the camp and his various projects. The inside of of me he main buildings was rustic-cozy, with basic plywood floors, a 55 gallon drum wood stove, a several-burner propane stove, propane lights hanging from the ceiling, and various cabin-type paraphernalia hanging on the walls. Brad was super friendly and is doing a lot to make the camp a good water source for hikers. We had a cordial discussion about protecting endangered species and protecting land as Wilderness. I might not have changed his mind about anything, but I think I at least taught him a bit about the different ways we impact wildlife.

I left there around 10:30 and continued on down. The trail finally quite paralling Hwy 2 at mile 403, which was nice since there was a lot of load weekend traffic. The trail entered some of the area that burned in the 2011 Station House Fire, which I will be going in and out of for at least the next 20 miles. It wound around small hills, dropping down into small canyon, through the burned skeletons of trees and thick brushy regrowrh, then into unburned areas with J. Pines and oaks.

Along this stretch of trail I passed some thick patches of Poodle Dog Bush, which according to the various things I read before the hike is something g like an evil cross between poison oak and stinging nettle. It's best not to touch it, I hear. Some people have to go to the hospital, they say. It has a sweet herby smell like marijuana, with a bit of bitterness like hedge nettle added in, and has purple flowers topping stocks shaggy with live and dead leaves. I guess it sort of looks like a poodle, maybe. Luckily the trail was really well-maintained and none was in my way.

I reached the bottom of the little canyon at mile 407 around 12:30, and since the temperature was nearing 90 and I didn't want to do too many more than 15 miles today, I took a nice long siesta under the low branches of a pinyon pine. I ate a bunch, including about a quarter pound of cheese, slept, listened to Black-chinned Sparrows and Bewick's Wrens, and also listened to a Trailside Radio podcast while watching the shadow of my tree move across the ground.

Finally got moving again around 3:30 for the 3 and a bit me climb up to the next water source. There was more PDB, more pines and oaks, a few of what I'm pretty sure are Douglas Firs, but the cones are sort of big, and lots of nice little flowers in blues and pinks and yellows. Got to Fountainhead Spring at mile 411 around 5, and saw AZ and Cobain there. We talked a bit then they moved on, and I was left to filter and drink water with just a few Mourning Doves and some Lazuli Buntings and Canyon Wrens singing up the hill. I drank 2 liters of the cold water, and filtered 2 more, and after 40 minutes in the shade and breeze I was shivering! Such a contrast to how hot I was on the climb just an hour before.

I went just another 20 minutes before making camp where the trail rounds a point with views back over the mountains I've come out of and out over the desert with strange mines or some sort of big open pits, a train stopped out in the middle of nowhere, little towns here and there with people doing who knows what, and interesting looking little hills sticking up out of the flat hot pan. After washing up and eating dinner I looked at the map and water report to see what tomorrow would be like and it turns out I probably should have gone a few more miles today. The next water is in only 6 miles, far too soon to camp, but the next one after that isn't for another almost 18 miles past that. So tomorrow I'll either have to do close to 24 miles, or carry extra water so I can dry camp. Not sure yet which I'll do; getting up at 4:30 to get an early start, and will make a decision at the next water source. At least it looks like more well graded trail and no big ups or downs. But it will be hot. 

Sunset colors on the view all around me were great; warm orange light on steep mountains and dry hills and hot flat desert and far off distant clouds going soft pink way up to the north. I'm coming your way clouds. 3rd full day in a row that's ended without any real pain (shyster the normal stuff). Call me happy!

Birds:

White-breasted Nuthatch 

Western Wood-pewee 

Mountain Chickadee 

Purple Finch

Mourning Dove

Mountain Quail 

Oregon Junco 

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 

Spotted Towhee 

Yellow-rumped Warbler 

Northern Flicker 

Stellar's Jay 

Pygmy Nuthatch 

Black-throated Gray Warbler 

Acorn Woodpecker 

American Robin 

Black-headed Grosbeak 

Lesser Goldfinch 

Lazuli Bunting 

Bewick's Wren 

Wrentit 

Black-chinned Sparrow 

Bushtit 

Common Raven 

Anna's Hummingbird 

Mourning Dove

Canyon Wren