“There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.”
– Beverly Sills
The Seventh Week – Staying Strong And Making Strides To Reach The Sierra
Making it to Mile 550… Because every step counts!
Day 43 – Tuesday 22nd May 2018, Wild Camp at Mile 538 to Wild Camp at Mile 558, 20 miles
After camping within the Iberdrola Wind Farm last night, we thought it would be the noise of the wind turbines disturbing our sleep, not the sound of night hikers hitting tent pegs into the ground as they took shelter between the Juniper bushes, much like ourselves! When we woke up in the morning, we found there were even more hikers around and we were right in the middle of a mini tent village with someone camped right next door! Butterscotch and Snake had pitched across the way, and several others whom we had seen at Hiker Town but have not yet introduced ourselves to, were packing away their gear and getting ready to head off.
Looking onto the vast Iberdrola Wind Farm.
It was not our earliest time getting away from camp, but it was a ‘Treksnappy’ record in that we managed to re-pack our bags, get the tent down, have breakfast, brush our teeth and be ready to go all within an hour! That’s a great achievement for us. It’s only taken us 43 days to master it! (How did I ever shower, apply makeup, straighten my hair and get ready for work in less time?!)
When we set off, we still had a couple of miles of walking through the wind farm to go before beginning a steady uphill climb on long switchbacks. We knew there was water within 4 miles at Tylerhorse Canyon, which when we got there was much like a hiker’s convention with everyone who had been on the trail that morning busy trying to find a good enough spot to collect water. Fortunately, we weren’t desperate to top up having filled up yesterday prior to camping, which meant we still had enough water left to see us through the first 10 miles of today. We say ‘fortunately’ as the water was barely trickling through the canyon and what little was able to be collected was thick with silt. Although we could have filtered the water to make it safe to drink, our filter would then need a back flush as it would likely have been blocked by so much grit and sand. By continuing another 4 miles, Gamble Spring sounded more promising, so we decided to wait until then to camel up and top up our water supplies.
Day 43 and back on the trail within an hour of waking up – a Treksnappy record!
Bright purple flowers inject some colour into the desert landscape.
Before reaching Gamble Spring, we had a nice surprise. Wayne spotted a Californian Horned Lizard (also known as a ‘Horny Toad’), laying still on the sand close to a flowering bush. These lizards are very distinctive because of the little horns that run along their head and body, but they are good at camouflaging themselves amongst the desert chaparral. Compared with the multitude of lizards we see every day on the trail that are extremely fast movers, the Horned Lizard seems much slower and less agile. As it was as still as a stone when we saw it, I picked it up for a closer look and stroked its underside. The lizard seemed to like it and opened its mouth wide. It did cross my mind that it may have bitten me, but it didn’t appear to have any teeth! We filmed the Horned Lizard and took a few close-up shots, then put it back carefully next to the bush, after which it ambled off minding its own business.
Spotting a Californian Horned Lizard along the trail.
For me, seeing wildlife up close on the trail is always one of the best aspects of hiking!
When we got to Gamble Spring we had to hike a third of a mile off the trail to access the water, but it was worth it as there was a good, strong flow and it was running clear. We bumped into Three Cats, Double Check and Flash again, a father, mother and daughter thru-hiking together, who were also filtering water from the spring. We were admiring Three Cats’ choice of ankle gaiters as he was donning a pair that were covered in Union Jacks. He is distinctly American, so for us as Brits, he had made a top choice in our opinion!
We were only saying the other day during one of our random trail conversations that it would be good if hikers wore gaiters in a pattern that represented the country they were from so we could instantly tell their nationality. (Not necessarily flags, but for England we could have the London Eye, a telephone box, a red double-decker bus, a crown for Queen Elizabeth II etc.) Every country has some instantly recognisable symbols that could be used for fun. There we have it, a business idea in the making!
That morning when we set off there was not a cloud in the sky, but only a few hours later lots of huge cumulus clouds had built up over the mountain ridges we were now traversing. The ridges gradually took us from 4,000 feet to just over 6,000 feet, so as we were now higher than anything else around, we had a tremendous view looking across the wind farm and back to where we had hiked yesterday along the aqueduct. We were grateful of the lucky weather window yet again as there wasn’t much of a breeze today (compared with yesterday, many of the wind turbines hardly moved) and it would have been baking hot if not for the presence of the clouds putting us in shade.
Following the trail that zigzagged up through the dry desert hills.
From the top we had a tremendous view looking out to the desert where the Mojave continues.
More flowers brighten up a dry, dusty section of the PCT.
We had decided that when we finally reached the top and before starting the descent to Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road we would get our sleep pads out and chill out for an hour and have lunch. Today we managed to hold out until 1pm, but again we felt hungry about an hour after eating and again we are thinking about food way too much! It was an effort to get our trail shoes back on and get going once more, but every step we now took was another step closer to the Best Western Motel that we’d be enjoying in Tehachapi the following day. Today was another twenty miler, the fifth we had done in a row, leaving us just 8 miles to hike down to Highway 58 in the morning where we’d be trying to hitch a ride into town.
The trail will provide! We felt lucky that by the afternoon we had good cloud cover on what would otherwise be a baking hot day without shade.
Looking back across the tremendous desert hills.
A lizard we spotted whilst having lunch. Usually, they run off before we even get chance to turn the camera on!
No sooner had we left our lunch spot and rounded the bend, than we spotted two large sun parasols over the trail along with several chairs, already taken up by a number of weary hikers, including Nick and Tiahnna. We were excited at the thought of some trail magic and couldn’t believe we had been laid just around the corner from it for over an hour. As we eagerly walked over expecting a cold can of coke at the very least, we were sorely disappointed when all that was on offer was water. As life saving as it is, we were kind of hoping for a bit more! Nevertheless, with the shade and seating provided by some amazing trail angels who’d brought the equipment up the trail, it was a fantastic haven in the desert for hikers to rest and fill up their water supplies.
We were very excited at spotting some trail magic in the distance!
Mile 549 – Even if all the sodas have gone, there’s shade and water provided by some amazing trail angels!
We were then on a mission to cover the last 9 miles and get down to the road. As we followed the track along one ridge after another, we could see that we would be entering a wind farm once again. To make the time pass quicker we listened to comedian Micky Flanagan perform one of his live shows on Wayne’s phone. He is absolutely hilarious so there were plenty of laugh out loud moments as we powered along the trail. Still, after another snack break, the last five miles seemed long and never-ending as we could see the road in the distance, but it just never felt like we were getting any closer to it.
We crossed through a beautiful wild flower meadow before reaching the next wind farm.
A regular feature, we passed through another wind farm before getting to camp.
As we came off the final hillside, the trail wound down to the road through an area of land maintained by the Bureau of Land Management. Of course we didn’t think we’d be the only hikers to plan on camping here and last as usual, there was already a little tent village going on. We managed to find a big enough spot left to pitch our tent then went to check the names on the nearby PCT Trail Register of which hikers had already passed through. We had still not yet caught up with Scoop, Gandalph the Blonde or Ironman, but we we’re getting closer. There’s only about a day’s hiking between us now.
Dinner was quesadillas again and we used up our final trail rations so it was 3 tortillas each and double cheese. Although they are extremely tasty as trail food goes, we’ll be glad to get something different in Tehachapi tomorrow!
Day 44 – Wednesday 23rd May 2018, Wild Camp at Mile 558 to Highway 58 at Mile 566, 8 miles (+ 9 mile hitch to downtown Tehachapi, The SureStay Motel by Best Western)
We’re on a roll! We were up and away at 7am again, eager to get down the trail, hitch a ride and make it town by 11am. (All being well!) Our packs felt light as we’d eaten all of our food rations, which meant we were flying along the trail at a really good pace, the only downside being we had just two breakfast bars each remaining to see us through to town, so by 8am we were already hankering after eating our second bar and dreaming of a big burrito breakfast with all the trimmings to fill us up!
As we crossed the Tehachapi Willow Springs Road we saw for the first time, apart from trail markers, a big sign dedicated to the PCT. It informed us we had been walking through the ‘Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail’ – Desert Segment. Essentially, we had been doing this since leaving Campo on the Mexican border some 44 days ago! After crossing the road there are also some information boards explaining the history and development of the wind farm, along with some general information about the PCT and the ‘Leave No Trace’ principles. It was a shame then that some hikers had left their trash alongside a small water cache provided by trail angel ‘Bohemian Jess’.
In case we were in any doubt, we were walking through the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail Desert Segment.
Hike a mile… Or two thousand! This was the first PCT information board we had seen on the trail.
A tradition from Casa de Luna is for hikers to paint stones. This ‘good luck’ stone was a nice touch from Bohemian Jess, another PCT trail angel.
The PCT then continued straight through the wind farm, winding gradually uphill before descending on the other side of the mountain ridge. Both the scenery and sandy trail were very similar to yesterday only this morning we had less cloud, but thankfully it wasn’t yet too hot. On the other side of the ridge, just as we were beginning the descent, there was a perfectly positioned bench looking out across the vast Tehachapi mountain area that was dotted with wind turbines in every direction. We took advantage of this unexpected luxury of proper seating and enjoyed our second breakfast with view!
And the wind farm continues…
The sky was cloudless in comparison with yesterday, but thankfully it wasn’t yet too hot.
Panorama looking across to the Tehachapi Wind Farm on the other side of the valley. We were on a mission to get down from the mountains to Highway 58.
Then it was downhill all the way on long meandering switchbacks to reach Highway 58, where we were going to try and hitch to Tehachapi. We had read that is was more difficult to hitch from this road, so thankfully Tehachapi has a ‘Trail Angel List’ with phone numbers of wonderful people whom hikers can call and request a lift to town.
Job done! Now to try and get a hitch to the trail town of Tehachapi for a well-deserved night in a motel.
It looked like a bus queue at the slip road as we walked on over, but it was hikers waiting patiently for their free trail angel rides. We managed to jump in Travis’ car with two other hikers, Ritz and Snocket, as he had two spare seats, and within minutes we had arrived in Tehachapi. Before dropping us at the motel, Travis was also kind enough to drive us to the Post Office to collect our bounce box, as it would have been an hour’s walk for us there and back from the motel as Tehachapi is so spread out. Having limited time in town, that was extremely helpful as it meant one of our must-do jobs was already complete. Even better, when we arrived at the motel at 11:30am just expecting to leave our bags as check-in wasn’t until 3pm, we were told that our room was ready! Bonus! Also waiting for us there was a new pair of trail shoes for the both of us to hopefully see us through the next 700 to 1000 miles!
Sticking with our tried and tested Salomons to see us through the Sierra section of the PCT.
So we showered straight away and got all of our electronic gear on charge. Next stop was the laundry before heading to the supermarket to resupply with 12 days of food. (We are going to carry 6 days of food to Kennedy Meadows, then post ourselves 6 days of food to collect when we arrive there that will see us through the first week in the Sierra.) As it happened there was a Dunkin Donuts opposite the laundry so we popped inside whilst waiting for the wash cycle to finish and indulged in a half-dozen doughnuts and coffee!
The large, well-stocked supermarket in Tehachapi is Albertson’s, which we left 2 hours later and 300 dollars lighter, but with a big trolley of food to see us through to the Sierra. Hopefully with all the extra snacks we’ll now be carrying, we’ll manage to keep hiker hunger at bay! Our problem then was how to get it back to the motel as it was way too much to carry. Thankfully, those trail gods were watching over us again! Just when we thought we’d have to push the trolley with all of our shopping down the main road back to the motel, (a 30-minute walk away), Trail Angel Jeff pulled over and offered us a ride. He said he was out “Hiker hunting!” and knew the supermarket is a good spot to offer lifts. We signed his ‘PCT Hiker Book’ and thanked him profusely!
Very grateful to Tehachapi Trail Angel Jeff who gave us a ride back from the supermarket with all of our shopping bags!
It was still after 5pm by the time we got back to the room, even with the helpful lifts given to us by the Tehachapi trail angels. Sorting out the food into daily rations was going to be another big job, so we made the decision that we would stay another night and take a zero the following day. We would then have adequate time to organise our food resupply package, get to the Post Office, plus edit photos and upload a blog post and video update. The other convincing factor was that the motel had a swimming pool and hot tub, but we’d not had the time to use them yet!
As it was well recommended to us, we decided to go for dinner at the ‘Thai-hachapi’ Restaurant in the downtown area. The staff were friendly, and the Thai food was amazing. We just wished we hadn’t been so eager to ask for ‘local spicy’, as being on the trail for so long, our bowels didn’t agree with so much chilli the following morning! Thank goodness for our own private bathroom. It would have been a complete nightmare if we’d have been straight back on the trail that morning!
Our second courses of authentic Thai food in Tehachapi! Wayne wants my trail name to be ‘Two Plates’ because I’m always so hungry!
With staying an extra day, we stayed up late watching YouTube updates from other hikers on the PCT who have already reached and crossed parts of the Sierra to try and get a better picture of the current snow situation. We had previously made the decision that we were not going to summit Mount Whitney, the highest mountain in the contiguous United States, as it is not directly part of the PCT and we have already been to the top as part of our JMT thru-hike in 2014. However, having seen footage of hikers on the summit and that much of the trail is already clear of snow, we’ve decided to go for it and do Whitney again! (As well as walking, making rash decisions under the influence of alcohol is also something we do a lot of!) It was 2am when we finally went to bed! If we were in the tent, we would have already had around 6 hours sleep by now…
Day 45 – Thursday 24th May 2018, The SureStay Motel by Best Western, Tehachapi, zero miles
As breakfast in the motel is only available until 9am on weekdays, we set the alarm for 8am. We were not going to miss out on the chance of food when it was already in the price of our stay! When we went across to the dining area it was already filled with lots of hungry hikers on their second and third plates. Taking up every available seat, they were enthusiastically making the most of the limited goodies on offer. With everyone looking a bit dishevelled and eating like it was their last meal on Earth, to any ‘normal’ person staying at the motel, it could easily have been mistaken for a homeless shelter! We too tucked into the scrambled eggs and sausage, then blueberry muffins, followed by homemade waffles and maple syrup! Compared to on the trail it was a 3-course breakfast banquet, completely gluttonous, but perfect for some calorie loading whilst we had the chance. (The only downside was that we were completely bloated afterwards, our bodies no longer used to such large portions of food in one go!)
Afterwards, our main task was to organise our food resupply into daily rations that would then see us through until our next ‘big’ resupply stop in the town of Bishop in a couple of week’s time. It seemed such a long way off, but from experience, two weeks on the trail flies by. Organising our food includes getting rid of any bulky packaging, as well as splitting large bags of ‘stuff’ into smaller portions.
Our 12 days of resupply food rations!
Although we want to eat more food, it’s a catch 22 situation as we don’t want to carry more if it. So it’s a case of looking for calorie rich items that will give us energy, but also keep us fuller for longer. Peanut butter for instance, is a hiker favourite as it has both fats and protein and is excellent for boosting calorie intake based on the amount of calories it has per gram. It’s just a shame that it has now become one of our least favourite trail foods as we’ve had so much of it in the past! So instead for the next 12 days at least, we’ve resorted to an extra chocolate bar per day that will give us an additional 250 calories. (It will probably be our third breakfast of the day!)
Whilst I was busy sorting out food portions and organising the food resupply box, Wayne was working on the computer putting together his video updates from Southern California Sections D and E. (If you haven’t already noticed, we’ve tried to make it easier to find his YouTube Channel by adding a link to it to the main menu bar at the top of our Homepage on the blog!)
Once all of those tasks were out of the way, the most awkward job of the day was going to be getting from our motel back to the Post Office, which was not too far as the crow flies, but seeing as there was a train line in the way separating us from the main road with signs all along emphasising ‘Do not cross’, we set off having to walk the ‘long’ way round. With the heavy box in hand, Wayne was not looking forward to the 30-minute walk ahead (town miles do not count towards our final distance figure), so we were both thrilled to be on the receiving end of some wonderful Tehachapi Trail Magic again. Literally a lady, with her daughter in the car too, pulled over and asked us if we wanted a ride to the Post Office! How could we refuse!
Every visit to a trail town involves a stop at the local Post Office to either collect or send off another resupply package or our bounce box containing items we need later so have sent forward along the trail.
Saving us a good amount of time, distance and effort, we were then able to spend some of the afternoon wandering through the Tehachapi Downtown area where today there was a Farmer’s Market in full swing along the main street where the theatre is located. We stopped to sample the street food and had 3 tacos each for $5. As finger food, they were a good snack and would keep us going until dinner time! (Clearly after breakfast we weren’t feeling too full up for long!)
Wandering around downtown Tehachapi like proper tourists! (Especially since we had showered and were wearing clean clothes!)
The BeeKay Theatre in Tehachapi has a striking mural painted along the side of it!
When we returned to the hotel there was just enough time for a bit of hot tub relaxation before the sun went off the pool area. Nick and Tiahnna were also sat in there, making the most of their second zero day at the motel. We could quite easily have stayed another extra night too, but we had to resist the urge of getting sucked into the trail town vortex with all its modern conveniences. At least being back on the trail we’d get a good night’s sleep and not be distracted and kept awake with the internet and TV!
Our final task of the day was to decide on where to go for dinner, which as it was practically next door, we decided would be Burger King. Hence more fast food calorie loading! Having had so many big meals and sweet snacks over the past couple of days, instead of satiating our hiker hunger, we may just have made it worse! We’ll keep you posted on that. But I’m definitely having another 3-course breakfast in the morning simply because we can!
Day 46 – Friday 25th May 2018, The SureStay Motel by Best Western, Tehachapi, to Wild Camp at Mile 569, 2.5 miles
Breakfast in the motel was much less busy today, so we didn’t know if all the hikers had hangovers after partying until late around the pool last night, or whether they had left early to get back on the trail. We expect that it probably wasn’t the latter! All the more sausages and eggs for us then!
On check-out day, one of our least favourite and also one of the most time-consuming tasks is re-packing our rucksacks, which can take up to an hour by the time we’ve organised everything into separate dry bags and divvied up our new food resupply. We felt a little less pressured today though as check out wasn’t until midday.
We were excited to be donning new pairs of trail shoes that we were hoping would now see us through the next 700 to 1000 miles! (Fingers crossed!) Having ordered them online to be delivered to the motel, both pairs arrived promptly without any issues. We stuck with our trusted Salomon brand, Wayne opting for Ultra X3s and my choice being XA 3D Pros, simply as we know they fit us well, are comfortable and work for us as we like the quick lace system. As they’re identical to our last pairs (except for the colour) we are hoping they won’t really need any breaking in and that we’ll continue to be blister free!
From old to new! Let’s see how far these pairs of Salomons take us!
We had already decided that we weren’t going to rush to get back on the trail. Our plan was to check out at the latest possible time, then sit in the lobby to use the WiFi to complete any final tasks as in all likelihood we won’t have access to the internet again until we reach Kennedy Meadows in a week’s time. We were then going to have an early dinner in town so we wouldn’t have to cook at camp or carry any extra food as we were already at maximum capacity with 6 days of food and 3 litres of water each! Our plan then to get back to the trailhead was to take the local Kern Area Transit bus to Cameron Canyon Road/ Highway 58 junction for $3 each, scheduled for 3:40pm.
As the bus stop was right outside Burger King, we chose to dine fast food style for our late lunch/ early dinner. We were then patiently waiting at the bus stop from 3:30pm, and still sat there at 5pm! I phoned the bus service operator who said that this particular route was running behind schedule but that the bus should be there within 10 to 15 minutes. As we still wanted to hike around 5 miles before we camped, we were by now getting a little short of time! So I messaged the ‘Tehachapi Trail Angels’ group on Facebook to see if anyone was available to give us a ride back to the trailhead. Fortunately, Jeff, the trail angel who had given us a ride back from the supermarket the previous day came to our aid again!
Jeff’s the man! We were completely blown away by the hiker friendly town of Tehachapi and the wonderful trail angels that assist hikers there.
When he dropped us off at Highway 58, fellow thru-hiker ‘Blue’ (last seen at Acton KOA taking a zero because of shin splints like Wayne) was waiting at the side of the trail for a ride into Tehachapi. So it was win-win for both of us, as Jeff was able to give him a ride with him now returning to town after dropping us off. Once again, we thanked Jeff profusely for his wonderful, kind hospitality and had another photo with him. (We promised he’d be in the next blog installment telling everyone about the fantastic hiker friendly town of Tehachapi!)
Re-joining the trail north just past the highway, there is another PCT Trail Register which we skimmed through and signed. It seemed an age since we had been here waiting for a lift at the side of the highway but it was literally only 2 days ago! We noticed in the register that Scoop had passed through only yesterday, so he must just be a day in front of us now! We’ll be hoping to catch him up this week if he really is that close!
Signing the PCT register after crossing Highway 58. We also quickly scanned through the last few days to see if there were any other hikers we knew who had passed through recently.
Heavily laden down with full packs, we made it 2 and half miles out of town before we started looking for a place to camp. The weather had been unexpectedly cool, the sky grey and dull, but it was also extremely windy, so we needed to find a sheltered spot big enough to pitch in before the trail meandered uphill onto a ridge, where they’d be no chance to camp. Thankfully by hiking off trail a little way, we found a flattish area surrounded by Juniper bushes that acted as the perfect wind break once again.
Getting back on trail early evening and looking for a place to camp before we hit the ridge.
After pitching the tent, we didn’t have dinner as we had already eaten at the Burger King earlier. But we did treat ourselves to a dark chocolate Twix (special edition) and hot chocolate drink to warm us up before bed. It was only 7:30 pm and still light, as the sun had not yet set, but our eyes were feeling heavy already having had much less sleep in the motel than what we’ve been used to getting on the trail.
Along the trail (trail talk spreads fast!), we had heard that a bad snow storm had passed through Kennedy Meadows over the previous few days. Because of this, hikers are bailing out and taking time off trail for a week or two, (hiring cars and going on a road trip to Vegas), whilst allowing time for the fresh snow to melt and the weather to improve. Having been to Vegas twice in the past, we don’t really want to go to the expense of hiring a car and being off trail for too long. Our US visa expiry date means we are time limited to complete the trail unlike American nationals who can take as much time as they want to get to Canada! (Weather permitting further north.)
I guess we’ll get to Kennedy Meadows next week and decide what to do from there. Word will filter down the trail of the conditions on the ground before then anyway, so we’ll have a good idea whether we need to stall for a few days at Kennedy Meadows or not. If it really is bad in the Sierra, then of course we’ll go with the safest option!
Day 47 – Saturday 26th May 2018, Wild Camp at Mile 569 to Wild Camp at Mile 587, 18 miles
Having left Tehachapi yesterday, successfully escaping from the town vortex where hikers get sucked into staying for just ‘one more zero’, we were wondering if we’d made the right decision after all when we woke up this morning to bad weather.
We knew the temperature would be a lot cooler just like yesterday, but we hadn’t been aware of impending rain or heavy gusts of wind that were quickly blasting us sideways as soon as we set off walking. The dark rain clouds were coming from the direction of Tehachapi and thankfully hadn’t reached us yet, so by keeping moving we were hoping to stay one step ahead of them. It was really tough going though! It was taking all of our energy just to stay upright each time the switch back turned into the wind, and we found it was a huge effort not to set the tent up again, call it a day and get back into our sleeping bags!
Looking back to Tehachapi that seemed to be getting the brunt of the bad weather.
By the time we had battled with the wind to climb 2,000 feet we were more than ready for our second breakfast. Thankfully we had Snickers bars this morning to give us an extra calorie boost. Chocolate also works wonders to lighten the mood! Looking back to Tehachapi again, a rainbow had now appeared in the sky, but the clouds still looked ominous. We predicted that any hiker thinking about leaving town today would probably postpone until tomorrow based on the current conditions. (Staying for another zero day really doesn’t take much persuading!)
Dark clouds were heading our way, but we were trying to stay one step ahead of them. The one consolation, we spotted a rainbow!
Into the cloud… We weren’t too optimistic about the day ahead when we first set off.
Wearing our extra layers and keeping out the cold.
And that must have been the case as we had only seen one other hiker on the trail the entire morning, a day hiker who was walking in the opposite direction to us. It wasn’t until we reached the first and only water source since re-joining the trail, Golden Oaks Spring at Mile 583, (which remains the only water source for the next 20 miles as well), that we saw 2 other PCTers having lunch, who were then joined by 3 others, all of whom we are not acquainted with. (Yet!)
Wayne fills up the Vecto bag with water from the spring, which we then filter into our bottles.
As there is a Trail Register conveniently located next to the spring, we could see that Nick and Tiahnna had passed through that morning, but there was no mention of any of the other thru-hikers we’ve been trying to catch up with. (They either didn’t sign the register or are still zeroing in Tehachapi and we’ve now leapfrogged them!)
Having updated the Water Report to check the latest hiker comments, we read that Tehachapi to Walker Pass is the driest section of the entire PCT. It is also much more remote than any of the previous PCT sections with fewer road crossings, and almost no cell phone service. It stated that Trail Angel Mary, who once maintained several water caches in this section, is no longer able to maintain them. (“A reliable water cache in this area will require more than 1,000+ gallons of water per hiking season and to the best of our knowledge no one is currently able to provide that much water in this remote section of the PCT”.) Just as we had done today, we therefore had to be prepared to carry extra water. We were also not expecting to find any reliable water caches along this section of the PCT, and certainly no trail magic! Although based on our experiences so far, we wholeheartedly believe that ‘the trail will provide’.
Partly due to the weather and partly because after almost 600 miles we are ready to leave the desert and get to Kennedy Meadows just for a change of scenery and to experience something new, it felt today like we were walking just for walking’s sake. Basically, we just wanted to get the miles done and get to camp! Much of the day was still traversing through the Tehachapi mountains covered in wind farms which we’d already spent 2 days hiking through prior to our stay in town so it was very much a ‘groundhog day’ feeling. (We really hate saying that as we know how privileged we are to be out here doing this!)
Continuing through the wind farm, but thankfully heading into better weather.
More desert mountains… (Like we hadn’t seen enough of them in almost 600 miles!)
On a positive note, the weather forecast is much better for the start of next week. The temperatures should be back to normal for this time of year (meaning ‘hot’) with the return of blue skies and full sunshine. (My favourite kind of hiking weather!) We could also see several taller mountain ranges far off in the distance, so every single day we are getting closer to the Sierra Nevada and the ‘big’ stuff, which we are really excited about.
Getting the sleep mats out for our lunch stop when we found a flattish area sheltered from the wind.
Having fresh supplies from town, we dined on a proper picnic feast!
Around Mile 589, the PCT crosses an old burn area, so due to a lack of trees that could offer us some wind protection and with the presence of Poodle Dog Bush blighting the trail once again, we didn’t quite make our intended 20 miles. Instead, we started looking for a suitable camp spot just before entering the burn area and ended up camping at Mile 587, in a flattish area below a ridge line of wind turbines. It’s white noise to us now, so we had no fear of not being able to sleep. Although with getting closer to ‘bear country’, we are starting to get a little paranoid about washing, eating and drinking in our tent. All that will have to stop very soon!
We managed to find a sheltered spot within the wind farm to pitch the tent.
It was our food today that definitely kept us going! Having just left town with a full supply of fresh rations, we enjoyed avocado, spinach, cherry tomatoes and cheese wraps for lunch, with the added bonus of mayonnaise! (We managed to buy some more sachets from the supermarket.) And then for dinner, we tried something new! As we had limited water and couldn’t use it for cooking, we had corn tortillas folded in half and toasted with a filling of tuna, that was pre-mixed with rice, beans and vegetables, with melted mozzarella inside. It was the first time we had seen this particular flavoured tuna sachet and it was really good! (This will now be another excellent addition to our trail kitchen menu!)
Trying out a new ‘Trail Kitchen’ idea for dinner as we had discovered a new flavoured tuna sachet!
We now have 115 miles of the PCT to walk to get to Kennedy Meadows, which we’re aiming to complete in 6 days, arriving there next Friday. We just hope they’ll be some trail excitement along this section to keep the momentum going as we don’t want a ‘repeat’ of today!
Day 48 – Sunday 27th May 2018, Wild Camp at Mile 587 to Landers Camp at Mile 609, 22 miles
I think a bit of trail fatigue had set in today as it was the first morning I’d slept through the alarm and really didn’t want to get up and get walking. More than anything else I just wanted to sleep. Thankfully, Wayne was in much better spirits and lifted my mood talking about all the exciting things still to come on the trail. In the grand scheme of things, there wasn’t really much of the desert section left and we’d soon get there! (Finally!)
Looking on to the wind farm from our camp spot last night.
So even though I wasn’t feeling it today, we still set off at 8am with a long uphill climb to contend with. Slowly but surely we made our way through another burn area taking care to watch out for any threat of contact with the dreaded Poodle Dog Bush. Needing a little more motivation we had stopped for a second breakfast by 9:30am! But fortunately most of the hard work was done as we were now on the other side of the ridge looking back onto the wind farm.
Leaving the wind farm area and hiking up into woodland once more.
As we had been progressively getting higher in elevation, the desert scrub once again changed to wonderful pine forest. We were now walking through thickets of trees, with dappled sunlight coming through. The trail was soft but firm underfoot, a mixture of loose earth, pine needles and bits of bark, which was a welcome change from trudging through sand. There was also long green grasses either side of the trail, leading to meadow areas filled with wild flowers.
Into the trees… The pine forest was a welcome change from the desert scrub.
The trail was noticeably more colourful today with bright yellow, wild flowers blooming beside it.
Purple lupins were also a regular feature along the way.
The sun was shining but the temperature was still a lot lower than what we had been used to, so we kept swapping between short and long-sleeved tops as it felt quite cold in the shade, particularly as there was a cool, light wind coming down off the mountains. We could see heavy clouds lingering over the higher mountain ranges in the distance and commented they were probably depositing fresh snow on Kennedy Meadows for when we arrive in less than a week’s time. (We really hope not though!)
Wondering when the desert would really end…? It was now time for some big mountain scenery!
We stopped for lunch on a rocky knoll as it had some direct sunlight whereas the rest of the trail was mostly in shade. As we still had fresh ingredients, we enjoyed avocado, spinach, cherry tomato and cheese wraps again. It’s a top lunch! They’re really filling and give us a good boost of energy for the miles we have to cover in the afternoon.
A real motivating factor of the day was when we reached Mile 600! The figure was marked at the side of the trail in pine cones. (There was also another marker made out of stones with a love heart around the number.) The best thing about it though was that now we only had 100 miles of the desert left!
Another significant milestone… Reaching Mile 600!
Our first access to water was at Mile 602, where we filtered some water from Robin Bird Spring. There were several other hikers asleep near to the spring when we arrived having a well deserved siesta. We drank the litre of water we had left in our packs then just refilled with a litre as we knew from the Water Report there was going to be water where we were camping at Mile 609.
With just 7 miles left to go, it seemed a lot easier as the trail went mostly downhill through woodland. We found there were lots of trail markers now on trees to signal the way. After crossing a dirt road, we found a makeshift seating area next to another trail register, so we signed it and leafed through the most recent pages to see if anyone we knew had already passed through. We then took advantage of the presence of a bench and had a quick five minutes lay down.
In the woodland, we noticed PCT markers posted on trees at regular intervals.
Enjoying a change in scenery and the shade afforded from the forest.
Moss and lichen loving the shade too.
Simple beauty. A lone flower catches the eye.
Making the most of having the luxury of a bench, no matter how make-shift it was!
We eventually reached Landers Camp around 6:30pm. As it was a proper BLM campground, there were two pit toilets, plus a spring that feeds excess water into a tank. As it was almost certainly the only reliable water source for 42.4 miles until we reached the cache at Walker Pass, we knew that the majority of hikers on this section would be aiming to also camp here.
There was plenty of space and lots of established sites, some with fire rings, but we pitched the tent next to where someone had built a work top joined to a tree, like a fold out kitchen sideboard, which was perfect for Wayne, the ‘Trail Kitchen’ chef, to prep and cook dinner on! Tonight it was a simple camp dish of Spaghetti and Green Pesto. I love any pasta dish and could have eaten it again it disappeared that fast!
Wayne is busy prepping dinner. He was in his element at having a proper work station!
But the best thing about that campsite was that we saw a woodpecker avidly searching out food by tapping on the cracks in some nearby tree stumps. After a little effort, success! We saw it pull out a long grub that looked like it would feed it for a week!
As darkness fell there were a few groups of PCT hikers pitched around the camp, but no one we knew. We were in a bit of a cold sink so everyone took respite in their tents as the temperature rapidly dropped. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that two potential water caches we pass tomorrow will have been restocked over the weekend, otherwise we’ll have to make 4 litres each last us two full days. This is because the next reliable water source on the trail is from a spring at Walker Pass Trailhead Campground at Mile 651. Without a doubt, this section is the driest we’ve had to contend with since starting at Campo on the Mexican border, some 7 weeks ago, but thankfully the desert will soon be no more…
Day 49 – Monday 28th May 2018, Landers Camp at Mile 609 to Wild Camp at Bird Spring Pass, Mile 631, 22 miles
Again, I didn’t want to get up this morning when the alarm went off, instead I just wanted to sleep. I could sleep all day long I feel that exhausted, but we haven’t got the water or food required to stay in the same place and take a zero whilst on the trail. Each day we’re reliant on making the required miles to reach the water caches (that are literally life saving) to see us through as all the natural water sources are currently dry.
After filtering and stocking up with more water, we left Landers Camp at 8 am. The first section of the trail was fairly flat and downhill which made for easy walking so we agreed that we’d try and hike 7 miles today before we stopped for our second breakfast. As we usually stop for a break after about 5 miles, going that extra distance paid off as we were treated to some terrific trail magic from Yeti and his family who were doing their yearly weekend stint at being trail angels.
After leaving camp, gone was the pine forest and we were very much back in the desert!
We could see the road from way off and that was where we were headed hoping that the Kelso Valley Road water cache at Mile 616, currently maintained by trail angel Cinnabun and friends had been restocked over the weekend. Along the road in the distance we could see something orange that could easily pass for a sun parasol along the trail, so we were already thinking there might be some trail magic at the cache. (Or rather hoping there was!)
In the distance, along the road we could see something orange beside the trail. Could it be trail magic?
When we reached Mile 616, it was fantastic to see that the water cache had been restocked!
We didn’t expect to be treated to hot dogs, fresh fruit, cheese and cold beers however! (Being very practical, we actually passed on the beers and shared the last soda instead, not wanting to risk sunstroke as the temperature was already soaring!) Sat under the shade of Yeti’s awesome jeep camper, we couldn’t believe how lucky we had been yet again! It felt like a case of where did the time go?! Without realising it, we’d already stayed an hour talking to the other hikers who’d now arrived and were getting the same treatment, so we really needed to get going to complete our 22 mile day before dark.
What a treat! Yeti’s, fantastic home on wheels from which he served us up hotdogs and cold drinks.
The trail magic acted like a buffer, as once we set off again, the trail got significantly tougher from here. Today, the desert was back with a vengeance! After some respite in the shady pine forest yesterday, we had been fooled into thinking we had just about left the desert. However, today we were right back in the dry, dusty chaparral under a blazing sun, which was both hot and tiring. Every now and again there were clusters of Joshua trees providing a few pockets of shade but otherwise we just had to grin and bear the intense heat.
From pine forest to the reappearance of Sage brush… Today the desert was back with a vengeance!
Looking across to where the trail weaves up through the desert hills. Today the desert was really putting us through our paces!
Panorama looking on to the vast area of desert chaparral we were still making our way across.
We were grateful of the Joshua trees affording us some pockets of shade.
On a positive, there were lots of wild flowers to compensate for the sandy surroundings and again as we moved higher, there was a mixture of beaver tail cactus growing around the bases of established pine trees, a kind of fusion between the two distinct environments of the desert and the forest. Here we glimpsed a deer, if only for a brief moment, our second sighting on the PCT so far!
Although we were back in a dry section of the PCT, the trail was still lined with beautiful wild flowers.
As we climbed along the switchbacks, our packs were already hurting our shoulders and necks as they were so full. Having to carry extra water because of the irregularity of it is now really taking its toll, especially having to contend with a lot of ascent on a trail that is both deep and sandy, requiring a huge amount of effort to keep trudging on through it. We seemed to be getting nowhere fast and as the sun was now directly overhead burning down on us, we had to stop every hour or so to take a rest break, which meant our arrival time at camp would be quite late.
Taking a breather. The heat seemed to be taking its toll on us today.
To help ease the pain and get us around the hills a lot quicker, we played a medley of Motown’s greatest hits to see us through the last 5 miles. Music seems to be a good motivator for us both, so the familiar tunes gave us a bit of a spring in our step as we grooved along the trail all the way into camp.
We reached Mile 631, known as Bird Spring Pass around 7:30pm, just before sunset. As we were reliant on the water cache, we were extremely glad to see that it had just been restocked. We didn’t waste any time getting the tent pitched and collecting water before watching a beautiful sunset. As our camp spot looked directly towards the mountains in the west, we viewed the fiery ball dip behind them from inside the tent, and were wowed when the sky became one bright orange glow.
Really grateful that again another water cache had been restocked to support hikers through one of the driest sections of the PCT!
Our beautiful camp spot at Mile 631 looking directly onto the mountains in the west, which was perfect for watching the sun go down.
Watching a gorgeous sunset from the comfort of our tent.
Looking in the opposite direction, the subdued colours of the blue hour with the moon fully risen.
Getting more intense… Enjoying the mesmerising colour of a desert sunset.
Dinner was one of our camp favourites – Chilli Bean Soup Mix with Four Cheese Idahoan Mashed Potato. We had rehydrated the chilli bean mix before we’d left camp that morning, so it was something that we’d been looking forward to all day. As we’re trying to be conservative with gas to make sure it lasts until Friday, instead of boiling water for a hot chocolate drink before bed, I mixed milk and chocolate powder together and added water to make a chocolate milkshake! (As we’ve not had proper milk since leaving England back in April, to us it tasted fairly good!)
It was a late finish with it being 9:15pm by the time dinner was eaten, the pots had been washed and we were ready to get into our sleeping bags. The rest of the camp had already retired to bed around 8pm. I must say in our defence, yes we’re the last to leave camp each morning, but for good reason, – we’re the last to go to sleep at night as well!
Obviously this week we’ve hit a bit of a wall and suffered (myself, much more than Wayne) with a bit of trail melancholy as we’re nearing the end of the desert segment. We’ve had an amazing time seeing what the southern California desert region has had to offer, but now we’re ready for something new. The mountains in the Sierra are definitely calling… It’s time for a change of scenery and to face new challenges as we tackle the highest peaks and passes of the PCT armed with ice axes and micro spikes! So bring it on!