*these posts are coming straight from trail, I apologize in advance for typos!*
Location: The Desert
Start: Highway 58 Overpass – 566.5
End: Golden Oaks Spring – 583.3
Miles: 16.8
Ascent: 3994 | Descent: 2383
Sleep: Tent
Back on trail and thing are feeling good! I woke up around 5:30am so that I wouldn’t have to rush for our 7am shuttle. I got to enjoy breakfast at the hotel and then leisurely pack up my stuff. I had set up a shuttle with train angel Mike to give our group a ride back to trail. He didn’t mind making multiple trips, so he took Pimento, Gooey, and U-Turn back to trail first and then came back for the rest of us.
While Hangman, Truffles, Pinky, and I waited for our ride, Pinky realized her hiking shoes were missing. We did a mad search or the room and she figured out that the last time she saw them was when we checked into the hotel a few days ago. There was a hiker box in the hotel lobby, and the best we can guess is that she set them down by the hiker box and walked off without them. Someone probably saw them next to the hiker box and thought they were up for grabs. Hangman seemed very stressed trying to decide what to do about Pinky’s shoes, and they decided to delay their shuttle and walk to Walmart to get her some temporary shoes.
Truffles and I got a ride back to the trail with Mike. He was super nice and told us about his attempted PCT thru hike and his work at the humane society. We had Mike drop us off at the Highway 58 Overpass rather than going back to where we came into Tehachapi. We skipped 8-10 miles in doing so, but apparently those miles are just through more windmills and is very hot and exposed, so we don’t feel like we missed much by getting on further up the trail.
The trail followed the highway for about a mile before it started climbing uphill. The climb itself wasn’t that bad, but doing it with a fully loaded back was tough. I’ve got 5 days of food and k left Tehachapi with 4 liters of water to last the whole 17 miles today. My pack was heavy and I really felt it in my hips and low back. I felt like I was hiking slow but we still made good time going uphill. We hiked away from the highway and past more windmills before cresting the ridge and coming out in the trees.
We caught to to Gooey, U-Turn, and Pimento at the top of the climb and sat with them in the shade for a while. Energizer Bunny and Mad Stomper joined us for a break before we all set off again. We had a little bit more up and down to do before the trail connected to an ATV road. We followed the road for the rest of the day. I hiked with U-Turn and we talked about other trails we’d like to do in Europe.
Around noon we found a large shady spot for everyone to relax at for lunch. We ended up sitting there for almost an hour a half! All of us took brief naps after we ate, it was really hard to get going again. I tried a new meal for linch, I had bagged meatballs that I had to reheat in boiling water. They turned out great and were delicious, but I was so full afterwards and didn’t want to keep hiking.
When I finally did hit the trail again, I left before the rest of the group. I listened to my audiobook and made good time hiking down the road. During lunch someone had stopped to tell us about a fire that is a few miles up trail. It hasn’t crossed the train yet, but was still just a few miles away. From what they said, it didn’t seemed like we needed to be worried or making any alternate plans at the moment. I was glad for that warning, though, because for the rest of the day I saw low flying planes and smoke off in the distance. Without the warning I probably would have been really freaked out!
Just a few miles fell the water source and our campsite I happened upon a very large snake in the middle of the trail. Its coloring made me think it could be a rattle snake, but I couldn’t see its tail to confirm. The section of trail it was sprawled across wasn’t a good place for me to pass wide on either side, so I decided to just stand there and either wait for it to move or wait for someone else to come along.
I stood there waiting for about 10 minutes before Truffles and Jonas finally rolled up. Thankfully the snake was slowly beginning to move at that point, and Truffles poked it with his trekking pole to encourage it to move faster.
I hike the finally 2ish miles of the day with Truffles and Jonas. Jonas told us the story of he and his brother rescuing a puppy during the aqueduct section and we talked about his hikes in the Alps. We arrived at the spring just before 4:30pm and were so happy to see running water! The piped spring was slow moving, but there was plenty of scoopable water from the trough.
There were multiple people arriving at the spring throughout the afternoon. We decided to camp there and were glad we staked a claim to our spots when we did. It ended up getting crowded, there are about 20 people here. Hangman and Pinky showed up just after the rest of the group, and we all decided to cowboy camp in a large open field past the spring. Hopefully the wind won’t be too bad tonight, there are still lots of windmills in the vicinity. The wind is apparently blowing the wind away from our current location, so that’s a good thing. We know we have to do a 20 mile water carry tomorrow, we’ll see what else the day holds.
Location: The Desert
Start: Golden Oaks Spring – 583.3
End: Robin Bird Spring – 603.2
Miles: 19.9
Ascent: 3835 | Descent: 2989
Sleep: Cowboy
Today was a good day. We had a 20 mile water carry from Golden Oaks Spring to Robin Bird Spring, so we decided to leave at 5am to try and beat the heat. I woke up at 4am and it gradually got lighter as I was packing up. I hiked out using my headlamp but didn’t need it for long. I left with 5 liters of water to last me 20 miles.
Thankfully since it was early it was cool and I didn’t feel like I had to limit myself from drinking. It was so beautiful hiking into the sunrise. There were shades of red, pink, and yellow all around me. The windmills made a constant noise so I couldn’t hear as many birds chirping, but it still felt like a peaceful morning.
Truffles and I hiked together for the first few miles. I stopped to dig a cat hole, but later caught up to him after he dug a hole. We continued to hike together as the trail climbed up and down repeatedly. The views just kept on coming, I really enjoyed the hiking this morning.
I caught up to Pinky and Hangman and walked behind them for a while. We decided to take a break near a dirt road about 10 miles into the day. When we arrived there was a large campsite with plenty of shade, and Gooey was already there. We sat down to rest, it was only 9am and we’d already covered 10 of the 20 miles we had planned for the day. The rest of the group began to trickle in. We sat around snacking and goofing off until around 10am.
I hiked out ahead of everyone else and tried to keep a steady pace going uphill. The majority of the afternoon consisted of climbing. I was surprised how many people I passed. I’ve never considered myself a fast hiker, but out here I feel like I rocket past most of the other hikers. I just kept putting one foot in front of the other and tried to go at a consistent pace. It warmed up significantly in the afternoon, but thankfully I tolerate the heat well.
I took a couple of breaks through the afternoon but ultimately decided to press on and eat lunch at the water source. The terrain was challenging just because there was a lot of climbing, but for the most part I was just a me to cruise. We got back into higher elevation so there were more trees rather than the shrubby underbrush we have been hiking around. There were even some rock outcroppings that reminded me of Grayson Highlands State Park in VA.
I passed the 600 mile marker and decided to take a break to wait for Truffles. He came along much faster than I expected (guess I’m not as fast as I thought) and we took some pictures and finished the day out together. The last few miles were in a dirt road that was steep but manageable. The final mile dragged on forever, so much so that I was convinced I had missed the junction to the water.
I found the junction to Robin Bird spent eventually, though, and was there around 2pm. 20 miles by 2! I felt like I could go further after a long break, but we didn’t think the rest of the group would feel the same way. We staked out our campsites quickly I case the area got crowded again. We had the rest of the evening to relax and chill. U-Turn arrived not long after us, then Pinky and Hangman rolled in about an hour later. Gooey and Pimento didn’t show up until almost 7pm, but apparently they took a long siesta when it got hot.
We are all cowboy camping again and cooked dinner together before heading to bed early. I am tired from waking up early and hiking 20 miles so fast. Excited for some extra sleep tonight.
Location: The Desert
Start: Robin Bird Spring – 603.2
End: Dirt Road – 624.8
Miles: 21.6
Ascent: 2824 | Descent: 3766
Sleep: Cowboy
Today was a good but long day. We woke up around 5am with the hope of leaving around 6am. Aside from Pinky and Hangman, we all cowboy camped the night before so it shouldn’t have taken us long to pack up. It still took about an hour and a half to get rolling, so we didn’t leave until around 6:30am.
The morning was very mellow and the perfect way to start the day. The climbing was gentle and the descent was easy. Early on we crossed into a pine forest and the trial turned into a bed of pine needles. It was sunny but cool, it was the perfect morning for hiking. We crossed several small creeks and saw other hikers breaking down camp. We made good time your final natural water source of the day and stopped for a break at Landers Meadow Spring.
The pit toilets at the campground were nearly overflowing, but the water was flowing well and crops and cold. Hangman, Pinky, Truffles, and I had a snack and filtered water. It was another 6 miles to a water cache, and then 9 miles from there to our desired campsite for the evening. According to FarOut, Landers Meadow Spring was the last water source for 34 miles. Thankfully there are 2 large and reliable water caches during that stretch.
Packs heavy with water we continued on. There was a moderate climb and the trees quickly began to thin out. We were once again in the desert, this time without even shrubbery to offer shade. Several isolated stands of Joshua Trees dotted the landscape, but the hillsides were desolate and barren.
We did get our first view of the Sierra today! Way off in the distance we could see a could tall snow capped peaks. I probably wouldn’t have realized what I was looking at had it not been for a comment on FarOut. It feels like the snowy Sierra is still so far away, and yet we are nearly at its door. It’s hard to believe that in a we will be hiking through snow instead of sweating under the desert sun.
Truffles and I hiked together to the water cache. When we arrived we were disappointed to see that there was no shade. There were nearly 50 large containers of water, complete with a tap and chair for filtering. A single trail angel maintains this cache and the next cache, both being so necessary for hikers.
I pulled out of umbrella and we enjoyed lunch as the rest of our group filtered in. The sun was stifling and I was itching to get going. I knew it would be miserable hiking, but I’d rather at least be making slow progress instead of just sitting in the sun. I loaded up with my max capacity of water (6 liters) and tried to figure out how best to load my pack with the extra weight.
I set off before the rest of the group and hiked for several miles in the blistering heat. The challenging thing about longer water carry’s is trying to pace myself when drinking. I don’t want to go through all my water super quickly, but I also don’t want to get dehydrated. I hiked slowly but kept a constant pace. After about an hour I passed a cluster of Joshua Trees with a comfy looking shaded spot. I decided I could rest in the shade while waiting for the others, and ended up falling asleep. I only napped for about 30 minutes, but it was such a nice respite!
Hangman, Pinky, and Truffles found me asleep under the tree around 4pm, and we all continued on to camp together. Gooey, U-Turn, and Pimento all stayed at the water cache and planned to find us later in the evening. Our group’s plan was the camp at the Dove Canyon Road campsite, but when we arrived it was way too windy to camp comfortably.
We decided to press on in hopes of finding an area shaded from the wind. We hiked an extra mile and a half and eventually found a small spot just passed a road crossing that was somewhat protected from the wind. The four of us were tired from a long day of hiking in the sun with heavy packs, so we ate dinner quickly and set out of stuff to cowboy camp again.
I’m obviously much more comfortable cowboy camping at this point. It is significant easier than pitching the tent, but given the choice I still think I’d rather have the privacy of the tent. In areas where there’s high winds or limited space, cowboy camping just makes sense.
We got to see a beautiful sunset while we were relaxing in bed. According to FarOut comments, this site has a beautiful view of the sunrise. Excited to wake up early to watch the sunrise now!
