I thought this was Southern California! All night the rain fell on my tarp, or until about 3 am when the sky cleared and the moon’s brilliance shone like a spotlight. It never really rained. If you payed attention, you would notice the rain only pounded the tarp when a strong gust of wind dislodged the fog collecting into droplets on the leaves of the oaks. With the fog ending, so did the conveyor belt of water from fog to leaves to my tarp. The wind persisted.
I woke at 5:00 am, had my premeasured 3/4 cup of granola with powdered milk, packed all my damp gear and was on the trail by 5:38.
In studying the PCT Water Report last night I found I was facing a decision. 27 miles ahead on the trail lay Hiker Town, a funky (weird) collection of small buildings reminiscent of doll houses with facades themed from the old west. Sheriffs office, doctor, livery, etc. about 10 or so. Some were only big enough for a metal framed army type cot and a night stand, others could sleep up to six on the floor. This place is significant because it is the last water before a 17.5 mile stretch of the PCT across the Mojave Desert, a course that follows an aqueduct that feeds LA. 27 miles was more than I wanted to walk on only my second day out, yet if I stopped anywhere short of Hiker Town it would cost me a day because I did not want to begin the 17.5 mile stretch of waterless desert in the middle of the day. If I split the 27 miles into two days it would mean ending my hike a day later than planned, making me miss Sally’s days off completely. So, what to do? Chance injury with a 27 mile day, or miss seeing Sally in Yosemite before driving back to Washington? I decided to delay the decision until later in the day, paying close attention to my knees, ankles, thighs and calf’s as the day progressed.
There is a mantra thru hikers observe as a good sign, 10 by 10. Finish 10 miles of trail by 10 in the morning. Setting off at 5:38 am, I had a good chance of completing this goal. The trail was perfect for cruising. Mostly flat with slight ups and downs, it contoured around the rounded mountains passing through gorgeous stands of oak carpeted with lush grasses and flowers. It was spectacular.
By 9:15 am I had completed 10 miles. I celebrated with a long rest stop, snacking on food I had brought, drying my socks and setting up my solar panel to charge my small battery I would use tonight to charge my phone.
The trail gained 1000’ in the next 2 miles. The sky was sunny, but the air very cool with a little breeze. I still had water from yesterday, but I was getting low and needed to be mindful of places to refill. I checked the PCT Water Report I had downloaded the day before (I had a printed one about 5 days old as a backup). There is no running water in these mountains, only cisterns dug into the ground with metal roofs above that collect the water and channel it into the tank. The water is good if you filter it, removing the algae, bugs and detritus that end up in the tank. The roof over the tank helps to keep the water cool. One such cistern, The Red Rock water cache was two miles up the trail. I found it off to the right side of the trail, about 40’ away in the brush and dipped some water from it into my filter, then into my water bottle.
Up to this point, about 24 hours, I had not seen another person on the trail. While filling my bottle, I heard voices down on the trail, but by the time I finished and descending to the trail, they had gone. Determined to meet my first people on the trail, I headed north, picking up my pace a bit.
Another cistern, affectionately called “guzzlers”, lie another two miles up the trail at mile 506.4. At this point the trail crosses a road, and here I found Oak and Hippy Gypsy setting up for lunch in the shade. Oak and I walked the 100 yards down to the guzzler and filled our bottles, then returned to eat a quick lunch. They both hailed from San Diego. They had done the AT in 2013, not knowing the PCT existed.
We chatted for fifteen minutes while eating, then I got up to leave. I had done 14 miles to this point. Another guzzler lie 4 miles ahead, at a remote campground. It was at this point that I would make my decision, either stay the night and go to Hiker Town the next day, or do the additional 9 miles down to the desert floor.
From here the trail wound through more huge oaks and verdant grasses and flowers. Someone had been pruning the oaks, I suspect to help them survive if a fire came through.
The trail then dropped very steeply right down the fall line, losing 1400 feet quickly. Soon I was at mile 18. Decision time. I wasn’t particularly tired, but past experience told me those additional 9 miles can be debilitating. Miss a day with Sally or hike on.
I unpacked all the damp gear from my pack and layed it out on the ground to dry, stalling for time. I stretched and tested the strength and soreness in my legs.
What the hell. Let’s go for it. Oak and Hippy Gypsy passed as I was packing up my now dry gear. Soon I was following them down the trail. The first 2 miles were switchbacks down off the mountains. Easy.
The next seven were tough. Up 200’. Down 200’. Over and over and over. Oak and Hippy Gypsy stopped for a break. I decided to keep going. About 3.5 miles out I stopped for a snack. I was bonking big time. A snickers and a package of Despicable Me 3 fruit snacks bumped my blood sugar back up and I spent the next hour and a half walking in to Hiker Town.
Kids from the PCT in 2014 said it was a really weird place with a creepy owner. I did find it weird, but thought Bob, the owner, was not too bad. I selected to stay in one of the themed buildings for two reasons (1) to get out of the wind and (2) to make a donation to this kind man who maintains water caches and allows PCT hikers to shower, cook, lounge in his garage and camp on his property for free.
While preparing for a shower, Big Red called. We met Big Red on the PCT in 2014. Since I was not going to do the Tehachapi to South Kennedy Meadows leg of my hike, I would miss seeing him. He decided to drive to Hiker Town to visit. I got a much needed shower, cooked a dinner of curry chicken and rice, pineapple, cranberries, walnuts, and washed my socks. Big Red showed up about 8:00 pm, bringing an ice cold Diet Pepsi. We sat outside my room in camp chairs catching up until 10:00 pm. The temperature had dropped. I was freezing. I crawled into my bed, pulling my quilt over me. My legs were definitely fatigued, as were the bottoms of my feet, but all the joints felt fine. I have 17.5 miles of desert to do tomorrow. We will see . . . With service, I sent a few texts, then fell asleep about 11:30 pm.
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