2MoreMiles…

Day 45: (0 miles)

We spent the day lazing around…after a few “chores”.  First a hair cut at the local barber shop for Paul.  He was looking a little shaggy.

We went to little barber shop and by little I mean 10 x 20 ft. one man show portable building in a small parking lot. We walked into an “older” gentleman’s club and the five men inside looked at us silently as if something was wrong. Paul asks in his smart ass way “Are women allowed in here?” This breaks the ice, everyone laughs and we hear someone say “of course “. We’re in.  Paul then starts talking and asking questions like only he can with the gentleman seated next to him, Gene. Gene is 89 and a retired horse breeder of thirty eight years. He also rode in big rodeos doing calf roping but stayed away from bull riding. He told us rodeo stories that were both scary and funny. One funny story was how his buddies entered him in a barrel riding event. Not having done any barrel riding (it’s a girls event) Gene was surprised on how fast the horse ran and turned. He said he held the saddle horn for dear life after the first turn like a “little girl”. The crowd along with his friends were laughing hysterically as he crossed the finish line. He told us his respect for the women riders increased ten fold.  He had that gentle grandfather demeanor that made you want listen to him for hours. He saw Secretariat run several times and said she was the greatest horse he’d ever seen run. That’s like hearing someone tell you they watched Babe Ruth  play…wow!  Barber, Don cut Paul’s hair, or buzzed it rather, short for low maintenance. After good byes and some hand shaking we left feeling much happier than when we first arrived.  All the while Paul was working the room for a ride back to the trail early the next day, saying things like ‘we’re hoping to get a hitch out to Walker Pass tomorrow morning’.  We left with no takers and then off to the post office to check once more for our wayward resupply box.  No such luck there either.  The rest of the day was spent poolside at the Isabella Motel where we met Tarzan and Assawaggen.  They started way after us and as youngsters do were making great miles each day.  The pool was not heated and worked like an ice bath for both our shins and my knee.  This was a great way to beat the heat of the day. The remaining part of the day was spent repacking for tomorrow and trying to catch up with our blog. Sorry we got behind with blog we didn’t think we would be so tired at the end of the day and were told we would have phone signal most of the trail. Not the case.

Day 44: (6.99 miles)
mile 645.01 – 652 Walker Pass

The alarm goes off at 5am.  Were itchin for a real breakfast and we hear the hitch from Walker Pass to Lake Isabella can be pretty difficult.  Remarkably our legs don’t feel too bad…for a little bit, then the shin thing starts up again and we pretty much have nothing but down hill. 

Good thing there are lots of distractions like brilliant blue flowers and steep unstable cliffs to keep one focused on something other than ones feet and legs.  Finally Walker Pass.

Paul signs the register, “2moremiles…time to zero”.  We get to Hwy 178 and stick our thumbs out.  Almost immediately a car pulls over.  They are willing to give us a ride but they’re trail angels going to the Walker Pass campground to drop off a hiker (Pacman) and some trail magic.  At least we scored some trail magic…Gatorade and an apple. Yum.  We are not dejected because again not 5 minutes later another car pulls over and this time they are going to Lake Isabella. 

They are two French tourists a little older than us traveling to the iconic west coast(ish) sights.  They started in LA and for the life of them do not know why the travel agent told them to “see LA”.  They said it was a waste of their time…Hollywood, Rodeo Drive, etc.  They’ve been in the states nearly a month and have been to the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas and were now on their way to Sequoia National Park and then Yosemite followed by San Francisco and home for a new grandchild.  They asked us about our trek and what it was like, especially what we do about/for water.  They pointed and asked about the interesting homes we saw along the road, and asked what people that live in such rural areas do for income.  That question we could not answer as we wondered the same thing ourselves.  They graciously drop us off at the Dam Korner in Lake Isabella.  Whom do we see trying to hitch out of there but Why Not and the gang.  We hang out the window and yell at them. They point and laugh in disbelief that we’ve caught up to them…sort of.  They say they’ve been trying to hitch back up to Walker Pass for awhile.  A county bus pulls in and we talk to the bus driver and ask what’s the best way to get up to the pass.  He says the bus will take them at 11am to Onyx, and they could hitch from there, but it’s gonna be hard with such a large group…maybe they should split up.  PocoLoco is now waving cash as an incentive to give them a ride.  We start to laugh, and then ask the bus driver the most important question, “Where’s the best place for breakfast in this town?”.. The Dam Cafe of course!  The town sits at the base of the dam for Lake Isabella and based on the water level of the lake that is fed by the Kern River, the town is in no danger.  Inside the Dam Cafe we go, but first we exchange cell numbers with Why Not, and tell her we’ll ask some patrons inside the diner if they’re going toward Walker Pass.  An older gentleman, 78 year old Mr. Huckleberry, speaks up that he can help but can’t take that larger of a group. A conversation begins and Mr. Huckleberry tells us  colorful stories about his life as a WWII pilot, crop dusting in Australia, and flying over Mt. Whitney. We told him were going to summit Mt. Whitney and he told us he did that in 1959 and 1962.  Later we realize Huckleberry is an unofficial Mayor or possibly the town greeter. We saw him every where we go and everyone knew him. We loved seeing him, he was such a lively character. After a hearty breakfast in which “Just Paul” (as Paul is now known as… he doesn’t

like any trail name suggestion) demolished the “Monster Omelet” In  true hiker fashion, we come outside to find the clan dancing like highschool cheerleaders in the street trying to still get a hitch. We all laugh and we head to the motel for a shower and a bed.

The Isabella Motel looks like the “Bates Motel”, it’s old, fifties style, must have been something else in its day. We are able to get an early check in and head to our non air-conditioned room. Not to worry it’s only going to be in the low 100’s for the next two days, yuk. We stopped here to resupply so after a quick shower we are off to the post office to pick up the supplies. Unfortunately, the package was never forwarded from Hiker Town and we will have to get our supplies at the local market. 

While we were the the local Bikers (motorcycle) came in for Happy Hour

On our way we stop at Shady’s Bar for beers, it’s afternoon…Happy Hour, and 100 degrees,why not? We got some good intel from the bartender about the town and the hockey playoffs before venturing out into the heat and restocking our food bags.
We returned to the bar later that night and watched the Anaheim Ducks lose to LA Kings … ouch! I guess not everything can be roses. We did meet a friendly young couple from the LA area (Chicago Blackhawk fans) that were camping at Lake Isabella. Stacey assured us the Blackhawk would win the Stanley Cup. We shall see!  Now to stagger (not because we’re drunk) back to our room.

Look...the Sierras

Day 43: (14.16 miles)
mile 630.85 – 645.01

We awake a little late (0630) and it’s already getting warm. We are still exhausted, but the impending climb of over 1600 ft in 3 miles on 4 hours of sleep is not going to get done on its own, and the Sherpa I dreamed I ordered on Amazon last night has not arrived.  Pack up, get a move on.  Back on autopilot.  We shuffle up, mainly so we can go down…again.  The views are amazing…almost worth it. So up we go and based on yesterday’s performance and terrain we take 5 liters of water with us.  Although heavy we are gun shy and are afraid to be without water again.  Today’s forecast is supposed to be hotter than the day before, so high ninety’s and we know the desert shows no mercy on hikers. Half way up the big climb we met a woman and her tall poodle dog (think Great Dane with an afro) section hiking to Walker Pass.  Kathy, a retired school teacher, had done over 2300 miles over the past thirty years and planed to finish “before I die”, she said. Her dog, Sultan has walked over 500 miles of the trail with her and even carried his own back pack. She said it was tough section hiking because just when you found your groove, you had to stop. We saw Kathy and Sultan several times as we leap frogged one another throughout the day. 

This was a very tough day as our legs were extremely tired from last night’s marathon and after the steep climb we were shot.  Both are feet were unhappy and speaking in “tongues” to us, and I also have started feeling pain in my right shin and think shin splints are beginning to develop. Ouch!! We forged ahead taking more and more breaks trying to be positive that we can do 20 miles today and reach Walker Pass, but to no way Jose, we are too tired and only make just under 15 miles before surrendering. Hitching to Lake Isabella, a hotel and a restaurant meal will have to wait till tomorrow. It’ s only 5pm and we find (make) a camp site next to the trail. Camp was set up and dinner prepared in nothing flat. We never saw the sunset and were asleep by 6:30pm. Never felt so good to be horizontal.

Day 42: (32.85 miles, 12 of which we hadn’t planned)
mile 602 – 630.85 + 2 of road walk

The fact that the wind changed direction and our tarp blew down on us early this morning should have been our first clue we were in for another one of our unintended adventures.  The second clue was the fact I was thinking that its been awhile since we’ve had a mishap or done something stupid…finally we’ve got our crap together.  The third and final “clue” or rather nail in the proverbial coffin was Paul talking about what happened to the awful desert portion that everyone laments about.  Did we “miss” it because we left so early and bypassed the uber heat?  We were so lucky we thought, until…bum, bum, bum…we weren’t. 

Landers Camp

We had studied the mileage and the water report.  4 liters at Landers fire camp should be good to make it to Willow Spring (and the four day earlier reported 22 gallon cache).  The plan from Willow Spring was then to drink a liter and cook dinner, then hike the evening till 9 or 10pm and get as close to Bird Spring road where Island Boy (a SOBO hiker we met just after Landers) had told us the cache had just been restocked.  Good solid plan…unless a wheel falls off.  Bum. Bum. Bum…Lugnut #1:  When we round the corner of our climb out of Landers (mile 610.5) we spy what looks like desert. 

Good thing we’re ahead of the “heat”.  It’s only supposed to get up to 85, 90 tops.  We were well hydrated as we had each consumed nearly 2 liters at Landers, no worries.  Lugnut #2:  We hit Kelso Valley road (mile 616).

Cache is empty but for half a liter.  No biggie, we’re good and hadn’t planned on it. However if there had been water there we would have taken 2 liters and bypassed Willow Spring. It is now, however super hot with no shade to speak of. We sit out an hour and eat lunch. 4 miles plus another 1.9 of the Willow Spring alternate…easy peasy.  Lugnut #3:  4 miles uphill in soft sand when it’s 85 degrees is NOT easy peasy.  We drink water freely and embrace the breeze that cools our sweat soaked bodies. 

Lugnut #4:  The Willow Spring alternate is described as as an “easy walk” down a “gentle sloping gully with a few moderate boulder scrambles.  It starts out easy, at least we are in the shade now, and then turns into near paralyzing terror for me who is NOT fond of heights. 

Dilemma. Walk back up to the alternate turn off nearly 3/4 miles up…in soft sand, or breathe my way through the anxiety of clambering down, for all practical purposes, a dry waterfall with 20-30′ drops. Breathe and clamber it is…crap.  This water better be worth it!  We get to the bottom and to Willow Springs.  Lugnut #5:  WTF?! Where’s the cache?  Spigot is off.  Trough and cistern dry as a bone.  Damnit.  We kick ourselves cause we knew we should have carried more water.  There’s green growy stuff under the fence, so there must be water flowing or seeping somehow but we can’t find it.  Maybe we missed the cache.  We walk a mile further. Nothing.  Time to take stock and make a plan.  The sun is setting.  It’s cooling off…a bit, at least we’ve got that going for us.  Assessment:  Paul is COMPLETELY out of water.  I still have a little water in my bladder…maybe a cup worth, and half a liter(500ml) combined in two one liter bottles I carry in the side pockets of my pack; two 3oz cans of chicken packed in water; and one PowerBar fruit “slurpy” packet.  We now have 12 miles to walk, up hill at both ends and in what we are soon to find out, will be soft sand/gravel.  If you want to know what it feels like, go to your local quarry with a 25lb pack on and walk up the largest (1/4-1/2 inch diameter) pile of gravel they have for 8 hours.  That should just about do it. Oh wait, first you have to walk on a treadmill with the same pack for 8 hours as well.  It’s 6pm and we walk up the dirt road from Willow Spring for 2.3 miles staying in the shade as best we can till we reach where the PCT crosses the SC103 road. Here we find the best placed picnic table ever.  We dropped our packs, looked around to see if any water may have been stashed nearby…nope.  Had a snack, changed our socks, took a sip of fruit slurpy for energy and thus began the trudge.  It was like one of those Thanksgiving swim workouts of 100x100s where there’s no way out of the set so you turn your brain and body on auto pilot and tell yourself to just get through it… there’s a reward at the end.  This time it’s water. There are times when we step over the ATV barricades where ATV roads cross the PCT and lay inside the barricades with our feet up and contemplate just going to sleep. We’re exhausted both physically and mentally…going on emotionally as well. We’ve been up since 0530, it’s going on 10pm and we still have 8 miles to go. 

It’s a full moon and for most of the night we walk without our headlamps on and cast moon shadows.  Sometimes it’s downright spooky, but mostly surreal.  With 2 more miles to go we discuss our further contingency plan if the cache at Bird Spring road is dry as well.  Not many options. The Delorme is looking like our best investment yet, but we’re just thirsty and no where near approaching a life or death situation…yet.  Eureka! Gallons upon gallons of life sustaining water. The cache is flush…and it’s 2am.  From behind a tree we hear, “Paul is that you?”… It’s Eng!  He did that whole section in the heat of the day…with his umbrella.  We eat and have no problems sleeping.  God is good and so were all those coaches that pushed us to our limits and beyond in our younger years.  Without faith, our training and experience as EMTs and those tests of our mettle, this snafu could of had a different outcome. Sweet dreams!

From whence we came...argh

Day 41: (17.6 miles)
mile 584.4 – 602

Not a sound. Not a whisper of wind.  Did we die?  The outside of our bags are wet.  My camp towel is frozen and our packs are covered in frost.  Have we been abducted by aliens? Where are we?  We rub our eyes and look around.  Everything is where we left it the night before.  We looked at each other and then at the windmills.  None of them were turning. Could it be true?  Was the wind gone…or at least on vacation?  By golly YES it was.  Happy Freak’n Mother’s Day to me! Hurray! 

We pack up and have one of the nicest walks ever to Robin Bird Spring at mile  602.

Whoa. 600 miles!  100 miles till Kennedy Meadows!  Mexico seems so far away and so long ago. 

We walk burned forests, through ranch land and then wooded forests so green that we half expect to be greeted by a Hobbit or a Leprechaun on the trail. 

Awesome aroma!

We walk through fields of fragrant flowers, one of which we would definitely like to be able to plant in our yard; one, if we knew what it was, and two, if it would even be viable in our coastal, crappy soil, yard.  We would be much obliged to anyone who could answer those questions.  All in all it was a pleasant and relaxing day…all 17.6 miles of it. We took an extra long lunch (1 1/2 hrs) and dozed in the shade enjoying the easy hiking terrain. Fortunately we arrived at Robin Springs early and were able to get fresh cool spring water flowing down a hill and out of a pipe.  We set up camp in what appeared to be an old shed foundation. A flat and smooth surface protect from the wind on two sides by a natural hill sides with cinder block borders. After a tasty dinner we set up the tarp tent as I was cold and wanted some extra protection from the wind.  This worked great until the wind began to blow and gust in the middle of the night blowing the stakes out of the ground.  After Paul reset the stakes and anchored them with large rocks we had a pleasant restful night.

Day 40: (17.8 miles)
mile 566.3 – 584.14 /3821ft – 6093 ft

Up early to eat and catch the bus to Hwy 58 for a lovely 2200 ft climb.  First stop, Primo burger for a hearty breakfast with Eng and Arizona. We had met Arizona earlier on the trail and he had been holed up at the Motel 6 for two days with Montezuma’s revenge.  He was going to make another attempt to get back on the trail.(He had tried the day before but had to turn back several miles in as he was losing more fluids than taking in…) Bear in mind there has been a wind advisory for the past two days advising people to avoid driving, due to strong winds and dust storms…yet we decide to head out anyways cause the advisory is supposed to be repealed by 9am.  It is 6am.  We stagger to the bus stop… because we are full and the wind is catching our packs.  We wait in the constantly gusting wind for the 0731 am bus.  30 minutes later we reach our stop.  Wind is still blowing.  Luckily the wind, for now, is to our backs…and it’s not hot.  Two miles of easy trail and then hello 2200 ft climb in a perky 6.5 miles…with gale force winds that put the winds we faced at Mt. Baden-Powell to shame.  The winds were blowing through the Tehachapi Pass at 60 mph and gusting up to 80mph. 

Below, and off in the distance we could see gigantic dust storms spanning several miles. Good thing we’re up here… crawling uphill.  In order to stay “upright” you had to lean into or against the wind…with all you might.  Three points of contact with terra firma were required at ALL times or you’d become a kite. You had to constantly adjust with each switchback, and time it just right, depending on which way the wind was hitting you.  If it did not require constant focus and was not so comical, it would have been more than miserable.  As it was, it was just miserable.  I considered taking the phone out to capture its essence, but even the picture Paul took doesn’t do it justice. 

Leaning into the wind to stay upright. I am not smiling...it's the wind pulling my face

Let’s just say the wind was blowing so hard it would actually suck the snot out of your nose and push it up your face toward your eyes.  You couldn’t spit into the wind if you tried…it wouldn’t reach your lips. The moment your lips part to spit, your saliva is shoved to the back of your throat. (Tried it…just because). 

The clue that Tehachapi Pass would be windy should have been the thousands of windmills.  The wind advisory just put an exclamation point on it.  We hiked in our jackets and gloves for most of the day.  Looking back on it, we’ll take the wind over the heat any day.  Eventually we got to a point where the wind subsided and we could walk “normally”. Within 4 miles of our next water stop at Golden Oaks Spring, who should come up from behind us and pass us, but Why Not, and the rest of the group.  We thought they were ahead of us and the only way we’d see them again would maybe be at next year’s kickoff…they are a fast group.  The trail crisscrossed and followed OHV trails/roads.  Some parts were good but most were rutted and difficult to navigate a “straight ” course.  We were nearly run over by a pack of off-road motorcyclists who were traversing too fast for a multi-use trail frequented by pedestrians.  As we continued up the trail (still can’t figure out how it always seems to be up), we came across two trail riders, one who had hit a downed tree and had been launched off his bike about 20ft with the impact rendering him unconscious, according to his friend. The rider was “OK”, but the bike was damaged.  They asked us if we had any cordage so they could tie up the front brake to be able to limp back to their truck.  Being the super prepared hikers we are, we had cordage to “spare”.

When we made it to the water source Why Not’s group was waiting for us, thankfully, to ensure that we didn’t try to collect water from the trough and to show us how to get to the cistern where the water was “clearer”.  Once done, they moved on as it was getting colder and they needed to find a place to bed down.  After they left, and Paul was collecting water, two more hikers approached southbound.  They asked me, “Did you see the bear?”. Bear?  I haven’t even seen any deer since San Diego. ” No really we just saw a big bear…you didn’t see it?” Doubt I’d be sitting here still if I did, but then I didn’t see/recognize a snake and almost stepped on it.  Not surprising that I didn’t see the bear.  It was probably heading to his watering hole… Where I was sitting.  Good reason why not to camp next to water, besides the dew effect.  The two young men were section hiking from Kennedy Meadows (KM) and were able to give us information about water and possible camping to KM.  One of them had actually read our blog before he had set out on the trail…Cool!  Before we set off, Colonel, Beowolf and Monsoon walked up.  Reunion at the watering hole.  They told us that Arizona had to turn back…he was still feeling I’ll.  Poor guy.  After awhile of catching up, we all continued on and stopped at different places for the night.  We did our best to get out of the wind and ended up on a cement slab behind and in between several windmills…remarkably out of the wind for the most part.  We ate and fell asleep to the “white noisy” drone of the windmills.

Miles: (0)

Mojave was the perfect stop. You have great food, a grocery store, laundry and enough TV to realize that you aren’t missing much.  There is even a bus that will take you back to the trail for one dollar! (Wish we would have known that earlier as we would have hiked the next 8 miles to Hwy 58, rather than hitch from Willow Springs road).  The best part was our daughter was able to visit us (me) for an early Mother’s Day. We were able to catch up in person and get our dog fix in as she brought her two crazy canines with her.  She helped us run a few errands and we ate an early dinner at one of the best BBQ joints I’ve been to since Redneck BBQ in Kingman Arizona.  This was Red House BBQ in Tehachapi. 

My daughter and I had ribs while Paul had chicken…all to die for and way too much to eat in one setting.  We also got to write on the walls and sign our name. Paul wrote “2MoreMiles PCT 2014” on the wall just as you enter the front door.  Sadly our daughter had to get going as she had work early the next day and we had to distribute our food resupply.

Our timing into Mojave was also impeccable as there was a high wind warning in effect till 9am the next day. Blinding dust storms and gusty winds that would nearly knock you over started just as we arrived and continued throughout the day/night. Maybe it was just as well we didn’t know there was a bus from Hwy 58.

Day 38: (20 miles)
mile 538.5 – 558.5 and into Mojave

We awoke rested and still protected from the wind even though the wind had shifted and so did the faces of the blades of the windmills.  We found that we really weren’t bothered by the drone of the windmills. It was perfect “white noise”, like hearing the “hum” of a jet engine on cruise control.  This morning was to be a big climb day, first to the next water source and then to Willow Springs road and a hitch into Mojave.  We set out early as we knew it was supposed to heat up into the 90s. 

One of three climbs for the day

The wind was mild, but not so for the climb.  It kicked my butt and knees. And when I had reached my breaking point, we had a perfectly timed, surprise trail magic as I was in meltdown mode (physically and emotionally as the fun meter was bottoming out). 

Water, chairs and a place to elevate my feet (while seated).  We ate lunch and watered up. Once refreshed we moved on least we grow roots (as Eng says) and decide to stay…forever. 

The trail took us through sadly another burn area.  This burn area was different from others we have been through as the flowers were in full bloom and in some parts the aroma was sweet like that of gardenias.  The beauty and contrast was like something out of a Salvador Dali inspired landscape.  This half of the trail was well worth the “yuk” of the up. 

As we crested the high point for the day we could see our destination but for awhile it never seemed to get any nearer.  The PCT teases you that way.  It takes what could/should be 3 miles as the crow flies (or road travels) and turns it into 8 miles.  As Paul says, “miles are miles. If it says its gonna take 8, it will, even if it looks like it could be shorter”.   As we passed the 3 miles to go, it was like we were horses in sight of the barn as we practically ran down the trail.  Paul was out of food and I wanted a hot shower.  When we made it to the bottom we found Eng catching up with several other hikers we had last seen at Casa de Luna. They were ahead of us and were just coming back from a zero in Tehachapi.  Together with Eng we hitched to town. Unlike the others, we were headed to Mojave.  As luck would have it, we were successful with our hitch attempt using our message on the Tyvex…”PCT hikers to town…please”. 

We were happily surprised when a small sedan passed us in the opposite direction u-turned and took us into Mojave and our hotel. Bill,  the driver was a civilian at Edwards A.F. base.  He was not only gracious but full of great historic knowledge which we all later mentioned how interesting he was. After checking in to the “five star” Motel 6 we went across the street to eat at Primo Burger.

Now we were more than hungry and the woman who took our order was amazed when we completely finished our entire meals.  Eng ate a large 7inch double cheese burger, large fries, coke, and a extra large family dinner salad. When he finished he said “l’m thinking of ordering more”, but he didn’t and went to the super market  next  door instead for a “late night” snack.  Once back from gorging ourselves we began the task of laundry.  When we went into the office to inquire as the costs and did we need quarters, the attendant asked us if we needed detergent as there was some left in the hiker box.  Score!  We used what we needed and returned it to the hiker box.  I was designated to start the laundry, Paul would switch it to the dryer and Eng would get it out of the dryer.  The woman who was switching her laundry to the dryer looked at me oddly. I guess its not everyday you see someone dressed in rain gear doing laundry.  After laundry was completed we settled down to sleep.  In between the gale force winds and the hourly freight train we dosed off.

Day 37: (20.4 miles)
mile 517.6 – 538

After an awesome nights sleep it was time to walk the California Aqueduct. (This is part of the water delivery system to mostly the LA basin, whose water rights originate from Owens Lake near Lone Pine).  At first we walked along side the aqueduct as it flowed like a placid river through a wide cement canal. 

Then we walked on top of it for several miles as it turned and became encased in a large metal pipe.  It didn’t seem that big until we came across a fully exposed section of the pipe. 

I'm pointing to a PCT sticker

What an interesting feat of engineering. 

Paul and Eng (gear slut)

The pipe then dipped underground and we walked on top of its cement highway to the windmill farm.  Once on the cement highway we encountered what seemed like flurries of butterflies cascading across our path.  Hundreds upon hundreds continued to flutter past us throughout the day as if playing tag with each other. 

Along the way we saw trail angel Bill and Kathy’s friend Glen’s house and property.  We tried to say “Hello” per Bill’s instruction but no one was home. 

The trail moved off the aqueduct and onto a dirt road where we passed a marker indicating we were 1/5th done. 

The trail wove through the desert between groves of Joshua trees and windmills. 

The temperature rose as we walked through the midday heat to our next water source which amounted to spigot coming out of the aqueduct.  We watered up and rested a bit to see if we could tread a few more miles as there was plenty of daylight, no real place to camp out of the rising winds by the water source, and the temperature was dropping.  We walked for about an hour or 2moremiles and found a somewhat level area behind some chaparral to camp. This was no ordinary location as we were smack in the middle of a windmill farm. 

Windmills towered above us approximately 80 feet and because of the heavy winds, they were spinning at maximum RPMs. The wind blew all night, but we were protected mostly by the chaparral, yet we could not escape the drone of the windmills.

Day 36: (20 miles.. Road walk)
mile 478 – 517.6

During the night it rained, actually it sprinkled a bit but we were prepared and had our tarp erected…just in case.  Pancakes and coffee were on the menu this morning courtesy of trail angel Terri.  Once pictures were taken in front of the banner we had all signed, we were shuttled in groups back to the “trail” for one of three reroute options due to the Powerhouse fire closure of 42 miles of the PCT.  Burnt trees and high winds make for a dangerous walk. 

So a 20 mile road walk to Hiker Town was in order.  The road walk, for the most part was boring and hard on the feet and shins, however some of the sights along the way were interesting.

1920-30 boat trailer w/ rowboat

Gear head mailbox

Based on the ranches and dilapidated structures, this roadway at one time must have been popular and well traveled.  Unfortunately the 20mph headwind made it a laborious trek and the rain flurries at the end didn’t help either.  When we finally made it to hiker town, the gang was all there.  They liked the road walk just as much as we did.

Hiker town is a strange place and has been a hiker friendly stop for years. We were told that some famous biker gang guy lived here and would invite PCT hikes that passed by to stay the night.  He was a scary looking guy with a big heart. Not sure who owns it now.  There are several small buildings with Hollywood themes inside.

We stayed in the”Hotel” which had a western John Wayne theme bedroom. Other buildings were the post office, jail, florist, etc. 

There was also a large garage with a kitchen, shower and several large couches and lazy boy style chairs. This is where we hung out, ate dinner and socialized.  For 20 bucks we had our own room, a hot shower, access to a full kitchen and a great nights sleep.