We decided to get out and hike “The Indians” in the heart of the Los Padres NF (Monterey section). It’s a circuitous route to get there but the road takes you right into the middle of the LP. We hadn’t been there since it was on fire in 1999 (the Kirk complex) and we realized that we had never really been there. We found so much more to explore.
We started to hike from the Memorial Park campground. The route paralleled a lot of deer trails until we hit the main trail which started at another trailhead. The trail was relatively well maintained. While we had the dream of hiking to Junipero Serra Peak, Ranger started lying down in every shady spot he could find. We had never seen him do that before. When we overdo it, his hips will rock and his feet will drag. It wasn’t that. Despite the breeze, he could not compensate and seemed to be overheating. I was happy to give him all the water that I was carrying since the trail was uphill the entire way. After a long lunch, we cut the hike short but plan to return.
Ramblings With Ranger 
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