May 28, 2016 - The Acton KOA was a happening place last night, surprised I got as much sleep as I did. I think the smart thing would have been just to do laundry and shower and move on, just never been a big fan of crowds.
The morning hike to Agua Dulce was very nice. It started off with a gradual uphill in this wide open space with a few boulders coming out of the ground. Good thing it was early in the morning otherwise it would have been a hot one. The guidebook said that it would be all expose hiking to Agua Dulce with no shade. However about half way I came across a small cave. It would have been a perfect spot if had been really hot but since it was early in the morning the heat wasn’t too bad so I didn’t stay long.
The rest of the morning was downhill to the highway. Went through this long tunnel underneath the road which was kind of cool. Then out the other side I come across these very unique rock formations. The trail had me hiking in between the rocks which made for an enjoyable time. I was moving so slowly as I kept looking around at the cool rock formations.
After walking through the canyon I come out in the open and could see Vasquez Rocks in the background. While hiking to it I saw what looked like people running and sure enough there was race going on.
Walking through the race area I finally got to Vasquez Rocks picnic area. I think I could have hung around that area all day but just a mile away was the town of Agua Dulce where I could get a hot meal and resupply.
The trail goes right through Agua Dulce with a couple miles of road walking. I ended up hanging around town for about 3 hours, much smaller town than I thought but still had a few restaurants to choose from. I picked pizza and ate a 12 inch pie while watching Captain America. After lunch I loaded up on supplies before heading out.
While it been much cooler than normal I decided to get going early. I had 14 miles to get in which I figured would be no problem. The first 3 miles out of town was a hot road walk. As soon as I got towards the end of town a fire breaks out in the area and must had 10 police and fire trucks pass me, not to mention the 2 helicopters. Right at my turn off there were police blocking the road and not letting anyone through. It didn’t look like a big fire and think it was a house fire by the look of the smoke and area. Had to wait about 30 minutes and then the police let me through.
Once I finally left the pavement it was uphill for the next 8 miles in this upper desert conditions. I was worried about rattlesnakes and but never saw on but I heard a lot.
Finally got to the top of the peak and over the other side. The trail changed completely, went from this yellow grass hot desert to cool green woods.
Made it to my water source for the day which was a tiny spring that was giving out about a liter every few minutes. I wanted to get out quick because there were bees everywhere.
Made it to camp right as the sun was setting so I hurried up to pitch my tent then ate while watching the sunset over the mountains.
