Friday, May 4, 2018 - Mojave

It was a fun night. The wind battered my cozy little doll house-type room most of the night, making me feel secure and comfortable sheltered inside. The bed sank 10” when I laid down on it, yet it was comfortable. Might the 27 miles of the day before contributed to this feeling of comfort?

I woke up often during the night. Each time I would look at the time and be thankful I still had hours in which to sleep. At 4:00 am I rousted myself from bed, ate, packed up and headed out the door. The wind was still blowing, but not as strong as earlier. It was 4:35 am and still dark, although a 3/4 moon was nicely lighting the area. 

Today’s path literally follows the LA aqueduct for 17 miles. Part of the aqueduct is open to the sky, part in a 10’ diameter pipe and part in a concrete ditch that is paved over and enclosed, with a service road on top. 17.5 miles of road walking. This portion of the PCT is legendary for its mind numbing boredom. And, it traverses the Mojave Desert, so it is hot, hot, hot. No shade trees. And although we are walking on an aqueduct full of water, no access to that water. 

The first hour in the dark was fun just cause it was dark. The next three miles were fun because I literally walked on top of the 3/4 buried pipe. Another mile or so was interesting because the concrete road that the water ran under was impeccable clean. Then a PCT hiker named Picasso joined me and we talked for two hours while chewing up miles. We got so involved in our discussion of grandkids that we missed a turn and walked nearly half a mile before we caught our error and had to backtrack. 

But the last 4 miles were mind numbing. By now it was getting hot. Picasso had moved ahead. My legs that had so brilliantly carried me yesterday were fading. I dragged the last mile, found water and scurried under the Cottonwood bridge to get out of the sun, my final resting point for the day. It was noon. 

Under the bridge I found Beerhugs and Special K. They had hiked through night to get here in the morning and were just waking up from their morning nap. I joined them under the bridge, spreading out my Tyvek ground sheet in the shade. I did not move again until the moving sun forced me to find shade again. As the day moved on, more and more kids arrived. By 5:00 pm there were 18 of us lurking under the bridge. They knew each other well, yet included me in the group. It was fun. By 5:30 pm, they were all gone. With Tehachapi only 23 miles away, they wanted to get a little closer so they could make it to town by tomorrow night. Me? I was intent on resting my legs and stayed put, the only one left under the bridge. It sure felt quiet with everyone gone.