Start: Ridgecrest – Mile 652.1 End: Spanish Needle Creek – Mile 668.7 Elevation Max: 7,317 Elevation Min: 5,165 Elevation Change: 3,377 up & 3,295 down Average Heart Rate: 134 Walking Time: 4 hrs 55 minutes Date: 5/12/2022
The Walk
Waking up in a bed is nice. Internet is nice. Being clean and warm is nice. I spent the morning relaxing at Pancakes house.
I got out of bed and walked out to a full breakfast spread. Biscuits and gravy and eggs. It was so tasty.
I relaxed until 10:30 when the second shuttle left for trail. I hopped in and chatted with Speaker. I hadn’t seen him in a week and it’s always nice to see a familiar face.
A row of hikers lined the road next to trail. I didn’t recognize them. So I kept on moving. Jack rabbit and I went right to the trail. There was a 1k foot climb and I was ready to go. After a tiny Nero and a half day off I was antsy.
I went 3.4 miles per hour uphill and enjoyed every minute. The first 7 miles flew by. Jack rabbit and I found a spot to break and eat lunch. Then we kept cruising along. Ran into a few hikers during breaks.
Going upLunch spot
The trail was perfect. The weather was cool, but not cold enough to make me put on thermals. The perfect temp for hiking.
The views were stunning. Mountains stacked behind mountains. And I felt amazing. Especially after a tough desert section with relentless wind. We hiked though wind for the past week in mostly low elevation desert. With little sign of life.
Today was a mix of walking along mountain crests and walking through green forest. The final few miles turned green and leafy. I relaxed and finished the day slow. Without a care in the world.
Snake!
We hiked 17 miles today and I was ready to sleep. Got to camp and filtered water. Then saw a great campsite with no wind and lots of flat spots.
Hikers filed in and around 15 ended up camping here. I had dinner then caught up with speaker and hopped in my tent. When though it’s light until 8, I bedtime is at 7:30!
Camping around trees. No wind for once!
A nice cool night to sleep in. Tomorrow will be another relaxed day. I’ll probably push on to a river large enough to swim in. Try to get there by 5, so I can jump in while it’s warm.
I woke up at 5:45 to a cool breeze coming through my tent. My 6:00 alarm was useless. I was warm and didn’t want to move, but the bus to Ridecest came at 6:45 and it was my best shot to get there early. A hitch would take a few hours.
Jack rabbit, Surplus, and I walked a mile to the bus stop. Jack rabbit huddled in his sleeping bag while we waited for the bus. Surplus was holding his tent, because he was slow to pack up. We were a rough looking crew.
Chilly morning mileWaiting for the bus
While we waited for the bus, we realized town was 70 degrees and sunny! What? It’s been a high of 40 and super windy the last 3 days on trail. And today felt to be the same. It’s crazy how much the weather can change by driving 30 minutes off trail.
After 4 days of windy, cold desert I’m excited to feel the sun. It’s been windy and chilly every morning. A warm shower will feel amazing. The sleeping bag is warm. But the night temps below freezing mean you never get a break from the chill.
Bus ride
We got to town and stoped by Dennys for breakfast. Then walked to Walmart for resupply. I stocked up on food and grabbed travel size toothpaste and sunscreen.
Very okay breakfast
Then we met up with the trail angel, Pancakes. We spent the rest of the day relaxing. We finished a puzzle, watched basketball, and had a group dinner. Overall a chill day and much needed break from the cold. I look forward to getting back on trail tomorrow.
A cold morning. I didn’t want to get out of bed. Chef slept in the vestibule last night, right next to my tent. I heard him packing up at 5:30. And I rolled over then went back to sleep. It was below freezing. I didn’t want to deal with it.
I slept another hour and got moving at 6:30. I slowly packed up my gear and was walked at 7:10. We had 25 miles to a campground right outside of Ridgecrest.
Ridgecrest is big enough for a Walmart. Which means a resupply will be cheap and easy. I only had a 1/3 liter of water left with 5.5 miles and a big climb. I took a few sips and went on my way. It was cold, windy, and sandy climb. Not a fun morning.
Sandy climbBut we’re doing it!
The desert was barren. And I understand why. We pushed through and got to the water cache in a few hours. There were fifty 5 gallon jugs of water and a few medical supplies. A really helpful stop since there are no natural water sources close.
Looks warmer than it was!Not much lifeThank you trail angels!I made a friend
I had a snack then kept moving. The next section was a big climb, 1,600 feet. It wasn’t too sandy or steep so I cruised up the hill. Jack rabbit and I took a break an hour later once we found cell service. We needed to plan our town stop.
No cell service makes planning town stops challenging. We don’t have a place to stay and will be in town tomorrow. I called a bus company to check on schedule. Bus 227 goes by walker pass at 6:45am. As long as we are by the bus stop waiting, it will pick us up.
Jack rabbit called a trail angel and found us rooms, shower, and laundry for 30 bucks!Perfect. The last 12 miles of the day were relaxing. The first 7 miles was a ridge walk and rolling hills, the last 5 was a mild downhill into camp. The sunny 40 degree weather felt great after two days of walking into the freezing wind blasts. And not being warm while resting or taking a break.
Trees?
I cruised the last miles and made it to camp. Camp had water and a fruit cache!! An apple and orange hit the spot. Chef, Jack rabbit, Surplus, and I all pitched tents at the campground. It was going to be another night below freezing. I’m not looking forward to tomorrow’s freezing mile walk to the bus stop. All my clothes are going on!
Start: Tent site – Mile 600 End: Dirt road – Mile 625.5 Elevation Max: 6,762 Elevation Min: 4,501 Elevation Change: 3,666 up & 4,057 down Average Heart Rate: 118 Walking Time: 7 hrs 30 minutes Date: 5/9/2022
The Walk
I slept great last night. I was worried about the mist soaking my bag. But I didn’t get any condensation. That mostly happens when there is a large temp difference between inside the bag and outside.
My water was frozen. I left my water filter out all night so it is probably ruined. When it freezes the filter becomes less effective. But there isn’t a way to tell if it’s broken or not. I’ll get a new one in Ridgecrest. It’s only two days away.
I got started just before 6 and was the first one out of camp. It was another another morning in a cloud. Overcast and chilly. I had a mild incline to start the day, then the trail leveled out. I felt good and the morning was crisp. Ice blew off tree branches and filled the trail.
Icy trailMisty morning
2 miles in I stopped to filter water and saw a guy sitting next to a broken tent. It was High Life 🙁
High Life 🙁
The wind snapped his tent pole last night. Luckily it didn’t rain, so he stayed warm in a floppy tent. He also ran out of gas, which means he had to eat cold food for the next few days. That’s a rough morning.
I headed out and kept hiking. About 5 miles later I ran into Chef and Jack Rabbit. They camped a few miles ahead of me.
Back in the pine forests No more mistBlooms
We shared stories on the walk. And kept walking the next water cache. The mist had cleared up and made way for the sun. But the wind hadn’t gone away. We found a partially wind free lunch spot behind a tiny bush.
I laid down and let the sun warm me up. It was still chilly, but the warmest I felt since leaving Tehachapi. The afternoon trail was a mix of desert and mountain views. A huge change is coming soon. The Sierras!
As the day went on we couldn’t find a good place to camp. Miles and miles of windy desert with no respite. They should put a wind farm over here too.
The desert is beautiful You can’t see the wind!
We’re all worn down from days of windy hiking. But a calm night or sheltered camp site wasn’t in the cards tonight. Our best option was to camp in a dirt road turnaround. Not very sheltered but just enough room for 3 cowboy spots. I checked the weather. It was a low of 31 with severe winds.
That means a wind chill in the 20s. We wanted to set up tents for wind protection, but there was only room for one. We decided one tent was better than nothing. Chef and I pitched the tent in the wind and Jack Rabbit searched for rocks. Tent stakes wouldn’t hold well in the desert sand.
The spot kind of wind protected.Ready for a freezing night.Chef in the vestibuleSunset
We got it in a pretty good spot then had dinner. A chill came with the setting sun and I crawled in my sleeping bag. Chef slept in the tents side vestibule.
Only one more cold and windy night. Tomorrow will be a 25 mile day to the campground right before Ridgecrest. I’ll be going in with low food and a light pack. Bring on the ice cream and town food. The desert is almost finished!
Start: Tent site – Mile 572.9 End: Tent site – Mile 600 Elevation Max: 6,231 Elevation Min: 4,639 Elevation Change: 4,672 up & 4,851 down Average Heart Rate: 116 Walking Time: 8 hrs 48 minutes Date: 5/8/2022
The Walk
It was a windy night. I don’t regret sleeping on the mountain, because I was tired of getting wind blasted.
I woke up every hour in the night. Half afraid a tree branch would blow off and land on me. But the wind was mostly blocked and I was thankful to be in my tent.
It was 5:30 by the 10th time I checked my watch. Finally time to get moving. An early start to set up a big mile day is a positive from a rough night. Maybe I will catch up to a few friends ahead.
I opened my tent and saw fog covering the mountain. I could only see 30 feet in front of me. There were even a few water droplets when the wind gusted. But I was already committed.
Walking into the clouds.
I headed out straight away. My best option was to get off this mountain top. A few miles later I was off the peak and the sky cleared up. Wind wasn’t as bad as yesterday, but I was definitely still in windmill country. No matter how fast I walked I couldn’t get warm. It’s going to be a long walk to Kennedy Meadows!
Not as badJeep roads and clouds.
The mountain views were beautiful and the morning went by quickly. 6 miles in I saw Mounty and hiked with her for a bit. Then I ran into Smurf and Cacoon who I hadn’t seen in a week. We hiked together the rest of the day, it was fun to catch up and share stories from the last 200 miles of trail.
Views as cool as the morning.The crew
The trail wound its way through wind farms and mountaintops it was filled with beautiful views. But it was chilly all day with no sun to warm up. Cold enough that you didn’t want to take a break. The most annoying part of chilly hiking is staying the right temperature. I need a puffy jacket to stay warm normally. But If I wear a puffy while climbing it turns into a sauna. I must have stopped to switch it on and off 5 times.
We stopped for lunch at 1:30. I had already hiked 21 miles. My body felt great. I could do another 50 mile day if I wanted. Maybe even more. That day gave me perspective of what I’m capable of. But I had no reason to try it.
Lunch was refueling and the afternoon hike had two big climbs. Smurf and I knocked out the first climb then found a sunny spot fo lay down and wait for Cacoon. We listened to music and chatted. After 40 minutes it was odd she hadn’t stopped by, so we waited another 30 minutes and texted her to see what was up. Eventually we gave up and started walking 4 miles ahead to the planned camp spot.
Can’t escape the wind
2 miles later she replied and said she was already at the camp spot! She was walked by and we don’t hear her because of the wind. That was a welcome relief. The last two miles were downhill. Through a green, tree-filled landscape.
The wind picked back up and I could see the damage it cause. The section was covered with downed trees. They couldn’t stand up to the wrath of the wind. I even jogged past a few trees because they were wobbling. Only a matter of time before they came crashing down.
One of many downed trees.The wind is relentless.
We found a spot out of the wind at mile 600. Still a few miles from the next water source, but good enough. The FarOut comments had sightings of mountain lions and bears in this section. I haven seen anything yet. Maybe that will change tonight!
Start: Techachapi – Mile 566.4 End: Tent site – Mile 572.9 Elevation Max: 6,014 Elevation Min: 3,789 Elevation Change: 2,978 up & 825 down Average Heart Rate: 135 Walking Time: 2 hrs 6 minutes Date: 5/7/2022
The Walk
A day of rest after the 50 mile challenge had me feeling fresh. The morning was heavy with mist and I slowly got ready to get back in trail.
Morning mist, morning mood
I walked through the overcast morning to the hotel lobby for breakfast. 10 hikers were already there and had cleaned the place out! No waffles or bagels were left. But I got a few English muffins and yogurts. It was good enough for me.
My mood matched the weather so I went back to my room and relaxed. At 12 I packed up and moved to a coffee shop. I had lunch and wrote until 3:30. That was the max amount of time I could kill. I only had 4 more hours of light, and I needed to get back in trail to find a camp spot.
Hiking fuel.
First up was finding a hitch. I walked to road and put out my thumb. If nobody picked me up a bus would stop in 1.5 hours. Hundreds of cars drove by. Then a taxi offered me a ride for 20 bucks. I took the deal. Gas is 6 bucks a gallon here and I didn’t want to wait for the bus.
Glad I’m not driving to Canada
As we drove to the trailhead the sun came out and mist cleared. I felt ready to go! I met Copter at the trailhead and we walked a few miles. The trail went up a 6 mile, 2k foot climb to start the day.
Getting back to trailHello windmills.Yep. Good spot for a wind farm.I like Joshua trees It’s nice to be back
The wind came to life a mile into the hike. The type of wind that blows you sideways. I had never felt wind this strong. The hood on my sun hoodie was flapping in the wind. Around 6:00 I got to a flat site near the top of the mountain. It was semi sheltered.
I set up my tent behind a thicket of bushes and trees to ride out the 50 mph wind gusts. I made a quick dinner and caught a beautiful sunset.
!!Woah.
It feels good to be back on trail. After 6 miles in two days, I’m looking forward to a bigger day of hiking tomorrow. Maybe 29 miles. The first water is in 10 miles and the second is 19 miles after that. Maybe I’ll catch a few people who left before me!
Tehachapi Haiku A break from the wind Waffles and recharge with Gramps Birthdays in the park.
I woke up feeling stiff but not too sore. Much better than I expected after a 50 mile day.s Gramps made waffles for breakfast. I topped them with strawberries, butter, syrup, and whipped cream.
Yum!Pets cure stiff legs.
After a few hours on the couch he took me to the post office to pick up new sunglasses. I ordered prescription sunglasses the week before I left and they were ready! Thank goodness because I needed them before the sierras. The sunlight bouncing off the snow burns eyes!
Gramps dropped off Jack rabbit and I at Walmart. We resupplied and walked to the hotel. The hotel didn’t allow early check-in so we had two hours to burn.
I walked to a park and met up with Fanny snacks and Maggie for her birthday. They were hanging out with two hikers from Austria who I hadn’t met. It was one of their birthdays too, a double birthday! We had nachos, listened to music, and relaxed in the sunshine.
I stopped by a German market for a sandwich, then went back to hotel to relax. I’ll be back on trail tomorrow for a 90 mile walk to Ridgecrest.
I didn’t have service to upload images or posts at Kennedy Meadows. I’m headed into the sierras for 6-7 days. I’ll get the daily posts back online after!
It’s 10:00 pm and I hadn’t fallen asleep yet. 2 hours and 40 minutes until my alarm. I was nervous. But it wasn’t keeping me up. I usually fall asleep around 10:30 on a town day or day I didn’t hike. I kept my eyes closed and hoped for the best, nervous that 2 hours of sleep wouldn’t be enough fuel for a 50 mile day.
I woke up at 12:40. 5 minutes before my alarm. I didn’t dare go back to sleep in case I slept through the alarm. So I rolled over and tried to pack up my gear. We had a lot of eyes on our hike today. I wanted to get off to a good start. To give it my best shot.
33 miles is the most I’ve hiked in a day. I wasn’t stressed about hiking 50. I was confident my body could do it. The challenge would be walking for hours, staying hydrated, eating calories, and not getting a random injury.
I packed up my gear as quietly as possible. Two hikers were camped next to me. I probably woke them up, but at least I was gone in a few minutes! I had prepped my snacks and water last night, so I walked over to Jack Rabbit’s spot. And ate breakfast, two packets of breakfast essentials. Plus a few bars later.
Jack Rabbit took a few minutes to pack up. Then we took a few minutes to figure out the Instagram login for PCT trek and post some stories. We had control over an account with 98k followers. What a cool opportunity to share our day!
We left hiker town and got on the trail at 1:30 am. We were hiking by headlamp. Adrenaline was pumping and I didn’t feel tired. It’s a creepy, exciting experience. The world is asleep so you don’t expect to see or hear anything around. But sometimes your mind plays tricks.
Packing up
The moon was nowhere to be found. The sky filled with stars. We must have seen 10 shooting stars during the morning walk. The first 17 miles out of hikertown is flat along the LA aqueduct. Mostly a road walk.
The section is famous for desert heat and no shade. But the cool night air felt great. We kept hiking. I slipped on the pipe early on and twisted my knee. I quickly caught myself and didn’t feel anything pop. But I was nervous.
Could I really have hurt myself 5 miles into this thing?? Please no. I don’t want Jack Rabbit to do this solo.
Thankfully my knee didn’t tighten up at all during the 17 mile stretch. As we walked along the road the sun rose right in front of us, across a field of windmills. I couldn’t believe how fast the sun came up once it peaked above the mountains. We jogged ahead to get a clear picture and barely made it!
Sunrise
The rest of the morning went by without a problem. The world was waking up and so was my body. At 7:15 we met up with Gramps. Jack Rabbit hiked with him on the Appalachian Trail in 2021. He brought us each two McDonald’s breakfast sandwiches, a sack of chips, and a coke! I downed the food and threw the coke in my pack for later.
This was perfect. It felt like a normal morning, my body was ready to start the day. I’m not sure how the weird morning (walking instead of sleeping) impart me, but I’m feeling great now.
17 miles down 33 to go. 33 is my longest day of hiking. So I viewed this as starting a new day. Nothing I haven’t done before! The next section of trail had two big climbs. Both over 1k feet.
Lots of windmillsGrampsGood start!
We got back on trail and started walking. Conscious of our pace. Gramps agreed to pick us up whenever we finished, but much preferred 7-8 instead of 10 or later. Jack Rabbit and I didn’t want to show up late. He was already doing so much for us, and giving us a place to sleep!
Just before the climb we ran into a few friends who had left at 6pm night before. They were waking up. They had hiked until late in the night to avoid the heat as well. Many of them had hiked the most miles of their trips, which was cool to see!
Onward! The first climb was here. I started up the climb and kept the same pace. This was the first uphill so I was using new muscles. We had hiked all flat this morning. It was actually stretching out my legs and felt great. We cruised right up the climb.
I ate bars as I walked and kept going, a few miles later we got to a stream trickling. Thankfully the stream was still flowing, This is the only natural water for the day. We took a break here, filtered water, and prepared for the second climb.
I still felt full from the McDonald’s, so didn’t eat much. We also met up with Chezwick. He is hiking the Great Western Loop. A 8,000 mile trail that has to be finished in 7 month. It’s unreal. He is averaging 37ish miles per day.
He took the lead and I followed him up the second climb. The second climb covered 4 miles. It was nice to have him to talk with and follow behind. This was the first time my body felt tired. I had to dig deep and keep pushing. Chezwick kept us on a good pace and my mind occupied as we chatted all things thruhiking.
Finally we made it up to the climb! The heat was in full force. Thankfully a water cache was on top of the mountain. As I got closer I saw umbrellas for shade and a few hikers relaxing! Perfect! This was exactly what I needed.
TiredWe made it up the climb!Water cache with a little shade
I relaxed for 45 minutes. Had a tuna wrap and snacks, and refilled on water. The shade was a welcome relief from the sun. At 1:00 I threw in a donation and headed out for the last 17 miles.
The last section only had one climb of 500 feet. And it was pretty rolling, with ups downs and flats all mixed together. The second half was downhill. 8 miles of easy trail into Techachapi.
I felt great. 17 miles is a lot, but the hardest trail was behind us. I was worried how my body would hold up. I’ve heard hikers say everything after 30 isn’t worth it. It’s twice as painful on the body. But I hadn’t tried it, so there’s only one way to find out! I expected to push though a lot of discomfort during this section.
Leaving the cache I was slow and stiff. But after 10 minutes of walking I was back in the groove. The trail opened up to another wind farm and mountains lined with wild flowers. It was a beautiful section of trail and felt great to be back in higher elevation.
We cruised through the hike. Vibes were high because we knew the end was in sight. Jack rabbit and I chatted and kept on hiking. The final section went by smoothly. About 15 miles out of town the wind really picked up. It was the first time big wind hit. The kind where if you lean against it, it almost holds you up.
Nice timing These flowers thoughWindmillsWindmills everywhere
We ran into a few more friends with 10 miles to go. They knew what we were doing and it was fun to catch up.
The last 10 miles were mostly downhill and smooth. In a few hours we were looking at the finishing highway 2 miles away! My body still felt fine. A little more tired then usual. But strong.
The road!
We finished the trip and my watch read 49.3 miles. What a long day! But I really wanted to get to 50. So I kept hiking on the trail until halfway to 50. Then turned back. It was 7:00, so we had 15 minutes to burn before getting picked upz I hit 50 and officially ends the hike.
Damage reportDamage report v2Dinner
What a wild day! I was still suprised how my body felt. Tired, but nothing hurt. My feet were sore. But nothing out of the ordinary. We ordered pizza and hopped into gramps car. He took us back to his house for the night and was unbelievable hospitable.
After pizza, a shower, and fresh clothes I was done. Ready to crash. A 50 mile day about 1 month into the hike hasn’t sunk in. We could have split it into two days, but this trip is all about new experiences and breaking ceilings. Who knows what tomorrow will bring!
Western movie set Desert hiker paradise Embrace the weird vibes
A morning with zero miles to hike is weird. This is only my 3rd zero of the trip. I don’t like them. I woke up at 6:00 and couldn’t fall back asleep. All of the crew except Jack rabbit and I headed out for the day.
Sunrise
They planned to split the hike to Tehachapi between two days. A very normal decision. Jack rabbit and I are doing it mostly for fun. There isn’t any benefit to the challenge except to take on a challenge and see what you can do!
I relaxed during the day, got a resupply for one day of hiking, and chatted with hikers. Around noon we found out the pacific crest trail trek Instagram page wanted us to take over for the day! Sweet!
Relaxing with hikers
I would have happily done the challenge without it. But an audience of 100k people will make it even more fun.
Jack rabbit and I planned for tomorrow then I tried to sleep early. At 8:30 I was laying in my bag… I needed to wake up in 4 hours and I wasn’t even tired. Hopefully I can sleep at least 2 good hours tonight, it’s going to be a long day tomorrow.
Food for a dayLogistics.. can we do this?Heck yeah we canSorry for waking you up in 4 hours!
