So close but so far!!! Kennedy Meadows was right around the corner to get into the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range – arguably the most beautiful and remote part of the Pacific Crest Trail. In the Sierras, you hang out at around 10,000 ft with marmots and rainbow trout living in glacial lakes. However, I had to get through this section first. This week was tough but I was eager to finish the Desert section of the PCT!!
Day 35 – getting out of town
I woke up curled on the couch in Stay Gold’s house, still feeling a bit tired. Many of us thru-hikers have a natural wake up time at 5 to 6am, so an early rise was inevitable. I didn’t mind it though since I have this internal clock too. The morning went by slowly as I packed my items and figured out my next plans. However I desperately needed breakfast.
A group of us made our way to the town’s center to go to the infamous German Bakery, Kohnen’s Country Bakery. Also a hot topic among the group I was with was the infamous Tehachapi Loop. Constructed in the late 1800s, the railroad between Bakersfield and Mojave creates a loop in order to go up the switchbacks of the local mountains. According to Wikipedia, “any train that is more than 56 boxcards will pass over itself going around the loop.” It was quite the engineering phenomenome back in the day and for whatever reason, we were all quite impressed with this feat.
First group at the German Bakery before more hikers arrived!
Anyways, we feasted at the Bakery, sharing sandwiches, pies, eclairs, and pretzels. It was quite delicious. I sat at a table with at least 10 other thru-hikers which included but limited too; Pablo & Flo (I haven’t seen them since Mission Creek so it was nice to see them again), Grandma, Speedgoat, Alex, Free Lunch, Mark, Avocado, Didi, and possibly one or two more people but it felt like a whole crew. I also met another fellow Trek Blogger, Isabella. The group dwindled as I stayed behind catching up with Pablo and Flo. I was mostly done with my chores for the day with the exception of writing my blog (this is a time consuming process!). Eventually, Isabella was with a Trail Angel who gave me a ride back to Stay Gold’s house and I spent the majority of the afternoon lying on his couch, writing my blog. Around 4:30, the rest of the hikers went back to trail to actually hike the PCT. I lingered a bit longer and went back to the German Bakery again to see Emily and Pia who arrived in town a few hours ago. They are German and gave the bakery the stamp of approval. We had a Wrightwood Tramily Reunion before me, Free Lunch, and Avocado forced ourselves back on trail.
the second group at the german bakery! The wrightwood crew – (bakery was so nice, I had to do it twice!)
After dinner, we all walked to the bus stop where we would say goodbye to those staying in town. When the bus finally pulled up, it appeared that me, Free Lunch, and Avocado lost all social skills. Unprepared, we all fumbled around finding money to buy the bus fee and stuttering when the Bus Driver asked where we wanted to be dropped off. Bless the Tehachapi citizens for their patience because we were a complete mess. Maybe it was because I was modified or embarrassed, but I couldn’t stop laughing either. We just spent three hours hanging out in a German Bakery and none of us thought that we should be the tiniest bit prepared for our adventure. We eventually got everything sorted and made our way to the trailhead, all giggling to ourselves like crazy people.
on the bus! like parents waving to their children off to the first day of school
Once we got to the trailhead, there was a hiker box filled with goodies. Avocado and Free Lunch spent ages rummaging through it while I set out to use the bathroom and stare at the sky. Unfortunately, the sky was ashy with air smelling like smoke. I did some research and we weren’t too far from a fire that was occurring near Bakersfield (a neighboring city). I called Dan in a slight panic, asking him to keep an eye out for fire closures on the PCTA website and to garmin me in case anything changes. I think I made him a little worried (sorry dan!).
Hazy sky!!
Despite the hazardous horizon, we continued on anyway with the knowledge that we could potentially turn around tomorrow. With all the shenanigans, we didn’t start hiking until 7pm but it was okay because we only wanted to do two miles anyways.
Also, this was the exact location that Cherly Strayed from Wild started her thru-hike on the PCT, so that felt cool. We walked with the setting rays into the land of exposed Joshua Trees. We eventually got to the intended campsite and decided it was way too windy to stay. There was another campsite about 2 miles ahead that had rave reviews about its wind protection. So we carried on. The hike was steep and the wind was ruthless. I almost tipped over from the strong gusts. We eventually got to the site at like 9:30 and all three of us cowboys camped next to one another under a Joshua Tree. (Also a Joshua Tree is not a real tree, it is considered a type of Yucca). The wind was howling but our spot was a safe haven. The city lights twinkled under us as once again, we laughed until our stomachs hurt. We didn’t go to sleep until way past midnight. (hiker midnight is at 9pm).
Silhouette of Free Lunch as we began to Night Hike
Day 36 – Meeting a fuzzy creature!
Late night means late morning – obviously. I think I woke up at 8am and rolled out of camp around 9am. The sky cleared up and I was slow. I wondered if I should have just taken a second zero rather than hiking the four miles because I felt so tired and sluggish. The actual hike was also very exposed. And I personally thought it was very hot. I only managed to do 12 miles by 5pm. How did I do that?
Backtacking, I left camp at 9am and then immediately stopped to have a big breakfast. I packed out an entire thing of hummus and was very excited to eat it. I just didn’t really move for another hour or so, enjoying my hummus. Then I got up and walked for a bit and then decided it was hot and I deserved another break. I did this quite a few times until Avocado caught up to me. We took another two hour break. And finally got to the water source, finding Free Lunch lounging. He said he has been there since 12pm, waiting for us to show up. And because of the sunken cost fallacy, he just kept waiting. Oops.
I ate some dinner with them and then the Swedish Couple showed up! They were surprised to see us since they zero-ed the day prior. I was super sleepy so I decided to camp at the water source with the Sweds while Free Lunch and Avocado wandered into the night. Avocado tends to get up super late and roll into camp just as late. Free Lunch was on a mission to meet his girlfriend at Walker Pass so he had to do some miles. As twilight approached, I curled up in my sleeping bag and tried to drift away until I heard Collie call out to Jonaton with a slight panic in her voice. She saw a bear.
Dinner at the Water Source
From a distance, there was the cutest bear that appeared to be approaching us. My first reaction was immediate annoyance. I stopped here for a good night’s sleep and now that’s out the window. We are definitely in bear territory and I do not have a way to properly store my food. I began to make some noise to try to scare it but I think the bear became curious because it got super close to us. Like potentially 20 feet away. At this point everyone in the campsite was out of their tent screaming at the bear. Mulligan, the guy who I got a ride into town with, was also with us. He draped his quilt over his shoulders and spread his arms wide, appearing to be big, and ran towards the bear while grumbling ominous noises. It seemed to work because the bear got spooked and went a bit further from us. But still pretty close. I hypothesize that the bear came near us because we were camping in the best path to get to the water source. The bear’s eyes just seemed slightly disappointed that he couldn’t take his usual route. Nobody took a photo of this bear so you will just have to believe me.
Pretty Sunrise!
There was a group of more hikers down at the water source and we heard loud banging and yells. I guess the bear came and bothered them too. I had a somewhat difficult time falling asleep that night but I managed. I do not think the creature bothered us that night. Honestly, it looked young, like it had just left its mama and was living on its own for the first time. This bear was accustomed to people but has not become aggressive about food yet. I hope that future hikers store their food properly so this young fuzzy beast does not create bad habits. A fed bear is a dead bear and though it ruined my goodnight sleep, I do wish it the best. I also wish that I kept hiking that day but oh well.
Day 37 – anotha day anotha hike
I woke up to Jonaton saying “I hope the bear isn’t near us.” and then I heard some movement and zippers. “Oh, the bear is right there.”
Alright fine, I will get out of my tent. At this point, I made peace with the bear. I think it was too nervous to interact with us. I hope it never finds out that us humans are mostly bluffing, and if it wanted to, it could probably steal our food. I have multiple bear encounters and thankfully none has been aggressive. But one time, I was camping in the Adirondacks in New York and a bear came sniffing around our campsite due to a forgotten cliff bar left in a backpack pocket. There were at least 10 of us and the bear had no fear. It grabbed the backpack from underneath the rainfly and carried the bag about 50 yards to eat the single bar. Luckily, I actually slept through this entire encounter but my fellow tent-mates reported to be scared out of their mind throughout the night. I don’t blame them. Anyways, I do not think this bear was nearly as aggressive or we all probably would have been woken up in the middle of the night.
windmills!
As I left the water source, I said goodbye to my new friend (the bear) and left an extensive comment on Farout about the importance of making sure we are all careful with our food and carried on. (it got zero upvotes). There was no water until the next campsite, so my bag felt rather heavy. I am unsure if I was going to stop at Walker Pass and go into town or continue on to Kennedy Meadows so I had a crazy amount of food paired with 5 liters of water. The day was through windmills and went through Hamp Williams Pass. Honestly, I didn’t even notice we were going through a mountain pass. I carried on just taking in the sight of the brown scenery and windmills. I didn’t see anyone until the campsite. I camped with Collie & Jonaton, and a new friend named Frizz. Frizz is from Battleground, WA. A place that I randomly visited on a vacation 3 years ago. Battleground, WA was named that due to the anticipation of a battle that never occured.
Day 38 – to the joshua trees!
There were 35 miles between the natural water sources and over 90 degree heat. Loads of Joshua Trees and perhaps I might actually be walking in the real Mojave desert. The terrain was sandy and a bit hilly. There was a saving grace this day; a water cache at Kelso Road. However, there is essentially no shade at or after the cache.
Also just in case you forgot, a water cache is when Trail Angels leave a bunch of water in the middle of the desert so we do not have to carry a shit ton of water. It is so helpful!!! I try my best to donate to each and every trail angel who helps maintain these luxuries because it is so helpful. In a classic fashion, I woke up to the Swedish couple and Frizz already gone. But there was a new tent at the site who I figured was Avocado! Before leaving, I left her a message in the sand and hiked into the heat.
The message I left in the sand for Avocado
The first half of the day was in the high desert where big trees and shade was prevalent. I made sure to take my siesta before the water cache. I found a beautiful rock underneath some shadows and layed down, allowing an endothermic reaction to occur. The heat from my body was being absorbed from the coolness of the rock. Eventually, Frizz found me in my horizontal state and joined me. I enjoyed his conversation until about 3pm when I realized I had to actually hike.
The water cache at Kelso Road
I made my way to the water cache and got some aqua. Unfortunately, the water was so warm it felt like it was only a few degrees short of boiling. It was unpleasant but beggars can’t be choosers and I needed to hydrate. The afternoon hike was a short uphill and my plan was to go as far as I could. Collie and Jonaton were a little ahead of me, planning on the same campsite. The setting sun , amking the Joshua Trees glow on the hill while I hurried to make it before nightfall. I saw the Swedish couple stop at the campsite about 0.4 miles before the one we discussed. I stopped and chatted to see what was up. They were tired and pleased with this. I stayed and talked with them until the sun officially went below the horizon. I looked at the sites around them and then decided to go 0.1 miles that supposedly had another campsite.
Joshua Trees!
However, when I arrived, it was so windy, I couldn’t even set my tent up. I decided to do the walk of shame back to the previous site and cowboy camped right next to the couple. I went to bed late but it was the best view of the stars I have ever seen. The milky way was in full force and I woke up a few times throughout the night, pleased to see twinkles in the sky.
Under the stars!!
Day 39 – to a creepy cabin!
In the morning, I went to the second water cache in this stretch; the Bird Spring Pass. This cache was so much more refreshing than the previous one. Thanks to the comments from far out, I felt very comfortable relying on these water caches as there were over 100 gallons waiting for thirsty hikers to drink.
Creepy Cabin!
I got my first glimpse of the Sierras, which was hopeful because I am just done with the desert. Like every other day, I hiked in the morning, took a rather long siesta and then got to the campsite late at night.
my home for the night! Less Creepy
I ended my day at a somewhat creepy cabin and Mclever’s Spring. Finally making it to the other natural water source. The cabin was 0.3 miles off trail and I intended to set up camp but got creepy vibes and decided to backtrack to a clearing at the junction.
Day 40 – to Inyokern and beyond!!
Me, Collie, and Jonaton discussed getting a ride together to go into town. I needed a burger. This section just has been so long, and hot, and I felt like I still didn’t fully recover from my sleepiness.
I woke up at sunrise, hoping to catch the couple and surely I did within the first mile of the day. The three of us hiked together, moving fast to the road. We did 7 miles in a little over two hours where we reached Walker Pass Campground. We hung out for a little until we made our way down to the road to stick our thumbs out to get a ride to Inyokern. There are a few towns you can get to via this road but we wanted to go to the closest so we can go in & out. It took us a while to actually get a ride. This was my first time really hitchhiking but it felt safe considering it is very common on the PCT, but I was glad I was with some buddies.
Hitchin w Mcdonalds
Cars drove us by, sometimes waving, sometimes speeding up. Two cars actually stopped to offer us a ride to Lake Isabella – the town in the opposite direction and very far away. We politely declined but was grateful that they stopped. The second car gave us McDonald’s breakfast sandwiches which were really kind. We eventually got a ride from a guy with an adorable dog and was dropped off at Classic Burgers.
Jonaton and the doggie
While there, Collie was on a mission to lie down for a bit. For $30, she was able to get us usage of a motel room from 1pm to 5pm and even secured a ride back to trail from the motel owner. What a win!!! We spent the afternoon in AC where we were able to shower and watch netflix.
We got back on trail at 5pm and hiked 4 miles with a steady uphill. A med student caught up to me and I walked with him for a bit. I learned that he moved to LA two days ago and was starting his residency program in four days. He decided to squeeze in a backpacking trip and had no navigation or clue of what he was doing. He made me a little nervous but he assured me another hiker wrote down all the water sources for him and that he decided to do an out and back so he did not have to rely on a hitch back to his car. He was trying to do 30 miles a day. Once I got to the campsite, he continued on and I don’t think I saw him again. I really hope he was okay. Also Avocado came and camped with us too and that was fun.
Sunset!
Day 41 – to Chimney Creek Cabin with more fuzzy beasts!! (so many bears south of the Sierras)
I woke up with a mission. I wanted to get the hell out of the desert. I started my morning listening to “Ghost” by Ella Henderson on repeat as I walked with the sunrise. I wasn’t going to get to Kennedy Meadows quite yet but I could get close-ish.
the trail!
While listening to the song for the fourth time in a row, I thought back to the time on the Appalachian Trail where I listened to “Billionaire” by Bruno Mars on repeat for about 30 minutes to see if I can handle it. I decided I was thoroughly losing my mind and decided to switch it to a podcast.
It felt like we were exiting the desert. After passing the Spanish Needle Creek, we entered a part of trail that felt like we were truly in the mountains. The sense that we were close to the sierras was exciting. I had about 12 miles to go by 2pm and I was confident that I was going to make it to my intended campsite at Chimney Creek Cabin, and would complete 25 miles for the day. That would leave me to do *only* 21 miles into Kennedy Meadows, marking the official end of the desert.
Mountains??
The last few miles were a bit tough but I was motivated to get there. I bobbed down the trail and eventually got to trail junction were I saw Free Lunch filtering water!! I haven’t see him since he disappeared into the darkness on day 36. He exclaimed he just saw a bear not too long ago!! My annoyance came back in full force and I wish I sent my bearcan to Tehachapi rather than Kennedy Meadows. He also let me know his girlfriend, Kaitlyn, was at the campsite and I couldn’t wait to meet her!
The bear Free Lunch & Kaitlyn saw!
I got to the campsite and there were a few other thru-hikers. I set my tent up and joined Free Lunch and Kaitlyn for dinner. They were ballin out as she brought all the good stuff from home. I did witness Free Lunch eating very spicy ramen and he was struggling very much. I felt kind of bad for him but I felt worse for Kait as she was waiting for him to finish so she could eat. I decided to eat cold-soaked mash potatoes, which I will never be doing again. I offered Kait my stove so she could eat her meal at the same. My cold soak mash potatoes were quite cold and mushy. I had a really hard time choking them down and ended up barely finishing my meal.
I fell asleep that night hoping this bear wouldn’t bother us either.
Day 42 – to Kennedy Meadows baby!!!!!
The only thing I got on my mind was Kennedy Meadows. I left camp at 6:30am with 21 miles before 5pm so I can get a burger at the General Store. This will be a little tough for me as I generally hike at a 2 miles per hour pace and usually take quite a few breaks. But today, I was going!!! Well, at least I tried. I don’t think I ate enough food this day because I felt like I was actually moving really slow and I was crawling towards the goal.
I hit mile 700!
I was happy the bear didn’t bother me at night. I learned a few days later that the bear actually ended up eating all of a fellow hiker’s food a day later. But he did a bad food hang. A bad food hang is worse than sleeping with your food if you don’t have a bearcan in my opinion.
I listened to my audiobook most of the days as I walked towards Kennedy Meadows and it was immediately one of my favorite views (so far) on the trails. The mountains towered the green valley. The terrain was gentle rolling hills, leading to the general store. It still had a hint of desert but the terrain was transitioning towards the mountainous environment.
Going into Kennedy Meadows!!
I got to the road at 4:45 – 15 minutes to walk 0.6 miles. I hoped no one saw me when I tried to sprint with my full backpack on. I felt a bit silly as it bobbled on my back. But I got to the store with about 4 minutes to spare.
Kennedy Meadows!!! YAY
I got the traditional welcome when a hiker gets to Kennedy Meadows. Other hikers were on the porch and they began to cheer and clap as they saw me come up the road. Someone rang the cow bell and I even heard someone say “is that zeagle?”. I was officially done with the desert and this felt like a monumental moment.
just the ✨sign✨
Once I arrived, I was greeted with familar and unfamiliar faces, including Pablo and Flo. They were all taking the shuttle to Grumpy Bear’s – a store down the road to get an actual dinner and I immediately decided to join. The car came within mins and we all piled in like sardines. I was so excited for a hot meal and two zeros that awaited for me before heading into the Sierra Nevada.
