Day 19: mile 453.4 - 478.2
- Casa de Luna
- Arts and crafts
- New faces: Yukon, Ranger, Miko, David
The first Hiker Heaven shuttle to the trail was at 7am, and by then I was up and rearing to go. I counted fifty-one tents in Hiker Heaven this morning when I got up. You can imagine that many hikers make quite a bit of noise, especially when some seem like they are here to party. Hike your own hike. I'm just glad I had my ear plugs.
The climb out of Agua Dulce is supposed to be dreadfully hot, and it is very exposed. But those cold temperatures I was bitching about just a few days ago in the mountains are still hanging around, and today I was happy to have them. It wasn't cold by any means (I was hiking in shorts and had my sleeves rolled up) but it wasn't the triple-digit temperatures that are typical this time of year.
The hills I'll be walking over today
Towards the middle of the day I found a nice shady spot alongside the trail, threw down my pack, and spent some time journaling. I haven't been great about doing that in the evening, and the thoughts seemed to flow better in the middle of the day. I might have to make a habit out of that.
I had been going back and forth as to whether I wanted to spend the night at Casa de Luna, an often-talked-about stop along the PCT that is run by two trail angels. It was a two mile walk off-trail, but given my good time today (and the fact that I'm meeting my parents in Tehachapi on Friday, which means I need to slow down a little) I decided to check it out.
They have a pretty sweet setup where trails and tent spots have been cleared out of the "manzanita forest" behind their house. So I found myself a nice spot and pitched my home. There are probably fifty hikers here, some of which have stayed for multiple days. They are definitely loose with their house rules (plenty of alcohol and recreational drugs floating around) and appropriately describe themselves as "hippie daycare". One of the features of said daycare was a table with paintbrushes, every color of acrylic paint you could imagine, and an endless supply of rocks to be used as canvases. So I sat down, made a palette out of a cut up beer box, and worked my creative muscles. With the exception of the "footprints", I was happy with how it turned out!
One step at a time
Entering the manzanita forest
Exhausted from creating that masterpiece, I decided to skip the taco salad that was being served en masse, and eat a dehydrated meal back at my tent. Not only would my stomach thank me for that choice, but my legs also appreciate the lighter pack. Now it is time to stare at my maps (which I DIDN'T throw away this time! Such a big boy...) and figure out how to navigate this next fire closure...
Desert flowers in the AM
Today's typical trail
My DIY foam roller. Please excuse the clean feet
That moment when it takes three miles of trail to cover one mile as the crow flies...
Day 20: mile 493.4 - 501.0 (plus ~13 detour miles)
- On the road again, I just can't wait to get OFF the road again
- Cold wind blows
- Lake Hughes filled me up
- New face: Ohm
I ate a lot of food today. Things started out normal, with my coconut milk and granola. I broke camp intending to leave Casa de Luna before too many people were stirring, but it turned out they were already making pancakes by the time I was ready to go. So I helped myself to a stack of massive pancakes, snapped a few pics, and hit the road. Literally.
Courtesy of Casa de Luna
The next section of the trail is closed due to a fire that came through the area in 2013. There aren't any alternate trails, so the detour consists of 11 miles of paved road walking, then two more miles of trail to get back on the PCT. Fortunately there was a ton of shoulder, and most of the cars were going in the opposite direction (seems like quite a few people commute from Lake Hughes towards LA) so the walking wasn't the worst thing ever. I even had a few very friendly people pull over and strike up a conversation with me, asking why there were so many hikers on the road, where I was from, why I was hiking, if I needed water/food, etc. I thought about taking them up on their offers for a ride to the trailhead, but ended up walking the whole thing.
On the road again...
And I'm glad I did. I rolled into Lake Hughes around 9:30, not having stopped for my usual morning snack. I grabbed an orange from the convenience store, and was about to keep walking when I passed two hikers who recommended I stop by The Rock Inn, which had great breakfast and lunch. Warm food sounded good on this windy day, so I checked out the menu. The folks were super friendly, the food was great, and the place was warm. That, coupled with a full belly, made it really hard to leave. After an hour and a half I drug myself on to the road again.
"I'll always get a salad in town" I told myself... At least there are avocados?
The miles were slow after that stop. I finished the road walk and got back on the trail at mile 493.4. The highlight of the afternoon was my companion at the spring where I filled my water bottles up. It was a little hummingbird who flew up and took a drink of the trickle of water coming out of the piped spring. I was close enough that I could see the little thing shoot its tongue out and lap up the water while its wings hummed away, keeping it suspended in the air. Nature is pretty freaking rad.
After patiently waiting for its turn
I hit mile 500 just as my feet were starting to tell me to stop. Walking on asphalt for half of the day took its toll. It took a mile to find a good campsite, but I found my best one yet. A sheltered, secluded spot with a great view overlooking the Mojave desert. After spending the last two nights around 50+ hikers, it's nice to have a little more separation.
Poodle Dog Bush, this time in bloom
Mile five hundred! Still have a ways to go...
Plenty of green once I got back on the trail
The view from camp. I'll be wandering out across that desert tomorrow
Day 21: mile 501.0 - 529.3
- San Andreas
- Hikertown
- Headwind, crosswind, tailwind...
- New face: Goodwill
Woke up to a beautiful red sunrise this morning, aaaaaaaaand then proceeded to fall right back asleep. After tossing and turning all night, the best sleep I got was that hour after it started getting light. Go figure.
The morning was spent hiking in my down jacket, with my hoodie and my gloves. Even once the trail dropped down to cross the San Andreas fault and started heading across the Mojave, the wind and clouds persisted, making for a cool day. The upcoming section is the dreaded "aqueduct walk", a portion of trail that follows the uncovered and covered LA aqueducts across nearly twenty miles of the Mojave Desert. Most hikers night-hike this section because of daytime temperatures typically in the triple digits and absolutely zero shade. I was fully expecting to night-hike this part as well, but given the unseasonable temperatures, this won't be necessary. I'm sure all the clouds aren't good for the solar farms out here, but they are great for me!
Dry, dry desert
Before the aqueduct walk I stopped to fill my water bottles up at Hikertown. I had heard that this trail angel stop had a "The Hills Have Eyes" feel to it, and it didn't disappoint. Between the wind-ravaged landscape, the half-assembled mannequins and dolls that littered the property, and the guns that were haphazardly scattered around, the place was... Interesting??? I filled up 5L for the upcoming 24-mile waterless stretch, chatted with some other hikers about how odd this place was, and headed out.
Toys lying around Hikertown
The "hotel" and "post office"
The first clue that the wind was going to howl should have been the wind farms that were scattered across the desert. I don't think they just throw up windmills anywhere... I tightened my ball cap, buttoned my shirt up all the way, and wore my handkerchief bandit-style for the rest of the afternoon to keep the dust at bay. When I had a tailwind it was great, but most of the time it felt like I was fighting a strong headwind. My windburned cheeks can vouch for that.
Afternoon attire
I eventually caught up with Ohm, a guy from Chicago who I met at Lake Hughes a few days ago, and went to school at Occidental, another college in the LA area (and one that played CMS in sports), where he majored in physics. We talked over the wind for a few hours, which was a great way to forget about our sore feet. We hike at a similar pace, so I'm sure we'll be seeing more of one another in the future.
We pitched our tents in the most sheltered area we could find, which isn't saying much. I'm lying here listening to my tent fabric creak in the wind. I hope these tent designers knew what they were doing...
I wonder if I walk faster than the water flows?
And now for the covered portion of the aqueduct
Some kind soul put a chair in the middle of the desert...
...and I took full advantage
Comin' for you, mountains!
Day 22: mile 529.3 - 553.4
- Wind farming
- Chrome domes return
- Trail magic, courtesy of Tehachapi trail angels
After tossing and turning while listening to the wind batter my tent, I almost got up at 2am to start hiking. Almost. I ended up pulling the plug on my air mattress at 6am, managing a few additional hours of sleep. Washoe Valley wind ain't got shit on Mojave wind.
The first ten miles of the day completed the trip across the desert floor. Mostly gravel-road-walking, with a bit of covered aqueduct mixed in. The windmills that were wayyyyyy out in the distance just a day earlier were now up close and personal, and they were cranking away. It was pretty cool to hear the "swoosh... swoosh... swoosh..." of the turbines as we passed by.
Some of the only shade I could find
You can only take so many pictures of a wind farm...
The wind was blowing hard enough that you couldn't carry a conversation or hear anything on your headphones, so the method for the morning was to put your head down and walk. Battling the strong headwind didn't help, but I finally made it to the water source and treated my feet to a well-earned washing and rest.
Those clouds that I was grateful for yesterday were nowhere to be seen today, so the early afternoon got hot. The exposed, uphill hiking meant that it was time for the sun umbrella to make another appearance. Even with a moderate wind, those umbrellas are amazing. You can get your own little microclimate going on under there! I didn't take many opportunities to look out from under my umbrella, and when I did I was usually met with dry, brown scenery (with the exception of an occasional flower).
Starting to see some trees again! But still pretty bare
I don't know how flowers survive out here...
...but there are all shapes and sizes
Just as I was getting ready to take my second afternoon break, I came around a bend in the trail and saw a circle of chairs. Turns out some trail angels from Tehachapi set us up with some chairs, some fresh green apples, and a ton of water. I enjoyed an apple, and bitterly looked at the water.
It was supposed to be 25 miles from the last water source to the next one, so I had filtered 6L, which I just packed through the hottest part of the day. Had I known about this little surprise, my pack would have been about ten pounds lighter. Hikers CAN'T rely on water caches (what happens if the cache just ran out, or the person maintaining it was rushed to the ER?), so I'll keep packing water as if they don't exist. I think caches could save a life in an emergency (someone's water bladder breaks, or they really underestimate how much water they need) but for the non-emergency hiking situations (which I plan to stick to) they are just a nice gesture.
Thank you, trail angels of Tehachapi!
I should have camped right next to the cache, because it was sheltered and flat. As soon as the trail started dropping off the mountain, the wind returned, and flat spaces were at a premium. I finally found one, albeit five feet from the trail. I can see (and hear) five windmills from tonight's pad, so hopefully these ear plugs do their thing!
Yesterday I was on top of those mountains wayyyy over there!
Day 23: mile 553.4 - 566.5
- Still blowing
- Dogbite
- Tehachapi
The wind didn't blow as hard as I thought it would, and I had a warm night's sleep despite not having my rain fly on (it makes too much noise flapping in the wind). But I am really looking forward to sleeping in a bed tonight!
As soon as I got away from my campsite, the wind picked up again. Maybe I did a decent job of finding a spot after all. It was thirteen miles to Highway 58, where I was planning to hitch to Tehachapi from, and the miles were quick as I didn't want to waste time in the wind. Most of the morning was spent zigzagging through windmills, with a few snake encounters to liven things up.
More windmills...
...and flowers!! (and windmills)
I caught up with Ohm and Goodwill about two miles before Highway 58, and we decided to hitch in together. As we got closer it became apparent that we were going to have to stand on the off-ramp (which wasn't getting any traffic), because this "highway" was more like an Interstate. Just as I was about to pull my hitching sign out and walk down the off ramp, a car pulled up and out popped a hiker! I ran over and asked if he was going to Tehachapi, and it turned out the guy was a trail angel who was in fact going to Tehachapi. And he had room for the three of us and our packs. What's supposed to be so hard about this hitchhiking thing?
Dogbite, as he introduced himself, drove us the ten miles to town and gave us a rundown (they have like three dollar stores, an airport that lets hikers pitch their tents on one of the grassy areas, and no shortage of restaurants) before dropping us off. I had some time to kill before checking in to the hotel, so I grabbed some Mediterranean food with Pacman. Then I hit up the raved-about bakery and grabbed a loaf of zucchini bread for my afternoon snack. Yes, an entire loaf. I might save some for the family.
My parents and sister are spending the Memorial Day weekend in Kings Canyon, and will be passing through Tehachapi tonight. We had planned for them to pick me up along Highway 58, but I hiked a little faster than expected, so I'll meet them at the room this evening. It will be a brief, but very welcome, visit. I don't think I'm going to shower before they get here, so they can get the full "hiker Garrett" experience. So I guess that jacuzzi will just have to wait...
I've always wanted to hop on a train... Too bad it's going the wrong way
I had to try to not get any windmills in a picture