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Episode 31: Day 51-53

Day 51:

IT IS SO WINDY! Packing up was a chore… Anything that I didn’t have in my hands had to be held down by rocks so it wouldn’t be swept away by the relentless gusts. But eventually, I was all packed up and ready to go.

Legs are feeling fresh and strong. Finally getting my hiker legs.

Took a glorious midday nap near a water source. I slept well knowing that I wasn’t going to face another 20 mile dry stretch for quite some time (at least until Northern California).

I woke up to the sound of two hikers collecting water. I recognized them from the group that was concerned over the nearby fire. Looks like they decided to push on as well. After introducing myself to Jammin and Superstar, I played some songs for them on my ukulele (per request)… They don’t call me Troubadour for nothing.

Left our mini oasis a little after 4pm, and climbed 1400 ft before setting up camp.

17 miles today

Cacti in bloom!:

Dirty is the new tan:

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Day 52:

Rest day! Eat, sleep, and read.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough water to comfortably dry camp for another night, so I packed up at 9:20pm and hiked to the next water source, setting up again camp at 11pm.

5 miles.

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Day 53:

This morning’s hike is completely exposed, no shade at all. I miss my umbrella…

After several hours of hiking, I found a sliver of shade to take a midday rest in. Had some lunch and played lots of ukulele. There is something really special about feeling that comfortable alone on a ridge in the wilderness. Feels like home.

Hiked down to the next water source, where I met another hiker, Spare Liter. After dinner, we headed out together. And I’m so glad we did, since I wasn’t alone when we walked right by a green mojave, one of the baddest rattlensnakes around. This guy was huge! He got up tall and hissed and rattled incessantly. Spare Liter and I got out of there ASAP. I didn’t even stop to take a picture!

A little later we cooled down with a swim in the Kern River. He then set up camp and I kept hiking, I wanted to make it to Kennedy Meadows. HELLO CENTRAL CALIFORNIA!

21 miles today

Foot therapy:

Dip in the Kern:

700 Miles!:

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Video (from day 51):

Episode 30: Day 50

Great start to the day. Made it to walker pass by 1:30pm. 17 miles!
Stuck out a thumb and got a ride into Onyx from Greg. He was so nice! He took me to the post office, waited for me in the parking lot, and then drove me to the general store!

But… I made the classic mistake of leaving gear in a hitch… An untimely departure of my trusty umbrella.

Fun fact, shoes only last about 500-600 miles. Props to Merrel for sending me a new pair! To my first pair, I say “Thank you for Campo to Walker Pass. I will always treasure the memories from our time together.”

After waiting out the heat of the day, hitched back to trail via Adam.

Quite soon I encountered some hikers REALLY concerned about the Lake Isabbella fire that was only 40 miles away from the trail. But I decided to push on anyway, because instead of looking for reasons to quit, I look for reasons to keep going. If the fire isn’t an apparent danger right now, I’m not going to wait around for it to become one.

Almost to walker pass:

Fire trouble:

One of the reasons I wanted to keep moving:

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Video:

Do I sound a wee bit nervous?

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Bonus footage:

Episode 29: Day 47-49

Day 47:

Only 6 miles to water! Did I mention that I LOVE WATER.

Hiking these dry stretches has been quite the humbling experience.

Met an older hiker by the trail name Martini and we hiked together for the remainder of the day. With a bit of encouragement from him I decided to cowboy camp for the first time.

If you are wondering what cowboy camping is, it’s when you forgo a shelter and simply roll out your sleeping pad and bag and sleep under the stars.

Why have I hesitated to do this until now? Like a kid under his blankly, I feel like the millimeter of nylon that is my tent keeps me safe from monsters and such.

Then why am I trying it? To explore discomfort, to (hopefully) learn that I’m safer than my imagination leads me to believe, and to live a little danerously. (Plus I have company in case I need rescuing from the monsters.)

18 Miles on the day.

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Day 48:

I SURVIVED THE NIGHT!

Not even one monster. Success!

Packing up camp was so quick! Mainly because everything but my sleep stuff stayed in my pack due to cowboy camping. I could get used to this.

Martini and I made it to Robin Spring just in time for a mid-day siesta. Officially, my two favorite things in life are water and shade.

Ate a cold dinner at the next water source to conserve fuel, and pushed on to camp at the very well stocked water cache.

Camped with Martini, Andrea, and Jeremy.

And I decided to cowboy camp again! Why not?

Oh, and I forgot to mention that I REACHED THE 600 MILE MARKER TODAY!!

21 miles overall.

Cowboy camp setup:

I wore a net to keep the creepy crawlers out my face during the night:

600 big ones:

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Day 49:

Woke up naturally to the sunrise. What a feeling.

Stocked up on water and hiked out, solo. Company is nice, but I really like to hike by myself.

Occasionally took refuge under the shade of Joshua trees where I ate, napped, and jammed out on the uke.

Made it to the next water cache where I reunited with Martini.

BY THE WAY. Without these two water caches, it would have been a 42 mile dry stretch. THANK YOU TRAIL ANGELS!!!

Kept hiking solo until about 9:15pm, and set up camp.

18 miles on the day.

Grateful for the shade:

Enjoying the afternoon cool down:

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Video:

Episode 28: Day 44-46

Day 44:

So the plan was simple: Wake up, walk a mile, and catch the 8:45am bus into town.

And I executed the plan perfectly… for a 9:45am bus… but there wasn’t a 9:45am bus. Oops #1 of the day.

So now what? TRAIL ANGEL TO THE RESCUE!

Fortunately, I had the list of Tehachapi Trail Angel’s and the first one I called was willing and able to give me a ride to the holiday inn express. Woohoo! Thanks Trail Angel Rae! BUT, I didn’t have any gas money to give her as is customary… Oops #2.

Got my boxes from the post office across the street and bought all the junk food I could carry at the convenience store.

Not having cash resulted in my Oops #3… not being able to utilize the coin laundry at the hotel. But I came up with a creative solution; bathtub laundry!

Ended the afternoon with a very enjoyable ukulele session. I’m so happy I have it with me for this journey.

Big ol’ resupply:

Turn the tub around:

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Day 45:

Rest day!

I slept most of the day and when I wasnt sleeping, I was eating; ice cream, cereal and milk, assorted candy bars, etc.

I did do some reading today as well. I finished Lord of the Flies (decently entertaining, but I don’t really get all the hype) and I read Narcissus and Goldmund, a great book about the struggles between mind and heart. I also read the first short story in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, a book I pulled from the hiker box at hikertown.

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Day 46:

Pack up in the morning and ready to hit the trail!

Once again, trail angel Rae to the rescue! (And an opportunity for redemption with some gas money).

Yay! Back on trail. Time to make some miles, right? WRONG

About 20 feet of hiking later, I experience crippling pain in my calf. I wasn’t sure if it was a tear or a cramp, but it was horrible.

I sat there and chugged water until the pain was bearable (fortunately there was a water cache nearby). I pushed on for 3 miles and took a long rest in the shade.

Once the sun let up, I continued hiking, but I didn’t make it too far. 11 miles on the day.

It’s dry out here:

Sunset:

Why I don’t cowboy camp:

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Video:

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Bonus footage:

Episode 27: Day 43

Had a very leisurely morning. Natural wake instead of via alarm, played some ukelele before packing up camp, and slowly enjoyed my breakfast instead of scarfing it down (as per usual).
The windfarm seemed ENDLESS. Hiked through it all day. It didn’t help that I didn’t see any other hikers… The only humans I saw today were people working on the turbines in the distance.

Found what I thought was a great spot to camp… until… ATTACK OF THE COWS. Apparently I camped on the side of a livestock trail, and neither I or the cows were happy with the encounter.

Going into town tomorrow! Tehachapi here I come!

Finishing up the desert:

Almost made a wrong turn there:

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Video:

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Bonus footage:

Episode 26: Day 41-42

Day 41:

I was originally planning on waiting out the heat today, but since it was consistently windy all morning, I decided to hike out at 10am. Fortunately, I felt a little less crazy about it since my new friend Aviator was also ready to hike then.

We walked along the LA aqueduct pretty much all day. It was fairly flat, and the wind kept us cool, so we made great time.

Hiked through fields of Joshua Trees and ended up in the middle of a wind farm, where we set up camp.

Had my first “ramen bomb” dinner (aka mashed potatoes and ramen mix). It’s basically the answer to the question “how many carbs can I eat at once?” The answer… A LOT.

20 miles today!

The aqueduct:

The terrain:

The wind farm:

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Day 42:

So it’s confirmed, I’m a late starter. Aviator packed up camp and hiked out at 7am. I didn’t head out until 8am. Oh well…

Met some new friends at the next water source: Oats, Thunderfoot, and Wild Child.

Pushed on and made it to some sweet trail magic: water, apples, and oranges galore. YUMMY. Met Doc as I was leaving the cache.

Pushed on and camped yet again, in a wind farm.

18 miles today.

This is the desert:

Shade with a view:

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Video:

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Bonus footage:

Episode 25: Day 39-40 (and 4 days off trail)

Day 39:

I like sleeping without a rain fly on my tent, that way, I get the natural sunrise wake of cowboy camping without the risk of creepy crawlers cuddling with me during the night.

Early in the day, I met Comador, a 2002 thru hiker who came out this year to hike the sections that were closed in ’02. I thought that was so cool! So many people say that they are going to make up the sections that they skipped, but this guy is actually doing it. Way to go Comador!

Found my hiker legs! Hiked 6 miles straight without taking a break!

My phone was out of battery, but thanks to GW, I found hikertown around 1pm.

Im heading into town tomorrow, so I was done for the day. Only cost me $5 to camp there that night.

Hikertown:

Silly Wabbit:

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Day 40 (and 4 days off trail):

Hung out with Chocolate Milk, Bear Claw, Whiskey Walker, and Bird all morning. They were waiting out the heat of the day, and I was waiting for my ride to Bakersfield.

So why am I going into Bakersfield for 4 days? I’m glad you asked. To celebrate the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, the anniversary of the giving of the Torah at Mt Sinai.

And after wandering in the desert for 40 days, it seemed very appropriate that I celebrate it to the fullest.

Most graciously, Chabad of Bakersfield hosted me for the holiday. Delicious food, drink, and air conditioning were always available.

And it gets better! Four Rabbinical students from LA were also spending the holiday in Bakersfield, so they were able to give me a ride both ways! And they were awesome to hang out with; they didn’t smell like sweat or sunscreen or anything. But in all seriousness, they were really cool guys.

Hikertown to Chabad and back to Hikertown. Talk about culture shock.

Chabad Squad:

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No video due to low/no phone memory/storage.

Episode 24: Day 38

Today was a doozy…

Started hiking at 7am, and was immediately challenged by the steep 1 mile approach trail to reconnect with the PCT.

I couldn’t find the water source at Sawmill campground, but fortunately, Paramount and Whistler were willing to donate a liter! 🙂

Then came the gnats…

Dozens of gnats swarmed my face, doing any and every thing in their power to test me… I have never been so close to “losing it.”

After inhaling my 2nd gnat, it dawned on me that I have a mosquito head-net in my pack! Haha gnats! Who has the power now?!??!?!????!!!!

Then it became way too hot to hike. Plus I was short on water, so I found a shade hole to nap in, right after I PASSED THE 500 MILE MARKER!!! (High point of the day… You’ll see why…)

Then my phone ran out of charge… (My external battery was also out).

Then I actually ran out of water. And without a phone, I had little idea where I was and even less idea where the next water was.

PEOPLE! I met a couple who informed me that we were at mile 502 and that the next good water source was at 505, however, a very questionable water source was at 503, but people only used it if desperate.

503 sounded like a perfect match, particularly since I could not conceive of hiking another 3 miles in my condition, as I was already exhibiting signs of dehydration. So yeah… I was desperate.

I’m still trying to figure out what made it a “questionable” water source. Was it because the water was brown? Or because it had trash in it? Or was it the rabbit carcass floating around in there?

Anyways… after both a filter and iodine treatment, I drank the dead-rabbit-trash-water, AND IT WAS GLORIOUS. Never have I had so much appreciation a drink of water.

Plus, in a weird way, I’m glad that I was able to show that dead-rabbit-trash-water some love. Most people probably don’t even look twice at it.

After rehydration, and bee sting treatment (oh ya… I got stung while collecting said water), I was able to make it to mile 505, and set up camp with Chipotle, Snooze, and Yoga Pants.

Head-net for the win!:

500 MILES: