Day 37... my first stay at a KOA and overcoming a longtime fear of public showers....

424.3 - 444.3 Acton KOA

I woke up with the sun... but as usual stayed in my sleeping bag for another hour enjoying the warmth... still not one for the cold mornings... I heard two hikers walk past as I was finishing packing up... but couldn’t see the trail to see who they were.

As I started out... the winds seemed to pick up immediately... I like the wind... it helps cool the otherwise stagnant blaring heat from the sun... however this was what the California weather people call a “wind event”... the Santa Ana’s today were no joke... when I climb I breathe in and out through my mouth.... clouds of dirt were being swallowed... a mile in I see the hikers that passed me earlier... it was Jenny and Eric... eating breakfast... apparently they had camped a little before me in a more exposed site and the winds had them hustling for shelter before eating.... I stopped and joined them for a bit... but moved on to try and escape the dirt monsoons...

From dirt monsoons to thorns in my side... literally, all day overgrown trail bushwhacking... I had been warned, so at least I had on pants to protect my already scratched and scabbed legs instead of my usual shorts... but it was certainly a constant assume the position of a boxer protecting their face and hoping for the best as I squeezed through cacti, thorn bushes and sticks... over and under fallen trees... around rocks... you name it... I was a real life Ninja Warrior.

Reaching the top of the ridge... I came across a sign that said do not enter in high winds... I stood for a moment contemplated what other plan of action there possibly was and went forward.... it was a game of dead tree limb dodgeball for the next mile... but it sure spiced things up on the hike today.

I reached the ranger station where Jenny and Eric had planned to camp by one and decided I was going to make the most of the daylight... Spirit had already gone 57 miles ahead of me by 11 that morning, so no chance of ever catching him again... but I knew Nathan was zeroing at the KOA- a 20 mile day for me... but I was feeling good, so decided to surprise him.

I rolled into the KOA in Acton at 6:15.... feet hurting again... but there was a campground full of new hikers - Chef, Lupine, Hot Rocks, Chuckwagon and Nathan, who had earned the name Hound because he always finds stuff people drop on the trail.... it was nice to meet a new crew and enjoy dinner together... the KOA had showers for $5.... I have always had a hang up about public showers.... but the idea of rinsing off the dirt caked to my face, hair, legs... everywhere seemed really great... so I went for it... and the truth is there is really nothing better than feeling clean on trail... totally worth it...

We fell asleep in the warm night to the nurturing sounds of drunk rv revelers, one of our thruhikers talking loudly in their sleep and a pack of coyotes.... oh the joys of campground tenting....