May 16, Mile 417-444.2 (27.2 miles)

At night I sleep so deeply that it is difficult to differentiate my sleep from death.  In the mornings after a long mileage day I awake stiff, and spend the first 20 minutes of the day limping around.  It feels as if I die every night, and that my corpse is reanimated in the morning and I must reteach myself to walk (the dead do not walk, only float). Looking at a thru-hiker in the morning, one would wonder, "how can this person possibly be walking 20+ miles day after day?!" We are hunkered down, limping, and moving at a glacial pace.  After 30 minutes, we start to fly, and really begin to look like hikers.

I spent much of the day walking through the remains from the 2009 Station Fire, the 10th largest wildfire in Californian history. Towards mid-day I crest a mountain and find what looks like a burnt down town.  I later find out that this was the site of a former prison camp where the prisoners were put to work fighting wild fires.  The inside of all the concrete structures were all burnt out.  Metal fences were warped into unrecognizable shapes. The only thing alive seemed to be Poodle Dog Bush, a poisonous plant similar to poison oak that thrives in burn areas. It looked like some sort of alien invasion.  The plant is very tropical looking, and seems completely out of place in arid Southern California.  Endless fields of Poodle Dog Bush, which causes painful blisters and rashes upon contact.  Endless fields of Poodle Dog Bush, that I had to walk through. I later found, that this bloom of Poodle Dog Bush was the largest ever seen.

Poodle Dog Bush.  The bane of my existence.  I now hate Poodles(all of them), Dogs(all kinds), and Bushes(all kinds) for even having a name associate with this wretched plant.  I spent the next few hours, winding my way through fields and fields of the poison bush, contorting my arms and legs to avoid all contact.

Finally, I make my way through the worst of the burn area and into more clear terrain.  Right before dark I come upon a very kind young couple who offer to take me to a local Subway.  I could not resist.  Upon talking to them, I find that they are looking to thruhike the PCT next year, so I answer many of their questions and they make me feel like a minor celebrity.  At Subway, I eat 2.5 feet of sandwich.  My most yet.  Soon, I will conquer 3 feet.

I camp in a small campground, after the couple drive me back to the trail.