Day 41 (June19th)
Mile 566.5- 587.4
20.9 miles (33.6km)
This morning we got a lift from Trail Angel Ted in Tehachapi back to the highway where we had left trail. I was excited to be back, but reports from other hikers told us that we would have a hard day ahead of us– a 4000ft climb and a 17 mile water carry which required us to carry 3 litres of water (which amounts to about an extra 7.5 pounds on our backs). We aren’t out of the desert yet! Our hike out of the valley and the Mojave desert was challenging– and made more difficult by the gale force winds trying to rip of my hat and sunglasses and blow me off the ridge. I put in my headphones and trudged on.
Once I was finished the climb and out of the wind, the day became a lot more pleasant and I began to feel sentimental about my last few days in the desert. It’s been such a beautiful section! When we finally made it to water, we were greeted by a very bold deer who shared our water source. We relaxed there for a short while before loading up 4 litres of water to get us through the next 20 mile stretch. We made it to camp as the sun was setting and we’re soon joined by a friend I met just after leaving Big Bear. Dutch Chris! He had a hard first couple weeks of trail, but he is doing well now and I was glad to see him again.
Day 42 (June 20th)
Mile 587.4-Mile 610.1
22.7 miles (36.5 km)
Another long day with lots of elevation change. We continued the 20 mile water carry that we started last night and walked nearly 16 miles before arriving at water. Our little tramily is definitely feeling a little worn out this week. The usually optimistic Corpse has a sore ankle and, as a result, has lost some of his sunny disposition. Thunder and I have sore feet and my back is also bothering me. This morning, I Ient Corpse the compression sock that Salty lent to me way back in Idyllwild in the hopes of helping his ankle. It’s the sisterhood of the travelling compression sock!
Corpse and I walked slowly this morning, catching up to each other every half hour or so. Eventually we sat down to take a break together and had a really nice chat about failure, pain, and knowing our limits. We had lunch with Thunder, but by the afternoon Salty and Thunder were well ahead of us– but they both waited for everyone to arrive at the water source before moving on. While we are all hurting, there are lots of brightsides too. The weather is still cool and the views are beautiful. Tonight I am camping among tall, thin, pine trees.
We also passed the 600 mile mark today!! This is a shocking distance and perhaps explains why my feet were complaining so much today.
Day 43 (June 21st)
Mile 610.1 – 632.1 (Over 1000km!)
22 miles (35.4km)
Today the desert really decided to be a desert. We hiked 7 miles to the first water cache as the sun was still rising, so it wasn’t too hot. But once we arrived at the (amazing) water cache, the sun really began to beat down.
It was hot and dry– the kind of dry that makes it impossible to swallow and that dries your skin to the point of cracking. There was very little shelter apart from the scant shade of the Joshua trees. Salty, Thunder and I huddled up in this precious shade to enjoy our lunch and I realized I was a little low on water. I had chugged 1 litre at the cache to camel up and brought 2.5 litres with me. The last two days had been so cool, that I thought this would be enough, but by lunchtime I was down to only 1.25 litres with 9.8 miles left to go. I started to ration a little. The scenery was beautiful and I stopped often to take pictures and admire it. These breaks were needed in the heat. There were some long uphill sections, which would have been fine– except for that my nose is completely plugged and these sections required me to mouth breathe, further drying out my throat. The beautiful grassy meadows of the desert are not great for my grass allergy…
But still, as our last days in the desert come to an end it is hard not to appreciate this beautiful place. The desert sort of raised me as a hiker. It tested me and rewarded me with beautiful views. It made me cry, it made me laugh; it gave me this beautiful, wonderful group of people to hike with and it taught us how to take care of each other. From sharing snacks when one of us is low, to sharing water when it was desperately needed (thanks Salty and Thunder!)– I truly don’t know if I would have made it this far without my friends and the sometimes gentle, sometimes tough lessons of the desert.
Tonight we are celebrating our second last day in the true desert– though the desert section of the PCT won’t end for another 60 miles. We are all cowboy camping (i.e. camping without tents) to enjoy the stars and sunrise! No service at camp tonight– so if this is successfully posted, you will know that we survived!
Day 44 (June 22nd)
Mile 632.1-653.3
21.2 miles (34.1 km)
Last night was our cowboy camping slumber party! One of our slumber party activities was to each share 3 words that we thought described the others. I thought this might be a good way to share a little of the personalities of the folks I’m hiking with.
Corpse (Julien): Sunny, optimistic, philosophical, sensitive, introspective, and open minded…
Salty (Darius): Thoughtful, reserved, pensive, competent, conscientious…
Thunder (Jamie): Joyful, curious, brave…
And me! They all agreed on friendly, warm, engaging and persistent!
In the middle of the night, I rolled over and glanced up at the sky and was astounded by a full and brilliant view of the milky way. I have seen some beautiful night skies in my life– from the Sahara desert to my home town sky over Lake Huron– but this one was so beautiful that it immediately shocked me into full wakefulness and I enjoyed the sky for a time before going back to sleep.
In the morning we woke up before sunrise and began the 2000ft ascent up what was essentially a sand dune. The shifting sand was hard to walk on and I was sweating in minutes, but in the early morning temperatures it was actually a pleasant hike. At the top of the hill we got our first view of snowy peaks in the distance– the Sierras. We are less than 50 miles away from the entrance to the Sierras now and still unsure of exactly what we will do when we get there. The Sierras are currently still glazed in deep snow that requires mountaineering gear and expertise– but it is hard to let go of the dream of hiking a continuous footpath from Mexico to Canada. As we pondered this we hiked yet another 15 mile water carry and made it to Walker Pass by 3:30pm.
We didn’t have luck getting a hitch, so we contacted one of the trail angels in Ridgecrest to come drive us into town. Larry is a really kind man who drove out to pick us up– an almost 1 hour round trip drive. When we tried to pay him for his gas and time he refused our money and said that he helps hikers in honour of his late wife. So kind. Tonight we are staying at a cheap hotel and tomorrow we will resupply and get back on trail on the morning.
