Day 43 - Goodbye, SoCal

Day 43 - Thursday, June 7
Manter Creek (693.5) to Kennedy Meadows (702.8)
Miles today - 9.3

I made it to Kennedy Meadows! This is sort of the gateway from the desert of southern CA to the High Sierra of central CA. It's probably one of the most anticipated points on the trail along with the CA/OR border and of course Canada. It's pretty remote and there's not a lot here. Just a small general store with a burger shack, space for camping, and Tom's Place where you can get on the internet. No cell service here.



Above: approaching Kennedy Meadows.

The first thing I did when I got here was go into the store to pick up my packages. At first the guy handed me one package and said that was it. I was expecting four packages so I almost had a heart attack, but then he went back and found the other three boxes. I got a bear can for food storage, which is required in the Sierra, a wind jacket for extra warmth, a new pair of shoes, and seven days of food. Good job, Mom!



I got an ice cold shower, had a double jalapeño Swiss burger for lunch, and spaghetti for dinner. The rest of the day was spent doing nothing and it was great. After dinner iPod and I had a chess rematch. He destroyed me when we played in Agua Dulce. This time I won. There will have to be a rubber match sometime. After dark we watched Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid on an outdoor projector at Tom's Place under a starry sky. I had never seen it before. I was really enjoying it, but I was tired and went to bed about halfway through.



Above: New shoes on left. Yes, they are the same exact model.

I've hiked 700 miles. That's the distance from Chicago to Baltimore, a trip I've made by car many times. I can't believe I've gone that far on foot.

Day 42 - One More Day to Kennedy Meadows

Day 42 - Wednesday, June 6
Spanish Needle Creek (668.6) to Manter Creek (693.5)
Miles today - 24.9

I think we've finally left the desert for good. The terrain was a lot more mountainous today with fewer cacti, more trees, and rocky, jagged peaks. Off in the distance we could see the High Sierra where we're heading in a couple days.

On the last big climb of the day I started feeling some discomfort on the back of my heel. When I stopped for lunch and took my shoes off I discovered a blister, my first of the trip. It's pretty deep and hurt like crazy after I popped it and taped it up. I have a feeling I got it because my shoes are starting to break down. I was really irritated the rest of the day knowing that I'm picking up new shoes tomorrow. These shoes couldn't have made it just 15 more miles without giving me a blister?



I wasn't any happier when we made it to camp. We're in a sandy burn area and there are red ants everywhere. I think we all expected better being our last night before Kennedy Meadows. Being around such great people always lifts my spirits though. I'm still with Bronco, Just Retired, Hallmark, and Yankee Son. The rest of the crew is ahead somewhere and I'm sure we'll see them at Kennedy Meadows. Wampus Cat, Zen, and iPod finally caught up to us. They rolled into camp a couple hours after we did. We've seen them in all the towns as we're leaving and they're getting in. This is the first time in weeks that we've seen them on the trail. It'll be fun to hike with them again.

Day 41 - More Wind

Day 41 - Tuesday, June 5
Walker Pass (651.4) to Spanish Needle Creek (668.6)
Miles today - 17.2

Going into town last night was one of the best decisions we've made. When we got back to Walker Pass this morning it was super cold and windy. People there said the wind was relentless all night. We never would have gotten any sleep there. I got a great night of sleep in a comfy bed!

I cruised up the big morning climb. It was just too cold and windy to stop moving. Finally after a few hours the wind died down and it warmed up enough to be pleasant hiking weather.



It was nice to have a short day after all the 20-25 mile days we've been doing. 17 miles feels so easy now. And I like having a lot of time to relax in camp. Tomorrow will be another big day though to set up a short day into Kennedy Meadows on Thursday.

Day 40 - Ridgecrest

Day 40 - Monday, June 4
Bird Spring Pass (630.8) to Walker Pass (651.4)
Miles today - 20.6

The wind was really whipping around as I made my way up a big climb first thing in the morning. It was hard just to stay on the trail. At one point there was a perfect tail wind that was so strong it literally pushed me uphill. All I had to do was lift my feet. But then I turned around a switchback and it was like running into a wall. I could feel the skin on my face flapping around. The good news is that the trail climbed up into a forest, hopefully leaving the desert behind for the last time.



I hiked alone and didn't see another person for 20 miles. I thought Fairway, Macho Taco, and Bronco were ahead of me so I was trying to catch them, but I unknowingly passed them when they went off trail for water. I only took one break and got to Walker Pass Campground before 1pm. I was surprised when I was the first person there from our group. The others weren't far behind.

A woman named Okie Girl was at Walker Pass doing trail magic where she'll be for a couple weeks. There were all kinds of drinks and snacks. And ridiculous wind blowing dirt all over the place.



Golden Boy was there with his rental car, and when Just Retired suggested that he'd like to spend the night in town, a bunch more of us jumped on board with the idea. We just didn't want to camp there in the wind. Golden Boy made two trips, 30 minutes each way, to get us into town. There's me, Bronco, Just Retired, Hallmark, Yankee Son, Macho Taco, and Sesame. Fairway and Houdini decided to hike on. We'll meet them in a few days at Kennedy Meadows.

We're in Ridgecrest and it turns out the pizza place here has an all-you-can-eat buffet on Mondays and Tuesdays. Perfect! We all loaded up on pasta, salad, pizza, and breadsticks. And soda. I've probably had five or six sodas today. Along with all the candy I eat on the trail I'll be surprised if I have any teeth left at the end of this trip.

Day 39 - Pizza in the Desert

Day 39 - Sunday, June 3
Landers Creek (608) to Bird Spring Pass (630.8)
Miles today - 22.8

It was a long, hot slog through the desert today and it was dreadfully hot.



Thankfully Glitter Boy came up huge for us again. He met us in the morning at Kelso Valley Road with pastries and cold drinks. That gave me the energy I needed to get across the desert.


It was so hot and unbearable in the sun so Yankee Son, Hallmark, Just Retired, and I took a three hour break under a large Joshua tree and listened to some Grateful Dead.



At the end of the day Glitter Boy had pizzas and more drinks for us. He's been upgraded to Golden Boy. It's amazing having this trail magic follow us around because this section has been the hardest yet. There's eight or nine of us camping near the road here, most of us are cowboy camping. There was a great sunset over the valley to the west, and at the same time a huge full moon was rising over the valley to the east.

Day 38 - Break From the Desert

Day 38 - Saturday, June 2
Golden Oaks Spring (583.3) to Landers Creek (608)
Miles today - 24.7

It wasn't nearly as hot as yesterday and that made for a much more enjoyable day today. We're up out of the desert and in some of the nicest forest we've seen yet.



Macho Taco's brother Brett, aka Glitter Boy, may not be hiking anymore, but he hasn't lost his trail spirit. He rented a car and met us at a road crossing with a cooler full of sodas, Gatorade, and water. Tomorrow he's going to try to stock a couple water caches for us.



I felt good all day, but then after drinking the sodas and eating dinner we hiked a couple more hours and I go really lightheaded and felt like I might pass out. I had to walk really slowly and it was a struggle to make it to camp, but now I'm feeling better. I'm camped with Yankee Son, Hallmark, and Just Retired. The rest of the group is somewhere a few miles further.

Day 37 - Heat Wave

Day 37 - Friday, June 1
Mojave (558.3) to Golden Oaks Spring (583.3)
Miles today - 25

The taxi rides worked perfectly this morning. There were two taxis waiting outside the motel before 5 and each one got four hikers back to the trail by 5:30.

Temperatures were expected to reach triple digits in Mojave today. I'm not sure how high it got on the trail, but it was extremely hot. Macho Taco's brother, Brett aka Glitter Boy, who came all the way back out here from Phoenix to get back on the trail after leaving with an injury a few weeks ago, turned around after 12 or 13 miles. The heat was just too much for him. He's nowhere near the shape the rest of us are in since we've done over 500 miles, and he picked a brutal day to start hiking again. He hiked the whole Appalachian Trail a few years ago so it's not like he's new to thruhiking. It was a hard day for all of us, having to carry seven days of food and enough water for a 25 mile dry stretch. I ran out of water with a few miles left to go. My mouth was so dry and sticky. When we finally made it to the spring at our camp I chugged two liters. We all agree this was one of the hardest days yet.



Above: The town of Mojave and the Mojave Desert down below.

Finally saw my first rattlesnake today. It was early in the morning as we were walking through the wind farm. It was coiled up in the grass just a couple feet off the trail. It scared the crap out of Bronco when it rattled at him as he was first in line.