436.3 – 444.3 A Lovely Lazy Day!

Acton day!! Swim in the pool day!
With that in mind I’m up and out at sparrows fart and headed down the long long down to Acton.

The trail is MEAN today. For the longest time you can see the campground below, and just as you think the trail is about to descend it decides “Oh no, I like the look of this other hill, let’s walk all the way around it in case there’s something interesting for you hikers to look at.” There isn’t.
It teases and teases until finally it spits me out at a trailhead parking lot. I’m confused as always as there are never clear directions about which way to go. I decide to keep hiking along the trail, crossing the hwy and finally on the other side I see where the campground is.

Woohoo!!!!! I’m greeted by Kyle who did a crazy 33 mile day to get to the campground. Lucky bugger had beers and bbq waiting for him when he got there courtesy of a local birthday. He also slept in a lake as he lay down on the nozzle of his camelback and it filled the floor of his tent. Oops.

There’s no hiker box here  -there’s a giant hiker-TENT. Filled with loaner clothes, discarded gear and rejected bits of food. I rummage through and find some sexy sexy giant shorts with no button, a short sleeved shirt, a new mini loofah and an almost empty hotel shampoo bottle. I’m all set for shower and laundry time! So much clean is about to happen.

The shower is glorious. It takes me so much longer to shower on trail than at home. So much dirt – EVERYWHERE.
 
Freshly clean with laundry hanging off the railing (they are not fans of clothes lines in this country!) I set off in search of cold drinks and food I don’t need to eat.

The others from last night roll in and the rest of the day is a hot haze. It involves beer, pool , hot tub , new friends (Bambi, Snack Attack and Tim), pizza (cheese free! all the vegetables!), sun, icy poles, more beer. Late in the afternoon Chicken Fat and Lobo arrive and give me crap for hitching.
 A giant group of boy scouts errupt upon the campground with their families and giant tents. The tents are so huge it’s hilarious and we laugh about their McMansions compared to our little hobo hiker field next door. It’s funny watching them try and set them up- most clearly having come directly from the outfitters where they gave the instruction “please fill my oversized truck with the biggest heaviest things you have in the store. In fact make that two of everything. And food for 300 people please.”

The day is gone too fast, with the time eaten up by the (half) “day off” vortex. A good day.