November 8

This morning we made a fancy breakfast in the kitchen of our little cabin. Louis came up in the morning and joined us for eggs, sausage and hash browns. We left around 8 am and started our highway trek on the fire detour. It was an 18 mile road walk that cut 27 miles off of the trail around a fire that burned so hot that it consumed all if the organic matter in the soil in some zones of the burn. The first 4.6 miles were along a narrow, winding mountain road with multiple blind corners. We were constantly switching sides of the road to avoid being caught between a cliff face or a guard rail and a vehicle. Semi trucks and motorcycles and everything in between were racing by at seemingly bizarre speeds. It was great having two convenience store stops and one cafe stop on the road walk, but still a huge relief when we reached the trail. We left the road and went home to the quiet bushes and cacti. We have a beautiful campsite on a ridge and it's perfect weather for cowboy camping. Smooth is having shin splint issues and Nat and Jane are staying back with him tonight five miles behind us. We all will meet up again tomorrow after Ben gets rested up. My Poodle Dog rash is still around, but I think if I don't itch it then it won't turn into the big blisters I was hearing about.