Day 40: Rites of Passage

Miles: 28
Camping: Walker Pass Campground PCT mile 651.4
Hikers seen on trail: 0

They say that the Appalachian Trail is more physically challenging, where the PCT is more mentally challenging. Today, I really felt both my mental and physical limits were reached. The AT doesn’t have a desert section, the PCT’s rite of passage. I’ve given everything I can to embracing this desert, even romanticizing the experience. I love the early mornings with pink and purple skies, the early evenings just as the air begins to cool, cowboy camping under the starry nights, the diversity and tenacity of the desert life, finding water in unlikely places. These things are lovely parts of a much bigger whole.

The desert is harsh and inhospitable, pushing every button you have until you just want to give up. It’s like a bully on the playground; dumping sand in your shoes, then throwing it in your face, pushing you around with gusts of wind, poking you in unforgivable places with all sorts of spiny objects; taunting, teasing and tortuous at times. It is not for the feint of heart, and I’ve seen a fair share of hikers bow out in this section. I certainly considered leaving today, as we marched uphill in the soft sand against the wind for 2 miles. For the first time when I asked myself if I’d rather be somewhere else, the answer was a resounding, “Yes!” Anywhere that isn’t the desert. Anywhere that will not torture my poor feet any longer, burning blisters through the soles of my shoes. I still want to be hiking, but not here. I’m done with the desert and it’s agonizing waterless miles…but I’m not quite finished. My dues are almost paid, but there is still some miles to gain my rite of passage to the Sierra.

The mountains, they are welcoming. They roll out the lush pine needle carpet, trees wave hello and offer luxurious shade, rivers offer up a cold drink on a hot day, or a dip if you’re so inclined; mountains take you above the clouds, overlooking places like deserts and valleys, rivers and lakes. Yes, it will be a well deserved reward to arrive there in just a few days time. I will have passed the training ground of the PCT, and it will be a proud moment.

Today had a harsh beginning, but became more tame as it progressed. We hiked 2 miles uphill in that soft sand, against that bully wind to start off the day. My legs and butt protested each step, my feet cried in pain, “haven’t we been through enough?,” they seemed to implore. My mind was falling out of me, telling me to sit in the sand and wait for a helicopter ride. It was no way to start the day, and yet I kept climbing. I kept putting one foot in front of the other, sometimes wincing, occasionally cursing. Johnny was ahead of me, and whenever I looked forward to see where he was, he was higher up still, always above me in elevation. We just kept climbing. It was an eternity, and my shoes kept filling with sand. I’d stop to dump it, worried about my healing blisters, but it was always futile.

After climbing the hill of hell, we came upon a water cache. If it hadn’t been there, we would be in a 31 mile stretch without any water after climbing the hill of doom. To say I was appreciative would be an understatement. We stopped in the shade and I made a cup of coffee while eating my last trail bar. I tried to make light of the day, as I knew Johnny couldn’t have been any more pleased with the climb than I. We joked a little and then looked ahead to the 3.5 mile climb we were about to embark on. At least it wasn’t sandy, and there were trees up there. Trees. Shade.

It turned out to be an easy climb that sounded worse than it was. We gained a lot of elevation, but we are getting stronger every day, and it wasn’t climbing in the desert. It was climbing out of the desert. The second best part was arriving at the top with a view of the Sierra ahead. We took this in and walked easily for the rest of the day. There was no more climbing, plenty of shade and though we were running low on water, a light at the end of the tunnel. We were going to arrive at Walker Pass, where I would hitchhike to town, and Johnny would continue on to Kennedy Meadows. I’m about to lose another hiking partner, but I’m confident it will all work out.

Much to our surprise, with all of the flat shady walking, we felt strong enough to finish the 28 miles in one day. Initially, we were going to get within 8 miles and finish in the morning, but we decided to keep truckin. Not bad for 2 people who were laid up in a hotel just a few days ago. Not only did we kick butt today, but we arrived at the campground to trail magic! There were cold drinks, hard boiled eggs, cheese, apples, bagels, fresh green beans, chips, candies, and my personal favorite trail food: Peanut M&M’s! I decided to stay here and enjoy this with Johnny before we had to part ways tomorrow. It will be easier to get to town in the morning, and I won’t have to pay for a hotel. In and out, just to get errands done and eat a big breakfast. I will try to get back on trail tomorrow night, I don’t want to lose too much time here! I have a couple of boxes to pick up, and a few items to pick up at the larger market. Sadly, there will probably be no shower, which is a shame…these last few days in the desert have made me the dirtiest I’ve been in my life, but in a couple of days I can wash it away in the Kern River. In a couple of days, I can wash the desert off of me for good.

Day 39: When isn’t it snack time?

Miles: 20.14
Camping: PCT mile 623.5
Hikers seen on trail: 14

Whoever put me in charge of alarm duty should’ve known better. I come with a warning: “will hit snooze, sometimes unintentionally.” When Ninja was in charge, it was much easier to wake up, mostly because he doesn’t come with a snooze button. So, this mornings 4:00 alarm turned into about a 4:25 wake up. Not terrible, but on the other side of the day, things could’ve run a lot closer to schedule if we could have had an earlier jump on the day.

Johnny and I set off just before Dozen and Peanut, making quick miles to our last water source for 21 miles. The morning walk was extremely easy and pleasant, all of us hiking in our down jackets and making over 3mph. The water was a 1/4 mile detour to another piped spring.

At the spring, we all filled up for the day and drank what we could at the source. Learning from yesterday’s no coffee experiment, I made a cup and drank it with one hand while filtering with the other. My priorities were conflicted, but equally met. We did have the intention of hiking the bulk of our miles before the heat of the day, so there wasn’t a lot of time allotted for leisurely activities such as morning coffee. It’s one thing I will not miss about this desert.

Peanut had arrived last to the water and reported that she’d seen a bear! It was a small one that hid behind a sage bush to watch her hike on by. We were all jealous, especially Dozen. He’s wanting to see a bear bad enough he considered hiking back to have a look. I have yet to see anything that exciting, with my rattlesnake count at only 3, and tarantula sightings at 0. I do happen to see a bunny nearly every day, obviously my spirit animal out here. Every one else has cool stories though, including one guy who saw a tarantula wasp dragging a tarantula to it’s nest! I’m not sure how well I would stomach that, but in the end it would be pretty cool. They paralyze the tarantulas and lay their eggs in them, then the larvae eat their way out. Crazy stuff goes down in the desert.

After about 8 miles, we ran into a man headed the opposite direction. He reported that we were soon going to lose the lovely shade we had grown accustomed to within 1/4 mile. This prompted a break where Johnny and I shoved snacks in our faces gluttonously, enjoying the shade of some Ponderosas. When Peanut walked by, she asked, “is it snack time?” All I could think after that was, “when isn’t it snack time?” Aside from water and sleep, food is pretty much all we think about…and it’s often thought of above all else.

When we lost the shade it still wasn’t all that hot out, though the temperature was rising. We stumbled upon an unexpected water cache where we sat and drank up what we could stomach. There we met Robodoc who is scouting for the water report, hiking southbound. We sat and chatted with her for a bit while drinking up.

Johnny and I decided to get a couple more miles done before it got real hot, so we bid farewell to Robodoc and the water cache and marched into the desert. What we soon realized is that real hot was happening fast, as was no shade-o-clock. There were no shady areas we could see, and we were soon losing precious water through our pores. We were way out of our element, he from the UK and I from Portland. We live under clouds most of the year, and suddenly we found ourselves under an unforgiving and cloudless sky. This made me especially nervous as I looked to my thermometer which read 100 at 11am. This is blister breeding heat, and I absolutely cannot grow any more of those suckers. I’m finally on the mend, and so close to getting out of the desert. So close.

Finally we spotted some Joshua trees a bit off trail. We hunkered down in the limited shade, ate lots of snacks, took naps, read, ate more, napped more and reevaluated our plan in the span of 4 hours. It was so hot we watched heat rising from the horizon, and we decided that we needed to chop some miles from our goal for the day, as well as take an unplanned detour for extra water. We had planned to skip the detour before the reality of the heat set in, realizing it was better to keep hydrated and shorten our mileage goals for the day. We aren’t in any big hurry, so no need to push ourselves.

The detour was awesome! We got ro scramble down a gully over giant boulders, and it was mostly shady. I had a blast going down there, and when we got to the water Lowlander was already there welcoming us. There was a pond and lots of grass where we sat in the still hot sun to make dinner. I treated myself to a Mountain House lasagna which was delicious. Soon Biscuit and Dirty Joe showed up, and we all relaxed for a bit before moving on.

The climb out was a bit brutal. It was the longest 1.6 miles I’ve walked in ages. Though the sun was setting, it was still hot, and we were walking straight uphill, fully exposed to the sun. At the top we took a break and ran into two young guys from LA doing the trail in 3 months, and averaging 30 miles a day! Ambitious and impressive, I say. They are taking video of how people got their trail names, which should be fun to watch.

We walked just a bit more and are cowboy camping beneath Joshua Trees against the stars. I’m quite tuckered out from the day, and we face a big morning climb. Off to dreamland for me!

multitasking

Day 38: It’s all about the water

Miles: 22.58
Camping: PCT mile 605.86
Hikers seen on trail: 7

We seem to be getting the true desert experience as we wind down our time here. Water is the farthest between sources than we’ve seen it yet, and consistently so. Our mileage each day from here until Walker Pass is determined for us by the availability of water, not by much else. Today, we had to carry enough to make it 19 miles, which is roughly 4 liters each if you don’t plan to cook in that time. I’d much rather snack all day than carry extra water, and eat at the source. Today this meant skipping my mid-day coffee, but the extra water is not worth it’s weight. I may feel differently tomorrow.

We didn’t break camp until 5:30, but we still managed a leisurely day full of breaks. The hike started out in a burn area, which a lot of people find sad. I see so much life in these areas though, as it opens things up for new plants to grow. Many plants need fire in order to propagate, so I see the whole thing as part of the great circle of life. Like many things that seem bad, there is a greater purpose. On top of my philosophical observations, there were some cows grazing in the burned area. They were pretty cute, and unlike stories I’ve heard from people on the trail, they were docile.

It got hot early, and there were several climbs to do today. Fortunately,  after the burn there was a great meadow full of live oak where we took a nice shady rest. The trail meandered through the hills, going up and down through the golden grasses, sometimes red, sometimes green. There were lots of shade trees and big boulders, our feet treated to a pine needle carpet for the first time in a long while. We are in the Sierra foothills, though we dip down to the desert for another hurrah tomorrow. Any respite from the desert is welcomed, though I may miss it when it’s gone.

We took a big long nap under some Ponderosa pines, having to shift a couple of times to follow the shade. It felt dreamy, as I’m a huge fan of naps and breaks. After sleep, I ate a whole bag of picante corn nuts and a snickers bar. I’m short on food I can eat without adding water, so I made do knowing I could eat a healthy dinner. From there we climbed and fell some more through the hills until we reached water. There was a pipe coming out of the hill and cow pies everywhere. We found a little area with minimal dung to cook dinner, and gathered some water for the short 3.5 mile march to the next spring. If only nature were better engineered to space out these springs for us, but it was nice to hike with only 1 liter, if only for a short distance. Tomorrow we have to carry for 21 miles, and it is predicted to be hot.

We found ourselves a little sandy spot to cowboy camp, and we are joined by Dozen and Peanut. The plan is to wake up early, as we don’t drink as much water in the cooler mornings. We can get a solid 10 miles done before it gets hot, saving our backs from the burden of water weight. My goal now is to sleep well before the 4am alarm.
Goodnight.

The difference an action wipe makes

Day 37: Home Sweet Trail

Miles: 16.78
Camping: PCT mile 583.28
Hikers seen on trail: 8

I woke up from a restful slumber to an alarm for the first time in 3 days. It wasn’t easy, but I’m beyond ready to get back to hiking. Rest has been good and essential, but I’m feeling a lot better and I’m super eager to hike again. We are so close to finishing the desert, and I’m very excited for the Sierra. It’s now just Johnny and I in the hotel, as everyone else has moved ahead.

Continental breakfast at Best Western outshone that of Holiday Inn, and I ate like it was my last town meal for 5 days; 2 waffles, scrambled eggs, sausage, a banana and yogurt. I regretted the second waffle, but only temporarily.

Pockets had been staying with a trail angel who was willing to pick Johnny and I up on their way, which was pretty awesome. The trail angel worked for the city, and gave us a cool little micro tour on our way out of town. Tehachapi gets the majority of its revenue from the tens of thousands of windmills surrounding it, and it is apparently a highly lucrative business. They have the highest concentration of wind in the world, and the windmills never seem to end.

We were dropped off around 8:30 and began our journey by paralleling the highway for the first mile or so. Not very scenic, and kind of a drag as we were eager to escape civilization. Pockets announced she was still feeling under the weather, and she wanted to turn back. I hated to hear that, and I’m sure it was especially hard for her to make that decision. Speedy recovery lady! Get back to us soon! Johnny and I were feeling pretty good, so we said goodbye and began our 4 mile uphill climb. It was quite the reintroduction to the trail, and though I felt a bit weak and softened by town, I loved to be hiking again. My feet felt good, and my new shoes seem like they will work out well, if only temporarily. They don’t offer much support, so I will have to reevaluate before the mountains.

Halfway up the climb I was thrilled to run into Dozen and Peanut! I hadn’t seen them since McDonalds, as they had to take some time in Wrightwood because Peanut injured her IT band. Ninja and I have been missing them quite a bit, and though he’s now ahead, I feel happy to have my trail family coming back together. I have faith that we will all reconvene in Kennedy Meadows. In the meantime, Johnny and I make a good team. Since we are both coming off injury, we keep a steady pace with ample breaks. The day seemed perpetually leisurely as we made our way into the high desert and into more windmills. Everything is starting to feel right again. Being on the trail feels right.

We made it to the water source at 16.8 miles where a cut open aluminium can funnels spring water at a little less than 1liter per minute. We all sort of bottle necked at the spout trying to stock up for the 19 mile hike to water tomorrow, but also enjoyed some time hanging out and making dinner as a group. There are a handful of us camping here tonight, with the plan of hiking to the next water source tomorrow morning. I’m not in a big hurry, as I’m still healing, and I want to enjoy the last week of the desert. I may be the only one, but in some ways this is already going by too fast. It’s time to savor these moments for the great memories that have been created and are yet to come. It sure feels great to be back home on the trail.

Hopefully my feet continue to improve, and the days ahead can be rewarding again. Now I will fall asleep, cowboy camping, listening to the hum of windmills, and smiling to no one in particular. Goodnight.

Day 35-36: Urgent Care and Counting Blessings

After waking up with an inflated foot and dark purple blisters, I realized I was no longer simply dealing with mere blisters. My body felt weak and drowsy, obviously fighting off an infection. Ninja’s mom offered to drive me to urgent care in Bakersfield, 45 minutes away. I felt bad, not wanting to take away from their visit, but knew I was running out of options. It is not worth risking a more serious problem by ignoring this one.

We managed to make it work so that the others could do their grocery shopping while I saw the doctor. The doc had never even heard of the PCT, and he seemed more intrigued by that than the pressing matter of my foot. He asked me why I didn’t consider quitting the hike and I looked at him as if he had 2 heads…”that is not an option,” I said.

He accepted that and prescribed me an oral antibiotic and steroid cream. Apparently I got a fungal infection that found its way into my blisters. Funny how something that seems so insignificant can become such a burden. $250 later, I was able to lay back in the hotel and nurse my wounds. It became apparent that I would not be able to hike out with my friends, which further wounded my spirit. But, I refuse to give up! I am far from done with this hike!

I’m now teamed up with Johnny from the UK, and Pockets is getting back on trail tomorrow (she’s been sick). Johnny also had a foot swelling issue, and all 3 of us had to stay back and watch friends move forward. We hope to hike out in the morning…taking it slow if need be. I got new shoes with more ventilation that are lighter on my feet, and I’m mailing my old one’s up to the next town just in case. Hopefully that will help.

I miss my friends, but with a few of us forced to splinter from our groups, we can join forces to create a new one. We are calling ourselves the strays…but we hope to see our friends again in the Sierra. We all hope to feel strong again soon….and to keep on hiking on.

I feel lucky to have had the support I have, and to be in a place that I could deal with it. I’ve been surrounded by love, and love the people who are a part of this experience. I’ve learned not to take things lightly, and it can always be worse. I’m so happy to be here still, and realize it’s a minor obstacle in a long journey. I have many blessings to count, and new friends taboot. This too shall pass.

Day 34: Blisters 101

Miles: .5
Camping: A posh bed in a hotel in Tehachapi
Hikers seen on trail: 5

I was in the middle of a dream when I felt something tap the top of my sleeping bag. I could barely open my eyes, sleep had been difficult with the blister pain. Ninja was trying to wake me up, we were so close to breakfast, a nice hotel, parents, and a zero day. It took so much energy to sit up, but it would be worth it, so I made it happen.

I looked at my toes,  and the sight was not pretty. Two blisters I had tried to pop, both on the tip of my big toe, were again full of fluid and virtually throbbing. The one on my pinky toe was open and raw, exposing tender pink flesh. I put neosporin everywhere, and bandaids too, hoping it would get me to the second road 8.5 miles ahead.

Standing was a chore, and I resisted the urge to cry. Why would this be happening so late in the trip? My blisters from week one had healed so well, had not given me so much grief. Why is now so much worse?

I told Ninja that I might not make it past the first road crossing .5 miles away. He had me walk ahead, and I could barely manage that short distance. We reached the road, and I accepted the depressing reality that I had to do what was best for my body. If it were the last 8 miles of the trip, if I had no other choice, I could likely pull it off. It was neither of those things, and the pain was unbearable. I sat next to the road and we agreed to meet in town, as he moved on to meet his parents at the next road.

I cried. I cried like a girl dumped at prom. I was angry, pained, and defeated. Blisters!!?! This is what is taking me down? My friend would now be ahead of me, and I am suddenly behind in miles. I wanted to call my mom, but I couldn’t stop crying. I needed to calm down first. Stampede and Landfill came by and they made me smile. Soon they had me laughing too. I was doing the right thing, they assured me, it would all be okay…and we can still find lots of things to laugh about.

They moved on to their 8 mile finish, and I started to feel better. Leonidas and CrackerJack rolled up next and also made me feel better. It will all be okay. I called my mom, and then stuck my thumb out for a ride. It seemed to take a long time, but soon a woman stopped and agreed to take me to meet my friends.

“I’m on my way to church, would you like to join me?” She asked.
Oh no…“that’s sweet,” I said instead, “but I have to meet my friends.”
“Have you accepted Jesus into your heart as your savior?” She asked.
Not now…“Not really.” I said meekly.
“Would you like to pray with me?”
“Now isn’t a good time.”

I changed the subject to blisters, how my friends were waiting, and the desert plant life. She went with it for a short time before inviting me to her house later to read the bible and pray. I told her I was busy, but appreciated the invite. She dropped me at Denny’s, across from our hotel, and I went inside to wait for my friends…but not before she pushed some reading on me. I accepted it knowing it would be left behind at the restaurant.

I waited for 20 minutes, and she returned, full King James Bible in tow. “I thought you needed this.” She said, her painted on eyebrows imploring me to accept Jesus into my heart, right there in Denny’s.
“That is very kind,” I said sweetly, “but that is too heavy to carry. We cut tags out of our clothes to shave weight off our backs.”
She wanted to sit and read it to me as I waited, but I politely declined, and she appeared to get the message. My blisters and I weren’t getting saved today.

Finally, my friends arrived with Ninja’s parents, and everything was better. We ate a large breakfast, which they treated us to (thank you Mama and Papa Ninja!), and we all went to the hotel. His parents bought us soda, beer, cookies, and even shampoo! We all showered, snacked and lounged, and it felt so good, despite my swelling foot. At this point, my blistered foot had puffed up a lot, fighting off infection. It hurt.

Ninja’s parents took all of us out to dinner after we were reunited with Tink, and we ate prime rib, Kobe burgers, salads and more. It was quite the treat! Again, big thanks to Ninja’s parents!

I bought some epsom salts, and soaked my feet while my friends went to the jacuzzi back at the hotel. My foot was definitely fighting off infection, so I soaked my toes and drank my first beer of the trip. It felt good.

Now we are all curled up in beds with nice sheets and pillows. I don’t have to hike tomorrow, so foot care is #1 on the agenda. Here’s hoping there is no need for a doctor, the swelling will go down, and I can hike again soon. Here’s hoping.

Day 32: Hikertown and the LA aqueduct

Miles: 21
Camping: PCT mile 245
Hikers seen on trail: 8

If the places we end up keep getting stranger, I think we’ll be on Mars by June. We woke up in our orchard at 5:15 and drowsily limped down the road to Hiker town. My blisters were screaming and not allowing me to walk a normal stride. All I wanted was food and more sleep, but walking is the only way to get things done, and I was too close at that point to hitch. If nothing else, I’m getting stronger, and eventually the blister days will be but a memory.

Immediately upon arriving at Hikertown, a man came out of what looked like the only actual residence there. He asked where we were from and what we did there. He only seemed to be interested in Ninja’s answer, but that was fine with me. I was too busy taking in the interesting surroundings. The whole place looked like a mini town of the old west, with a post office, sheriff, city hall, doctors office, etc. Some of these buildings housed cats or chickens, and some actually had beds for us to use. It was a $5 donation to use the facilities, which included laundry and a cold shower. There was also a litter of 11 2 week old puppies! Holy cuteness!

Several other hikers were there as well, and we were offered a ride to the store/restaurant 3 miles up the road by the man from the house. The store wasn’t open when we arrived, so we were put in a large office to wait. There were pictures of the man who gave us the ride with celebrities (cool one’s like Al Pacino), and it turns out he worked for a production agency on films like Scarface and Goodfellas. Very cool!

Once the store opened we all ordered breakfast burritos and were told to take what we wanted, but just save the wrappers to ring in later. We all took nice cool beverages from the coolers and shared a pack of mini donuts while our food cooked. It was nice to eat hot breakfast, but with only 3 hours of sleep I wanted to get a nap in ASAP.

That I did in the “doctor’s office,” until the heat of the day made it impossible to sleep. We all spent the rest of the afternoon in couches and chairs in a hiker lounge, playing with puppies, listening to music and trading food until it was cool enough to hike.

Around 5, a group of us headed out to hit the aqueduct, a 10+ mile section walking along LA’s water source. It is kind of cool knowing that we are headed to the source, soon we won’t have to worry about water as much. For now though, we walk 17 waterless miles atop a flowing river encased in concrete.

After walking the aqueduct and dirt road under the stars, we were suddenly surrounded by windmills. They were large and humming structures waving giant arms against the night. We were growing very tired as real midnight approached (hiker midnight is 9pm). Finally, we saw 4 of our friends lining up to cowboy camp beneath the machines and we rolled out next to them. Crackerjack, Landfill, Stampede, Cheeseburger, Ninja and I; under the stars, under the windmills, over the moon.

Day 31: The Anderson’s and Night Hiking

Miles: 20ish
Camping: Some old abandoned orchard on the side of the road (off the PCT)
Hikers seen on trail: 0

Waking up from the best night of sleep in weeks, I immediately felt all of my new blisters rearing their ugly heads. One was even presenting itself on a previously healed toe. “This is getting old,” I thought, but I was so well rested I hardly cared. We weren’t planning on hitting the trail until evening, so I figured I’d just let them be for a while and enjoy the day.

The Anderson’s is like the Yin to the Saufley’s Yang (or the other way around, I can’t be sure). It’s an anything goes atmosphere where Terrie and Joe Anderson rule the roost. Terrie grabs a ruler to smack the rear of any unsuspecting hiker not following rules, and Joe diligently slaves over a griddle all morning, turning out stacks of cinnamon pancakes for all.

There is a giant sheet hanging from the garage where everyone grabs sharpies and leaves their mark, with a sign reading, “hippie day care,” hanging above. Everyone is required to wear a Hawaiian shirt, and beer is the standard. I couldn’t find a soda in any of the coolers, so I was stuck hydrating with plain old water. Probably for the best after 4 pancakes and 4 cups of coffee.

Everyone was in debate over the next section of trail. There is a 40 mile closure due to the Powerhouse fire last year, with 3 options to get around it. There is an aqueduct walk, a road walk or yellow blazing (hitch hiking). Ninja was determined to walk the road, but I was trepidatious. Pavement jars my body, creating a vast array of aches and pains, but skipping sections feels like cheating.

I opted to let #1 shake down my pack and lighten my load before deciding. A shakedown is when someone goes through every item in your pack and tells you what you can get rid of to make your pack lighter. The idea makes me feel vulnerable, but my shoulders have been feeling the weight lately, and I know I have some unnecessary ounces and pounds riding me low. He managed to get at least 3 pounds of stuff off of my back, and I agreed to walk the road with my buddy Ninja. There is apparently a dirt shoulder and a restaurant 8 miles in. I figured my thumb could grab me a ride if I was feeling miserable, but I’m here to walk from Mexico to Canada, not hitchhike.

We left around 5 after a shady nap under a tree. We were both woken by fire ant bites, OUCH!! I see why they are called that, as it felt like a match head being pressed on my skin. A welt began to form, and I became ready to get marching on. The walk was long, but bearable. We stopped to eat at the historic Rock Inn, where I had a big chicken salad and we split a brownie sundae. I even convinced the waitress to mail my shaken down gear ahead for me, as my shoulder pain was beginning to feel like a knife in my back. When we shook down, I had neglected to see if there was a post office to deal with the excess weight. Bless the sweet waitress for her kind deed!

My shoulders felt great for the next 14.5 miles, and we walked through the night. Ninja is pretty fond of walking with headphones in, so I called up a couple of friends and caught up while walking the desert road under the stars. The side of the road was unpaved, and the air cool. I got real drowsy around 1am, but we needed to get farther up the road to make the night hike worth it. A rough endeavor for those who usually retire at 9pm. It’s the way of the desert though, time to flip our clocks.

We passed the 500 mile mark on the side of the road at 2am, and the Proclaimers instantly got stuck in my head. That song annoys me so.

We ended up finding a deserted orchard at 2:30 and I could hardly walk another step. I was deliriously tired. We found a spot not ridden with giant creature holes and cowboy camped beneath the old trees. Just a few hours of sleep before 3.5 miles to finish the road in the morning. My blisters had me hobbling for the last few miles and it is a big pain…but, blisters aren’t injuries and I will survive. Cheers to sleeping under the stars!

Morning pile of hikers at the Anderson’s

Terri Anderson and I

Day 30: Where Are Our Magic Feet?

Miles: 24.81
Camping: In a manzanita grove in the Anderson’s backyard. PCT mile 478.21
Hikers seen on trail: 12

It all began at 3am when Ninja woke me from my slumber. I groggily packed up my stuff, yawning, but happy to move on. It’s funny how eager I am to get to town, but how much more eager I am to get back on the trail. I guess once chores are done, there is nothing left to do but walk until chores need to be done again. Today we were only walking to the Anderson’s, 25 miles from the Saufley’s. A journey the majority of hikers traditionally make in one day.

The first 3 miles were on the road and we didn’t need our headlamps. It’s a lot harder on my feet and back to walk on pavement, but with no choice I put in the miles without complaint.

We got to the trail before sunrise and the guys, per usual, put me in the lead position. I’m typically the fastest, though not always. Today I wearily took on the role and we began the steady uphill climb until the sun officially rose. By that time I was feeling the effects of skipping breakfast, and weakness began to take over. I felt tears rising up and told them to go ahead, fighting off the urge to cry. Fortunately, they were also ready for breakfast, so we all raised our blood sugar on the hillside, watching the sky change color with the break of day.

After the climb, we hiked through shady woods and hillsides covered in flowers. The gnats were pretty ruthless, so I didn’t stop for many pictures. At one point I was singing and inhaled one of the pesky things, which was a pretty unpleasant experience. Even more so as I gagged it up. The flower show was beautiful though, which added a smile to my face.

This was all before the second climb, and it was already 90 degrees by 10:30am. We all set our own pace on this section, but I felt my body temperature cooking up pretty hot. I had to sit and cool off so I sent the guys ahead of me and sat in a small patch of shade. After 5 minutes, I felt a lot better and moved on slowly. This was a better strategy than maintaining a quick pace in the heat, and we soon met up at the magical water cache provided by the Andersons themselves. It was only 6.9 miles to their house, but it was lunchtime and there was shade, chairs, water, and cold sodas (beer too). We enjoyed this oasis for about 2 hours before we motivated ourselves on down the trail.

The rest of the hike was pretty easy, but we had found that the temperature was 105…and about 120+ on the ground. This in turn blessed me with 3 brand new blisters on my feet, and one on the palm of my hand from my trekking pole. We were both feeling a bit dejected hoping that all that rest at the Saufley’s would have made our feet stronger. We are ready for the blisterless days to come, though apparently we have more dues to pay. All part of the experience, I keep telling myself.

We arrived at the Anderson’s around 5:30 to a chorus of people wearing Hawaiian shirts and clapping for us. They were all lounging on couches and drinking beer in the front yard, and we were told to go claim spots out back to set up our tents. We wandered into a shady manzanita forest along a winding trail lined with multiple tent sites. I found a great spot next to Indie, and set up my tent for the first time in days. It’s nice to have my own 4 walls set up, and I was feeling the heat of the day, exhausted.

I knew dinner was in preparation, so I found my way back to the party and hung out with my comrades until the dinner bell rang. Build your own nachos were lined up, and somehow it was enough to serve all of the people…some of us even got seconds! It was delicious, and sent me off to my tent in the manzanita forest feeling satisfied. I’m ready to quit the day and air out my blistered toes…goodnight.