Missile Silo

Mile: 406.6-427

I set my alarm for 530 so that I could attempt to be ready by 6… ya that didn’t happen. I ended up being ready around 640 which is still the earliest I’ve been ready to go.

After a few miles we took a short break where I ate my second and third breakfasts. A little ladybug joined me as well.

Despite the later start than some of my new hiking buddies would have liked we still made it to our lunch spot before 11. That is 11.9 miles before an early lunch woohoooo!

After a long lunch (because why not) sitting in the shade of the Angeles Forest fire station, Legs, AH and I started on the 7 miles we had left for the day. Luckily, we found out that the seasonal stream where we were going to camp actually had water so we didn’t have to take 14 pounds of water like we thought we had to (I only had to bring 5 pounds).

It was really hot and it became apparent that we were finally making the last stretches into the real desert. Not this weird plants everywhere desert we have been seeing until now.

Because this section of trail was burnt last year there is a plant that grows called the Poodle Dog Bush. It is the most terrible thing you could ever imagine. If you touch it you break out in hives just like any other poisonous plant but this one has a smell. It assaults your nose by smelling like marijuana. And in today’s section. It was everywhere.

They even try reaching onto the trail to attack unsuspecting hikers. Evil.

We took a couple rests before we got to the seasonal stream. We ate dinner and then hiked on to find a place to set up camp for the night. We found one after about a mile. It just happened to be at the base of an old NIKE missile silo. So we went up the hill to check it out. Naturally. 

It was a good day.