Today was a bit like a bonus town day, but we still covered 14.3 miles, 22.9 km. We walked past the famous Vasquez Rocks, which have historically been used to shoot dozens of films and TV series. We also had lunch in an awesome Mexican bar and camped just on the other side of town.

I left the RV Resort at around 7 am and made the second railroad crossing of the trail. The last crossing was at mile 3, it feels like a lifetime ago.

The trail then kicks off a long and steep climb. After 3.5 miles, I see a big cave and decide to check it out. When I get there I realize it’s a perfect spot for breakfast, so that’s what I do.

After breakfast, the trail continues along the tops before descending to highway 14. There is a long tunnel under a highway which allows us to cross. The tunnel is full of interesting graffiti, as you’d expect.

Emerging from the end of the tunnel takes us straight into the Vasquez Rocks Natural Area. The geology here is fascinating, uplifted by faults and tectonic activity.

The location has historically featured in a lot of films, including Star Trek, The Flintstones, and Planet of the Apes. There once stood a famous stone castle which was also used as a movie set, but it was torn down after falling into disrepair.

From Vasquez Rocks, it’s about 20 minutes walk to town. I catch up with some other hikers at a Mexican bar called Maria Bonita. They have ice cold beer on tap (steins unless asked otherwise), and a full Mexican food menu. I order the mucho burrito with al pastor meat, it’s gigantic and absolutely delicious.

We have a 4 mile walk out of town to get to camp, most of which is on the road. My feet are aching by the time we get to the trail, and thankfully we arrive at camp shortly after. We set up, hang around a bit, but nobody is very hungry after Maria Bonita. Eventually everyone drifts off to bed and another day is over.