Stats

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!