PCT mile 400.64 to 424.27
Today was again a cold and windy start, but had a beuatiful sunrise.
The trail today continues following the Angeles Crest Highway down towards LA until it turns west climbing a ridge to drop down towards Acton.
Along the way I came across a tree that was fighting quite the battle against mistletoe. Most of the green is mistletoe but a few branches still have oak leaves.
Speaking of mistletoe, I have seen four types of parasitic plants so far on my adventure — the common mistletoe, above, here’s a closer view
Pine mistletoe
And this one, not sure what it’s name is – note the red berries
And Dodder or Witches Hair
Today was also my first sight of the dreaded Poodle Dog Bush — a shrub that loves to grow in recently burned areas. It causes a Poison Oak like rash when touched. I had never heard of this plant until reading up on the PCT. Here’s what it looks like.
It turns out I would be avoiding touching this for a he next 40 miles!
I also found the jawbone of a deer, I think.
I also came across these leaves that decomposed into just the lacey structures
Also I came upon Gooseberry in bloom — later in the summer these bushes will be covered in edible spiny red berries. They are a favorite of coyotes and bears.
The area I hiked through burned last year but is regrowing fast. This creates a two-layer look with green below and black/white above
I arrived at my intended campsite at about 3pm, so I decided to hike up the next ridge. At about 5pm I started looking for a campsite – the problem was that the trail traversed a long ridgeline with very few flat spots. At last, and just before the sun was about to set I found a good site, but it was too small to set my tent up on. Someone had lost the green rainfly for their tent, so I decided to improvise a combo groundcloth and windbreak so I could cowboy camp. I tied two ends to branches on nearby stumps.
It worked pretty well and I had another great sleep!
Thanks for reading!
