Date: May 9, 2017
Miles: 379.5 – 406.7
“I’m pretty sure that after this mile, there’s going to be more miles.” ~ Strongback
I guess it had to happen sometime…I turned 40 today. Or as I’m preferring to look at it, it was the first of many anniversaries of my 39th birthday. I hadn’t planned for it, but it happened that I reached the 400 mile mark today shortly after 4 pm, which felt special. I’m not really into signs, but that could have been one. Of what, I don’t know. At the very least, the auspiciousness seemed to soften the blow of entering another decade of life. That, and the cosmic brownie that Allen gave me.
Going back to the beginning of the day, we continued on from our campsite through the Angeles National Forest. We had to take a detour around a portion of the trail that is closed in order to protect an endangered frog and it meant about four miles of road walking which was hard on my feet and hips after being on softer surfaces. Hurry up and get it on, frogs!
The signs in the campgrounds that we passed warned that we were now in bear country, which I was super excited about. If I could have spotted a bear on my birthday it would have been complete, but alas…no bears. I think it’s too cold yet. At least it would be for me if I was a bear.
We entered the Pleasant View Wilderness section of the forest and eventually reached the Sulphur Springs campground where we set up for the night. It was a busy place, with about 20 other campers already having arrived. A couple guys from the LA area were just out camping for a few days, and they chatted with us for a while and offered us the rest of their strawberries. My brain has not yet fallen for my attempts to trick it into thinking that Gummy fruit snacks are actually fruit, so the fresh strawberries were a very satisfying treat.
It was another great night for cowboy camping, with a really bright moon and lots of stars. I fell asleep content and hopeful that my food was safe from any bears hoping for a midnight snack.
