PCT Day 28

 <--PREVIOUS                                                                                                             NEXT-->

PCT Day 28, 09 June 2022 (Thursday)

"Pocket Pull"

Start Location:	Tehachapi	Destination:	Tehachapi
PCT Miles Day 28:	0	Cum PCT Miles:	566.4
Non-PCT Miles Day 28:	0	Cum All Miles:	592.9
PCT Miles Remaining:	2,086.2
Elevation Gain Day 28:	0	Cum Elevation Gain:	95,203

 

Today is a much needed Zero Day in Tehachapi.  I'm all clean again, and I even shaved.  With my resupply box, I have a brand new pair of shoes, the first time this trip.  My first two pair were shoes I had at home that I had done day hikes in, but figured they still had some miles left in them.  It will be nice to hike at least a few miles in completely new shoes and insoles.

So, it turns out that the new pockets I had put into my hiking pants in Big Bear were pretty bad.  I got a tip on Facebook--I guess FB is good for some things--about a local tailor, a real professional tailor, not an amateur.  So, once again I am getting new pockets.  At least this time I got to approve the fabric.

I just picked up the pants with new pockets and it is a huge improvement, and I'm hoping they will last at least as long as the pants themselves.  By luck, there is also a UPS Store right near the tailor shop, so I do not have to go back to the Post Office to mail some stuff back home.  I also arranged a ride back to the trail with another trail volunteer.

The next stretch might be the hardest yet.  It's 136 miles over seven days, water is a big issue once again, and it's still going to be very hot.  This is going to be my biggest food carry yet.  So the next couple of days are going to be fun with high food weight and high water weight.  But then things change.  Technically, I am already in the Sierran territory, which started in Tyler Horse Canyon a couple days ago, but in one week I will be at Kennedy Meadows South, the traditional start of the Sierra section for the PCT.  No more big water carries, and most would agree, much improved scenery.  It's also very likely there will be more than a few small patches of snow.

BTW, if anyone cares about stuff like this, where I resume my hike tomorrow at Hwy 58 is where the author of "Wild," Cheryl Strayed, started her PCT hike.

 

 <--PREVIOUS                                                                                                             NEXT-->

PCT Day 27

 

 <--PREVIOUS                                                                                                             NEXT-->

PCT Day 27, 08 June 2022 (Wednesday)

"The Hitching Post"

Start Location:	Wilderness Campsite	Destination:	Tehachapi
PCT Miles Day 27:	21.3	Cum PCT Miles:	566.4
Non-PCT Miles Day 27:	0.3	Cum All Miles:	592.9
PCT Miles Remaining:	2,086.2
Elevation Gain Day 27:	3,863	Cum Elevation Gain:	95,203

 

Well, this won't be the most eventful post, it was all about getting to Hwy 58, and then getting a ride from there to Tehachapi where I am staying for two nights.  Most of the day was spent walking through the Tehachapi Pass Wind Farm--I think it's the second largest in the world.  It's very impressive how many wind mills there are here.  And it seems like sort of a lab for just about every type, shape, and size of windmill.

I had called the Kern County Dial-A-Ride to get picked up at 5:30PM, but I got to Hwy 58 around 4:15 and wanted to see if I could get to the Tehachapi Post Office before they closed at 5PM.  So, I decided to try to hitch a ride, not so easy for a single man on the side of a freeway.  However, after about 10 minutes, a very nice local, Silvio, stopped and was super helpful in taking me to the post office.  We got there about one minute before they closed and I was able to get my resupply box.  From there, I was going to get a Lyft or Uber to my hotel, but two local ladies, obviously familiar with PCT hikers, offered to drive me to my hotel...perfect!  And so lucky!

I went to Walmart for some food and a few other items I needed, and noticed a Panda Express right nearby, so got dinner there and relaxed back at the hotel.

No pics today.

 

<--PREVIOUS                                                                                                             NEXT-->

PCT Day 26

 

 <--PREVIOUS                                                                                                             NEXT-->

PCT Day 26, 07 June 2022 (Tuesday)

"An Unfair Wind"

Start Location:	Hiker Town	Destination:	Wilderness Campsite
PCT Miles Day 26:	27.5	Cum PCT Miles:	545.1
Non-PCT Miles Day 26:	0	Cum All Miles:	571.3
PCT Miles Remaining:	2,107.5
Elevation Gain Day 26:	3,583	Cum Elevation Gain:	91,340

The wind was blowing pretty hard all night, and was still going pretty good when I left like Hiker Town.  However, as soon as I turned eastward, the wind which should have been at my back and helping me, just died.  Later, when the trail made a major switch of directions again, a strong wind picked up again.  It took a lot of effort to hike into this wind, the kind you need to really lean into.

It’s a few miles walk from Hiker Town to get to the LA aqueduct.  There is an impressive amount of water that’s flowing through that thing.  For about 17 miles you are walking near, or in the vicinity, of the aqueduct facility.

It’s the longest stretch of flat walking on the PCT so far, and maybe the longest of the entire PCT.  But this does not mean it’s necessarily easy hiking.  This time of year you are walking under the hot sun and there is almost no shade for over 17 miles until you get to Cottonwood Creek Bridge.

All the PCTers pile under the bridge since it provides much desired, and needed, shade.  Many people rest there for multiple hours until it gets cooler in the late afternoon when they resume hiking.  There is also usually water provided there, as there was today.  This water comes at a very good spot as most people have consumed most of what they had at the beginning of the day.

After leaving the bridge, you spend a fair amount of time hiking through a large wind farm.  Of course, everything seems more expansive when you are experiencing it on foot--like walking around your neighborhood vs. driving  though it.  The wind farm I will be walking through tomorrow will be magnitudes larger.  Walking through the wind farm wasn’t unpleasant at all, though, except fighting the wind.

Good, sheltered campsites are very rare in the area I’m at tonight.  So, my tent is very exposed to the winds.   I think it’s going to get a real wind tunnel test tonight.

 

Walking along the Los Angeles Aqueduct in the morning

 

 

The reality of what 90% of the trail along the aqueduct looks like

 

Windmills peeking over the hills

 

 

This part of the PCT has an easement on private land, and this is a reminder to the workers there to watch out for us hikers

 

 <--PREVIOUS                                                                                                             NEXT-->

PCT Day 25

 <--PREVIOUS                                                                                                      NEXT-->

PCT Day 25, 06 June 2022 (Monday)

"D Miles"

Start Location:	Upper Shake CG	Destination:	Hiker Town
PCT Miles Day 25:	24.2	Cum PCT Miles:	517.6
Non-PCT Miles Day 25:	0.3	Cum All Miles:	543.8
PCT Miles Remaining:	2,135.0
Elevation Gain Day 25:	3,797	Cum Elevation Gain:	87,757

Well I didn’t get murdered last night at the horror movie set of a campground, so that was good.

Today I passed 500 miles (thus the roman numeral "D" in the post title) while traveling on some interesting trail near the Lancaster/Palmdale desert.   It’s been such a blur of hiking, I don’t even know what to think about hiking this many miles.  I do know I’m looking forward to getting to Tehachapi in a couple days and taking my second zero.  I am definitely ready for another rest day.

It was windy again today, but not as much as yesterday.  I still got pushed around a bit by the wind, and had to be satisfied with a little slower hiking pace while heading into the wind, but still it wasn’t all that bad.

I am about 9 miles ahead of schedule, and ended the day at a very funky place called Hiker Town.  It looks like an old Hollywood Western movie set, and I am staying in the doctor/dentist building.  It’s a popular place for PCT hikers to stop at or stay because there are no other viable campsites for many miles around.  It’s also the jumping off point for hiking the Los Angeles Aqueduct section of trail.  This is another one of those really iconic sections of trail, and many hikers like to do it in the evening when it is much cooler and finding shade is not an issue.

It’s interesting, for the first time, I saw absolutely no other PCT hikers on the trail today, but when I got to Hiker Town there were probably around 30.  And probably another 10-20 arrived after me.

Whoa, this is getting serious.  500 miles!

Who would ever guess that this oak forest is just west of Lancaster.

Hiker Town.

 

My "room" at Hiker Town.

 <--PREVIOUS                                                                                                             NEXT-->

PCT Day 24

 

 <--PREVIOUS                                                                                                             NEXT-->

PCT Day 24, 05 June 2022 (Sunday)

"Gone Was The Wind...Until Today"

Start Location:	Wilderness Campsite	Destination:	Upper Shake CG
PCT Miles Day 24:	25.2	Cum PCT Miles:	493.4
Non-PCT Miles Day 24:	1.8	Cum All Miles:	519.3
PCT Miles Remaining:	2,159.2
Elevation Gain Day 24:	4,389	Cum Elevation Gain:	83,960

Today was kind of a strange day.  Water turned out not to be much of an issue.  Of course, you don’t really know that until you actually come upon water.  There was only one reliable source for today, the Green Valley Fire Station. But as it turned out, several of the less reliable sources did indeed have water, and there was also a very good water cache at a location that was not even listed as a water source.

Then something happened that hasn’t happened yet on this hike, strong winds came up out of the west.  There have been some blustery winds here and there, but nothing that really lasted or that was really that strong.   But the winds today were the first that actually impeded my hiking.

I was afraid it was going to be a problem setting up my tent tonight with these winds.  I ended up camping at Upper Shake Campground, which I thought was a normal campground, and I thought there would be other hikers here.  But this campground is very strange, it feels deserted, there is actually no one else here, and everything looks abandoned.  I know in the last week or so at least several other hikers have stayed here, but there was no word of how strange this place is.

I decided to camp here tonight because the timing of the day was right and there was supposed to be a small stream here.  When I got here I looked for the stream but could only find a dry stream bed.  I looked and looked, and it was getting late in the day, and I finally stumbled upon what looked like a path going down towards what could be a creek bed.  And sure enough there it was, with water.  A very small flow, but enough.

Also, this place is pretty protected from the winds.  I can hear the winds howling through the treetops, but it is fairly calm at ground level.

I gained several more miles over my plan today, so I am about 8 miles ahead.  I am trying to make my hike to Highway 58 shorter on Wednesday when I go to Tehachapi.  The shorter the hike the earlier I get to the highway, and the easier it will be to get a ride into town.  Also it will give me more time to do the things I need to do in town.

A Striped Racer just out for some morning sun

 

 

One last green valley  before the vast desert

 

 

It's not much flow, but if you need water, it'll do

 

A lot of today looked like this

 

 

This looks like it could be from a scene out of Fellowship Of The Ring.  "You must walk through the Burn Forest to get to Mount Doom."  Ok, so when you are walking for ~12 hours a day, there is time for a lot of thoughts to wiggle their way through your brain.
 

 

<--PREVIOUS                                                                                                             NEXT-->