Out of the Desert, Finally!

 Stats: Sunday 6/26, MM 745 (total miles)

(187 new miles - 1,905 to go)

Still in the desert, but not for long! And less than 2,000 miles to go. Sorry but I missed a few days in the upload of pictures for this blog, we had a few technical problems. Will include them next time.

Thursday morning after my zero day in Tehachapi, a trail angel named Raye whose phone number was on a picnic table along the trail, drove me to trail head in the morning. Many people were skipping this next section because about 20 hikers came down with neuro virus after getting on the trail here. It was a nice day, only 88 degrees, so I decided to take my chances. The first water source was a pipe with water barely trickling out of it, took 7 minutes per liter to fill up. Another guy and I took turns filtering and filling our water bottles. Hiked another 4 miles to camp, 21 miles total. Met Cheezits at camp – he’s 67 and had attempted the PCT twice before. Last time he gave up midway through Oregon because he got tired of it. But then decided to try again.

 

Friday was much cooler, high around 70, what a change! Hiked lots of uphills, but with the cooler weather what a change – even cold at night! Made it to another water pipe after 14 miles, filled up 3 liters to take and drank 2 while there. Some of my toes are bothering me so I’ve been taking my shoes off at water pipe to give them a break. They always feel a little better after that. There’s supposed to be a water cache in 7 miles, I pray there is!

Saturday it was actually COLD getting up – I wore gloves and my winter jacket.  Supposed to be high of 70 today, but feels much cooler with the breeze. And yes, first of 2 water caches was 7 miles into the day. The cache had 5 gallon jugs, about 75 bottles. Later in the day, I hiked up this crazy hill, very windy with a trail like sand at the beach, very hard to climb. Looked for non-windy area to camp in, finally made it to 2^nd water cache which was about the same as the first. And thank God, because there is nowhere else to get water except these trail angels! It was still windy but I had already hiked 20 miles so stayed there. No other area nearby, and further uphill the trail was more exposed. Wind got worse overnight, but all was well.

Sunday – happy Father’s Day to all fathers! Windy conditions when I got up. Felt good getting started but I was tired. A couple guys passed later, then we all stopped and ate lunch. Thankfully I had cell service so I was able to call my dad and Mary’s dad for Father’s Day. I passed an Asian couple, Racer (she runs downhill because easier on her knees) and Caboose (husband follows behind her), back and forth all day. 

Caboose and Racer

Got to the end of a trail where we could get picked up after about 23 miles, found a man and his son doing trail magic. They cooked awesome hot dogs, provided sodas and sides, and had greatest ice cream sandwich I ever ate. With hiker hunger, everything freshly cooked and any ice cream tastes really good.

As we were there, car pulled up and a hiker named Rafael (mother driving) was going to Ridgecrest (round trip 54 miles!). Four guys got in to resupply in Ridgecrest, then Rafael and his mom came back and took us to Ridgecrest. On the way, he said he had a hotel room he couldn’t use, would we like it? So I stayed at the Best Western with Racer and Caboose. We walked to Walmart to resupply and get food for the night, then did laundry, etc. Met a nice couple from Indiana at the hotel who were in the area to go to a wedding. Racer and Caboose offered beer to everyone, we all enjoyed good conversation about the trail. Pancake – trail angel to drive us back to the trail.

 

Monday morning a trail angel named Pancake drove us back to the trail. Realized when we got there I forgot my hat at the hotel. So for 3 days I used my sun hoodie, very thankful for that! Still very hot, but more water sources. That night we had a full house at camp: Touch-up, Bullwinkle, Playboy, Lumpy, Racer, and Caboose. Plenty of room to spread out, so very quiet.

 

Flowers spring up here and there

I woke up at 4:30 Tuesday morning, feeling weak today, probably just tired. I hiked 20 miles today, leaving about 10 more miles to Kennedy Meadows. I’m very excited to see this spot I’ve heard about for so long. And, it marks the end of the desert section of the PCT.

Last day in the desert, Sierras in the distance 

Woke up Wednesday at 4AM to water dripping on my face. When I looked up I didn’t see the stars, not good. I had my rain fly off because it’s cooler – and in the desert it’s not supposed to rain. First rain the whole hike! I packed up quickly before everything could get wet, and left at 4:15 using my head lamp. Had only 10 miles to Kennedy Meadows, and it rained off and on the whole time.

When I got to the General Store around 9AM, I got the traditional applause from the people on the porch – other hikers who were already there. Had the famous breakfast of pancakes, eggs, sausage, hash brown, and coffee.

Rain started heavy then, locals said they hadn’t seen this type of rain in years! I took shuttle to Grumpy’s, a restaurant/bar for hikers that was 2-1/2 miles away. Stopped by Triple Crown Outfitters next door, store in a cargo container, to resupply. Owned by Yogi, who hiked the AT, PCT, and Continental Divide Trail (CDT), which is called the Triple Crown of hiking. She also provides very helpful information online about the PCT – I learned a lot from her!

This where I also rented a bear canister for next 300 miles – it’s required for the Sierra’s. There is a Kennedy Meadows “North” where you turn it in. After resupply, Racer, Caboose, and I walked back to general store instead of waiting for the shuttle – didn’t come often enough. I had a package coming in to the store the next day so I wanted to camp near there. Still raining, including periodic thunder and lightning, but I was able to get my tent up during a break, and stayed nice and dry inside. Went to bed early.

Thursday I got up 6AM, went to breakfast at the same spot as yesterday. After getting my package and drying everything out, I left camp 11AM to FINALLY head into the Sierras. Planned to meet Racer and Caboose for camping at mile 719 because they weren’t quite ready to leave when I did. When they didn’t arrive, I backtracked ½ mile to be sure I didn’t miss them. I didn’t – they didn’t make it that far because they were held up longer than expected at Kennedy Meadows.

Into the Sierras

After my first night in the Sierras, it was cold when I got up Friday morning. I guess we’ll now have cold evenings and mornings. We are at 8,000+ feet elevation the whole time. It was hard to sleep last night, and I was very tired hiking today. Due to terrain change, it took 3-1/2 hours to go 4 miles up hill. I ran into Upbeat today, she was hiking with an older man named Rick, nice guy. He charged my phone while we all took a break. When I saw Upbeat later at a place .04 off the trail at a water source, we decided to camp near there. We had a good conversation, she told me that in the Sierras we had to hike side trails to even get to a spot where someone could pick us up and take us to resupply spots. Shortest hike is 3 miles, longest is 13 miles, and many towns are 20+ miles away.

 

On Saturday I talked to Racer and Caboose at a campground, we met at Cottonwood Pass to get off the trail and hike 3 miles to a parking lot where we could get a ride 22 miles to Lone Pine. 

Unlike the AT, horses are allowed on the PCT

We saw a guy getting in his truck, asked him for a ride. Racer didn’t want to sit up front, so she and Caboose rode in the back and I was up front. Nice guy who worked a military job and travelled a lot.

Ride into Lone Pine

When we got to town, we didn’t have reservations so we picked the closest hotel and got a room. They stayed overnight and left the next day, they’re going to hike Mt. Whitney.

I decided to stay in Lone Pine through Sunday (26^th) to rest, took a zero day. My body needed it! I enjoyed a bit of shopping and being off my feet for a while…and out of my boots! I talked to Mary several times, resupplied, and we did this blog.

A few videos I managed to get uploaded: Lone Pine Setting, and Hotel

Overall I feel so much better in the cool air, and there is more water. Plus you don’t need to carry as much water because it’s not as hot. There is a trade-off with the colder mornings and evenings…but I’ll take it!

Thank you for all the comments and support and prayers. I read them when I can, and they always lift my spirits!

Nailgun