Day 36... so long Spirit and hello poodle dog bush...

Mile 406.6 to Mile 424.3

This morning... Spirit took off just as I was breaking camp... we made a loose plan to meet at a campsite 23 miles up... but I told him... if I didn’t show then not to worry...pretty sure that was my way of saying I probably wasn’t going to pull another giant day after yesterday.

About an hour after he took off... I got going. It was a day of overgrown trail..bushwhacking... burn areas and dodging poodle dog bush (a highly poisonous plant that grows in recently burned areas in Southern California)... around 2, I hit the Mill Creek Fire Station, which sits right on trail. They are kind enough to let us use their hose for water and enjoy a shaded picnic area... I took about an hour and a half just resting from the afternoon heat... before heading up the climb out of the valley. I noticed my feet were still hurting more than usual and decided it was time for some new shoes... so I had Charlie mail me a pair up ahead to HikerTown, around mile 517.

I ran into a day hiker out with his pup, Patches and hiked with them for about 2 hours in the evening. There is something energizing about seeing dogs on the trail... but being able to hike with one and throw sticks for a game of fetch was a real treat. When they turned around, I realized what I already knew I wasn’t going to meet Spirit ... at that exact point I received a text from him that he was pushing on to Acton... a 37 mile day for him... I am telling you guys he is a 50 year old machine.

I decided to camp early... and have my first cold soaked meal of my journey. I decided to leave my stove at home for the rest of the desert section and try cold soaking. This is basically just using a little water to hydrate rice or in my case ramen.... it actually turned out much better than I expected... getting to camp early and camping alone was actually a welcome time to check in with myself and self-reassurance that walking the trail was where I wanted to be in my life right now... the gorgeous sunset didn’t hurt...