PCT Day 10: Aqua Dulce, where?

Day 10   5-28-2015    Sleep 2000-200
Miles 447-494

            Woke up to a sweet cold morning.  I moved swiftly getting through the town of Agua Dulce and got off the road before too many cars.  Then it was hot, hot and more hot.  Big water carry, seeing as I couldn’t rely on any caches.  15 miles on a sun baked south-southwest side of a low elevation ridge.  It was hot.  I thought all my sauna’ing would have helped me with this or maybe it is really just that hot.  I am trying to run a long but the whole time my eyes wonder to Bouquet Resevoir below.  If only I could sprout wings and glide down, I would just face plant into the cool blue.  Although, I guess if I magically became able to fly I would probably do something cooler…maybe not though, it was hot.  I got to the Green Valley fire station around 1330 and drank my fill of water.  I decided before the trip, if it got too hot during the day to hike (i.e. I am losing power, losing focus, losing my mind, or dangerous) that I would try to nap during the heat and hike later at night.  So, today would be the first giver-go.  I laid in the shade with my legs vertical up on the building.  I actually closed my eyes and dreamed a bit.  When I came to, thirty minutes had passed.  But I felt like I was asleep for a full night of sleep, dreams and all.  I guess that is what you get when you are that tired; you sleep faster.  But I didn’t want to go back out and hike eleven miles on asphalt in the mid afternoon sun for this detour.  I tried to sleep more but was really just in a haze.  I decided that it was a wash just dazing here versus hiking. 


Exposed in the sun all day
So I packed up and got moving.  When I got back to the trail head, I was reading the sign and realized they had opened a section of trail.  Great.  I thought this detour was going to shave off a few miles but now I have to out and back for about three miles.  I ditched my pack and got it done without fussing too much.  It felt weird to not have my pack on.  Now back at the road, the fun part.  There was no shoulder and Cali drivers are apparently afraid of crossing the double yellow, even if no cars are coming the other way for miles.  So I got really close to a bunch of cars going 50 mph spitting there exhaust at me…it was awesome!  I finally got through the town and onto the more country road section.  There were hardly lanes and the road to gravel shoulder was so crowned it hurt my knee.  I was walking a third out in the lane and when the four cars I passed the rest of the way came, I scooched over to the absolute side of the road.  Two of them honked at me and made wild gestures for me to move over, off the road get in the bushes, I am coming through.  I can never understand how lazy you have to be to turn your car steering wheel half and inch and then back for two effin seconds.  But they have never run/walked on such a road and just don’t understand.  Still how could they be so ignorant.  Oh conversations with my multi personalities.  Oh hey, watch out, Ostrich crossing…WAIT what?!  I thought I was really losing it for a second, but I took a picture and the sign was real, I deduced.  Ostrich Crossing…don’t see that everyday.  Man this heat is really getting to me.  I was glad when the detour took me off the road and back to the woods, my escape from the scary creatures; back with the mountain lions, bears and dirty hikers.  Thank goodness my kind of crowd.  I hiked in a ways and set up for the night.  A cool breeze comforted me as I massaged my feet and legs while laying on my back.

If only I could glide down there

It was a long day

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