May 16

433-454

Our wonderful ridge campsite is even more lovely in the morning. A massive cloud bank has rolled into the low lying areas surrounding us, so we are on our own private mountaintop island that is separated from the rest of the world.

We descend off the ridge, as the clouds burn away. As we lose elevation the day one again becomes quite hot.

The suns rays feel otherworldly intense by 8am.By late morning we reach a road that leads to Acton, California and make a spur of the minute decision to avoid the heat and head to town. We need to coordinate some of our animal care needs at home, and figure it is worth it to grab a meal and beat the heat of the day to kill two birds with one stone.

This area is famous for a myriad of film sets in the vicinity. Breaking Bad, Yellowstone, and the Movie “Nope” have all been filmed in the area. We see a 1950’s diner film set on our way to town. In Acton there is a combination Italian/Chinese/Mexican/American restaurant. The idea of that was very funny to us, so we knew we had to eat there. Our standards are at an all time low, but we were delighted by the food. We both ordered Chinese lunch specials with an additional entree and enjoyed the deviation from the standard burger and fries country restaurants we have had in most towns so far.

At 4pm we leave town and hike an additional 7 miles until sunset.

Our hiking philosophy is to avoid planning out our campsites or mileage goals for the day. Instead we just hike until it gets dark and play “campsite roulette” with whatever is available to us at dusk. Sometimes, like last night, we win big. Other nights, like tonight, we are lulled to sleep by the sounds of honking semi trucks on the freeway above us.

I am undeterred. My needs are few, and quite simple. I packed out a footling sub from Acton and eat it for dinner. Life is good.