Day 43: Mile 517.6 to 534.9

My tent blew down at 5:30am, which is the first time that’s happened on trail. I was so tired I didn’t even feel like getting up to fix it, but I was glad I did later when I slept in until 7am.

People were up, doing chores and eating breakfast, and I had a slow morning drinking cold coffee and getting my things together. I felt okay after the big day yesterday, but now the trepidation about the night’s plans was creeping in. Daytime temperatures here easily reach 90 degrees, so the plan would be to leave around sunset to tackle walking along the LA Aqueduct.

The section goes across the aqueduct due to disputes between ranch owners in the Tehachapi Mountains and the federal government. Instead of taking a scenic route, the trail cuts right through the heart of the desert in order to return hikers back to mountainous terrain.

I did some chores, and then went with the group to the Neenach Market. The trail angel at Hiker Town had us fill an old limousine with gas using five gallon gerrycans, and then we all squeezed in. It was an otherworldly experience, speeding down the highway watching the sun-baked desert landscape alongside other hikers, in a limo, no less.

The Neenach Market was a tiny store on the highway that had decent options for resupply and a little market. Once I resupplied and ate a breakfast burrito, I even got to shower there.

The chores were done, and all there was left to do was wait out the heat. I wrote, did some reading, hung out a bit with the hikers. I thought about going back to Hiker Town, but it was so windy and hot that I really didn’t want to.

I got a text from Clare that she and Rory had found a dormitory in the back of the store with cots to sleep on. I tip-toed back there, since they asked me to keep it on the down low so other hikers wouldn’t be loud in there. The three of us took a nap in the slightly-cooler living space. That was, until, a random lady popped in screaming, “Nacho, are you in here?!” Once she saw us, though, she apologized and left. We were up after that, and for the rest of the afternoon we just chilled and hung out with a very sweet cat, presumably named Nacho.

We went back to Hiker Town to prepare, and the air was buzzing with anticipation. Hikers were putting on face paint, playing music, eating dinner, and it felt like we were going off to battle.

I definitely felt nervous about the Aqueduct. What if I lost the group and had to hike alone in the dark, or saw sketchy characters in the desert? I tried to quell these fears as I had Candy Crush paint my face with four-leaf clover, for luck. Rory painted Clare’s face, and gave her a French pencil mustache, which was so hilarious. We started calling her, “Monsieur Aqueduct,” which might be a new trail name.

We set off at 6:30, hiking down a road, and then next to the open-air aqueduct. We turned a corner and started walking on the rust-colored pipe. The sunset views were spectacular from up above. It was epic to see the big group of hikers walking into the sunset. I couldn’t believe I was here, on this iconic section of the PCT.

As the sun was setting, I hung out with Sandra, and we had a nice chat about how we were navigating being slightly slower than rest of the group. We talked about still wanting to be social as well as prioritizing our independence. It really helped me to talk to her, because I felt less alone in the struggles I had been having for the past few weeks.

When the sky got dark, Rory and I waited for Clare, who had fallen behind. Her feet were giving her major trouble. When she approached, we started asking her how she was with great sympathy. But when we actually saw her face and her face-painted mustache again, we started cracking up, remembering that she was Monsieur Aqueduct. Even though she was having a hard time, the three of us had a good laugh. We continued on into the night.

Despite some sketchy moments where cars were speeding through at odd hours of the night, the night hiking was great. It was just flat walking on a concrete surface for a majority of the night. I packed out two Red Bulls, which helped tremendously to keep me awake the whole night. I chatted with Rory a lot under the glow of our red headlights, and we had a great time hanging out. Clare sung for us, and we took breaks in the bushes.

At 11pm, we watched a huge, orange, waning moon rise over Lancaster. Rory and I both had downloaded Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” to listen to tonight. I can’t explain how awesome it felt to the album while traversing the open desert under the light of stars, a great big moon, a dozens of blinking lights from the wind turbines. I think I will remember that for my entire life.

Obviously, as the night wore on, we got more and more exhausted. The wind picked up significantly too, maybe blowing thirty mile per hour gusts, at least. Clare wasn’t feeling good, and talked to us about trying to get a trail angel to pick her up tomorrow. I felt so bad for her, since she really wanted to stay on trail and never complains. I knew she must be in a lot of pain.

We got to camp at about 3:30am, underneath a bridge on the wind farm. We had hiked 17 miles that night. I set up my sleeping pad and fell asleep instantly.

Day 44: Mile 534.9 – 553.9

Waking up beneath the spinning turbines and the rising sun, I felt like I had the combination of the worst jet lag and hangover of my life. I felt pretty beat up from hiking 17 miles and then sleeping less than three hours.

There was a cute bunny hopping around us though, chewing on the grass as we stirred, not wanting to wake up. I looked next to me, and realized that I had set up camp right next to Sandra last night but didn’t even realize it, which was a good laugh.

Clare was not feeling well, her feet in too much pain to go on, so a trail angel was picking her up from a dirt road. It was sad to say goodbye, since we’ve hiked and camped together most days, but I was happy she was taking care of herself.

I hiked out of camp at 7am, and it was already roasting hot. There wasn’t much shade around, apart from the wind turbines.

I was in good spirits though, once I had woken up a bit. It was crazy to wake up and be in a new place, having covered so much distance in the night. I listened to music, just my liked songs on shuffle, and found myself in a really good mood. There was a big climb, and it was definitely heating up, but I think I’m lucky that being from Vegas means I have a high threshold for dealing with heat. It’s nice that even though I’m not the fastest hiker, I feel like I have decent endurance when the temperatures rise.

I descended into Tylerhorse Canyon, which had flowing water, and super dark-colored canyon walls up above. I wish I took a picture!! I met Rory and a few of the other members of our group under a large tree casting shade on the sandy floor. While eating food and catching up, a huge gopher snake slithered through the group of us, unbothered.

After I ate, I passed out cold for about two hours. There were probably a dozen hikers sleeping under the tree, some who had arrived while I was asleep. I really wish I got a picture. All of us were completely zapped by the heat and the long night.

It was such an amazing nap, though, and I felt so much better. I made food, took care of my blister, which was healing nicely, and left the spot at 5:30 pm with Sandra and Mike. There was a really long climb on this stretch, and I couldn’t believe that people had done it the middle of the day, with no shade anywhere to be found.

Towards the middle of the climb, the sun started to set, and I could see out into the distance, towards everything we had just walked across. Baden-Powell, the San Gabriels, the mountains after Agua Dulce, the whole desert stretched out before us. An immense feeling of pride in myself and my friends welled up within me— we had walked through all of that. I had nearly made it through this difficult section after Agua Dulce, but also the desert section as a whole. It was beyond belief!

Once the sun had set, I night hiked with a hiker named Morgan. We talked being outdoor educators in our pre-trail lives. The two of us shined our lights on trail to look at all the kangaroo mice hopping around as we walked.

It was really quick, and soon we made it to the water cache at Mile 549, where someone had set up fairy lights and had tables and chairs for hikers to sit. It was such a nice surprise!

After the cache, it was a four mile push to camp, and we were trying to make it there before midnight. Rory and I hiked together, and I was hyping him up since he was feeling pretty beat up. The trail was downhill, and super easy. At first I was nervous leading us in the dark, but after awhile I got much more confident. We watched the moonrise again, this time over the wind turbines. Apparently this area has the largest wind farm in the whole United States, and you could really believe that based on the sea of blinking red lights out in the distance.

We made it to camp and cowboy camped under the whooshing of three ginormous turbines. Despite the long day yesterday and today, I actually was feeling really good. The hiking was going great, and my body has been feeling really good. I was looking forward to being in town soon though, and sleeping in a bed.

Day 45: Mile 553.9 – 558.5

I woke up beneath turbines again, this time feeling much more well-rested. I took my time getting ready, drinking coffee, and chatting with Rory, Mike, Lydia, and Nate, since we didn’t have many miles to do to get to the road to town.

The hike was super pleasant, just a gentle downhill with incredible views of the wind farms. I listened to the Talking Heads and their album “Stop Making Sense,” one of my favorites of all time. I thought that the industrial, uncanny yet beautiful scene of the wind turbines matched their vibe. It put me in such a good mood, and I was flying down the hill.

We made it to the road, and started trying for a hitch. This was the first time I was actually trying hitchhiking with a group. Lydia and I stood on both sides of the road with our thumbs out, but after twenty-five minutes, there was no luck. Clare saved the day, though, because she was able to ask the trail angel who she was staying with to pick us up.

He brought right to Henry’s Cafe, a diner where we filled up on coffee, juice, and lots of food. Amazingly, a hiker named Doug (from Oregon!!) paid for all of our meals since we helped him get a ride to town and hiked together a bit. It was so incredibly kind!!

Once I was done with breakfast, I set off to Tehachapi Shipping Service, where my brother had sent my shoes I bought in Idyllwild, as well as my Invisalign. When I got there though, the lady at the counter didn’t have the package, even though it said it had been delivered. I really needed the new shoes, and obviously my Invisalign tray would have been a huge loss, so I called the Post Office customer service line desperately, and thought that it might be days until I got an answer. I was definitely stressing.

Luckily, the Tehachapi Post Office called me to say they had accidentally kept the package at the Post Office since it said, “PCT Hiker” on the box instead of delivering it to the shipping service. I had originally sent it to the shipping service since the post office was miles away. Luckily, they sent someone to bring the package to me, and I even got a ride to my hotel in a USPS van. A huge thank you goes out to both Tehachapi Shipping Service and Tehachapi USPS. Everyone was so kind to me!!

I checked into my room at The Fairfield in Tehachapi, thanks to my mom who gave me one of her free night vouchers. The room was incredible, with a big bed and A/C that I turned down to 65 degrees. Thank you Mom!!

Even though I didn’t want to, I forced myself to do my resupply shopping after showering and doing laundry. I walked to Walmart, which obviously had the most incredible resupply options that I’ve encountered on trail so far. I got so many different snacks, vegan ramen, lots of PopTarts, and Little Debbie muffins. Shopping in Walmart reminded me of grocery shopping with my trail crew last summer, and of Isabel’s baby sister June, who loves going to Walmart. All I can say is that I had an epic time.

I met up with my friends at their hotel afterwards, and we hung out in the parking lot before Rory, Clare, and I got dinner at TK Pizza.

We then walked to the VFW, where there was supposedly karaoke. Sure enough, there was, and a whole bunch of hikers already there. I sung “Thunder Road,” which made me miss my friends Amy, Bee, Niko, and Shanilla, since we would always do karaoke together at the Ebb Tide Room in Seattle. A group of hikers put the song “500 Miles” in the queue, and invited all of the other PCTers in the crowd to join. It was so sweet, and incredible way to celebrate having hiked that far.

I went home early, and basically passed out as soon as I arrived. Being in a nice cool room with a bed was so needed!!!!

Day 46: Tehachapi Zero

I’m including the zero in this post since I essentially did nothing the entire day. I woke up right in time for hotel breakfast, ate waffles and eggs, and headed right back to my room, where I laid down for probably four hours, writing blog posts. This is the first zero where I truly relaxed in bed most of the day. I organized my stuff and went over to my friends’ hotel to say hi, but it was mostly a day of pure rest. The day ended with DoorDashing food from a Thai place and taking a nice long bath.

The next section is going to be (surprise!) another tough one, with even longer water carries. One stretch without water will last 22 miles! The desert isn’t through with us yet. Still, I’m feeling more and more confident in my abilities, and spurred on by excitement for the Sierras. The struggles of the last section also brought me even closer to my friends, which feels really nice. I feel like a true PCT hiker after making it through this section, since you really have to want to be here in order to put up with the ridiculously difficult desert parts.

The next time I post I’ll officially be done with desert and into the Sierras!! I can’t wait!!