Got up about 4 this morning to start the 19 (or so) mile walk to the next water source. A beautiful morning walking mainly at elevation and therefore with lots of trees and shade. These sections of the trail are nothing like I expected them to be. I actually expected to be walking in sage brush and see skulls of dead animals along the way with vultures circling overhead.

Have not been taking pictures of wild flowers lately. They are around and here are a couple shots.

You sick of wind turbines yet. Well the location of them is pretty…

And I finally reach the water source. A long day and some serious climbs. At one point about 8 am a hiker past me and there were 12 miles left to get to the water source. He indicated he would be there by noon. 3 miles an hour with serious climbs. I just laughed. I believe I got there about 5 pm. So it took me 5 more hours than him!! So… I am slow… I know this but I am loving it. I like to think I have more time to see things, more time to admire the work of God, at least when my head is not down while I am trying to suck up as much air as possible into my lungs. So I arrived at the water source just in time. There was a thunder storm brewing and there was rumbling and very dark clouds overhead. I got my tent put together and everything into it and literally 30 seconds later it started raining. I was safe in the tent for the night and the rain on the tent put me right to sleep.

So the “Just Keep Walking” group rented a car to go to REI in LA and gave me ride back to the trail before leaving. Notice I skipped at 8 miles. There are two ways to get to Tehachapi. One is via Willow Springs Road. The other is via Hwy 58. I came in on one but went out on the other and thus skipped 8 miles. Starting the day about 10 am. This next section has 17 miles to one water source and then 18 miles to the next water source after that. This is said to be the driest part of the PCT and thus the locals at Tehachapi say it is the hardest :). A very mild day. In the 70’s. I would hate to walk this section in the 90’s or 100’s but in the 70’s it was not all that bad. Saw some familiar faces along the trail and but not ones I had spent any time with. Some images at the start of the walk. The now ever present wind turbines.

Remember I talked how a lot of the trail has mountain on one side and death fall on the other BUT that the trail is flat and not really dangerous. Thought I would take a picture of that

Gaining elevation and getting into some trees. Trees == shade and that is good. Becoming a fan of elevation.

Once I got to the water source it was the end of my day. Only one moderately good camping site acceptable. Camped under a big tree. Not exactly flat but not all that bad. Cowboy camped again and almost expected “Just Keep Walking” crew to come walking in during the night but it did not happen. A good day and a good night. By the way, for most of the PCT season this water hole has been dry because of damage done by cows to the pipes. That would means for those early ones they had 35 miles without water and if you add the 8 miles I skipped that would be 43 miles between water stops!!! This would not be possible for me in the heat of the day. The only way to do that many miles with the amount of water I can reasonably carry is to walk at night. I am very happy that I am so slow that I gave them time to fix the issue with the piping.

Did pretty much nothing today but rest and eat, then eat and rest. Life is hard.

Great night. Good breakfast and walking again. The plan was to take a day off in Tehachapi as it is really the last town that is relatively close to the PCT. Not much of a walk left and so I sleep pretty late in the day (6 am or so). There is fire damage here but a pretty looking valley down below.

This day is basically a descent to the desert floor again. When I get to the paved Willow Springs Road there is a trail angel there named CopperTone who travels around and sets up at various spots to do good deeds. Here he is handing out Cream floats. ICE CREAM!!!! And the wonderful Canadian Lady that gave me a ride earlier is there and she is handing out oranges and giving rides into Tehachapi!! I am blessed. Also there are “Just Keep Walking”, “Night Walker”, and “Rock City”!! “Stubbs” and “SingleMalt” apparently camped somewhere the night before and had not made it yet. They indicate they are staying at some hotel in town which was not where I ended up staying….at least so I thought. However the next morning there they all were at breakfast. A good group of people and I am glad to keep running into them even if hiking together is not possible. Everyone has to hike at their own pace and to find two or more people that can go at the same pace is pretty much impossible. Even with this group they spread out as each goes at their own pace and they gather up again at resting points. They are close enough to the same speed to make this possible. As easy day followed by a day of rest the next day. The weather forecast is for mild temperatures and so I am going to walk during the day on June 4. This crew is going to rent a car and go to REI in LA for resupply and then do more night hiking.

Wanted to get as much of the next section done early in the morning before the heat and so I got up early to begin the walk to the next water source which was TylerHorse Canyon. As it turns out I am really glad I started early because it was another hot day and there was no shade. Much of the walk is through and around wind turbine farms. Here are some early morning pictures

I have seen a couple rattle snakes along the trail but only have this one picture. He saw me before I saw him but he let we walk by without striking.

It is a big (600 feet) descent into Tylerhorse Canyon and as I am doing it I can not see any signs of water down there. I was getting a bit anxious when I finally got a glint off a small stream of water. So I load up with water but it is now about 10 and getting hot and so I start looking for shade to wait out the heat. There is 1 tree in this canyon large enough for shade.

As the day goes on there are about 20 hikers cheek to cheek to try to stay in the shade of this tree. Among them are “Just Keep Walking”, “Rock City”, “Night Walker”, “Stubbs”, and “SingleMalt”. Since they basically left a day before me, I am not sure how this happened but I am happy to see them. We all just rest and talk under the tree. Every now and them getting up and moving our stuff to shift to where the shade is.

The plan is to start walking again at 7 pm. The plan is that I will also join and walk with them for the night walk. They indicate they are slow and evidence would suggest they are right as I keep catching them. However none of them are injured :). We start walking and the section is a lot of up and down and one particular down section was very dangerous for me. In the night, I had no depth perception and this was a steep downhill with the mountain on one side and a death fall on the other. Most of the time the trail is cut into the mountain and is a level path. This however was a sandy section and the trail was slanted to the death fall side. Without depth perception it was hard for me to tell where to step. I took it VERY VERY slow. Right after the descent (that I survived) was a step ascent and I was slow. They were all way ahead of me and after 5 miles they stopped for a rest and waited for me. I could tell that SingleMalt was not all that happy and had been there for a long time waiting for me. When I arrived, they waited about 2 minutes and started up again. Most of them has been waiting for 30 or more minutes and were ready to go. So in this type of dynamic the slowest person really never gets any rest. Went for another 2 hours or so and they waited again. This time I told them to just go on and not wait for me. I was slowing them down too much and I would see them down the trail. They took my advice and I did not see them the rest of the night. About 1:30 in the morning, I found a good camping spot and again cowboy camped under the stars. It was great. I have now become of fan of not using the tent unless it is necessary because of weather. The nights are just too beautiful.

While resting and observing Sunday in HikerTown I met a hiker almost as old as myself and we decided to start out on the desert together. His name was Rocko because he likes to take pictures of rocks. Geology interests him. We decide to leave about 4:30. It was hot but we figured it would cool off soon enough. As we are walking he tells me he likes to go slow because he has a bad ankle. Great I say, I love slow. As you know I can only keep up with people that are injured. Not that I take joy in their injuries you understand but at least I can keep up with them. So we start out and we are going at a pace of 3 miles per hour. I worry and ask him if he is sure this pace is OK. He says it was. After about 5 miles he needs a rest which we do and he indicates that his ankle is hurting. He takes a couple pain pills and we continue on. After about 8 miles he has to stop again and indicates he can not continue. That he is going to spend the night there and hope is ankle gets better. I feel bad about leaving him, but not bad enough not to leave him. He indicates it is ok. I have not seen him or heard of him since. I wonder if he had to quit. It does not take much to force you off the trail. Just hit a rock the wrong way and twist your ankle and your PCT adventure could be over for the year. I keep looking at registers to see his name but have not noticed it. Could be he is just behind me. Here are some pictures I took during the daylight.

As the night falls it cools off and it is really easy walking. Flat and with a full moon it is easy to see where you are going without a headlamp. Just keep walking. I was a little worried about the water cache and exactly where it was and feared I would pass it by in the dark. The owner of Hikertown told me that the PCTA was not very happy about the water caches and was discouraging them because the hikers came to depend on them. I can understand that BUT frankly when you are routing us through a desert and without the water cache there would not be water for 34 miles, I think a water cache is appropriate and frankly should be sponsored by the PCTA and not discouraged. But what do I know. The cache was in the middle of a Wind Turbine farm and the sight of wind turbines would be normal for the next 5 days of the PCT. I did notice the water cache. I did stop at it for water and decided to camp there for the night about midnight. Another beautiful night of cowboy camping under the stars and the sound of wind turbines.

When I made camp last night there was another camper near by. I cowboy camped (without a tent as it was a beautiful night) and tried hard not to wake them up. The next morning I woke up at 6:30 which is really late for me and the other camper had already left. They apparently did so very quietly as well as I had no idea they had left. Once I get to sleep there is not much that will wake me up as my family can attest. It is a good trait and a bad trait. It would be nice to wake up if someone broke into my house to rob me but I really doubt that I would. That is why I have two attack cats. Anyway at 6:30 the sun was already up and it was already hot. I only had 8 miles to go to HikerTown and I figured I could do that easy. I had plenty of water. So I got up and had a nice breakfast of a flour tortilla filled with cheese and summer sausage and a hot chocolate and I was ready to go.

The day got hotter really fast. I was lucky to be doing it this early in the morning because by the time I arrived at Hikertown, even with plenty of water, I was feeling a little sick to my stomach. The heat from above and below was getting to me and there was not very much shade once I dropped down into the desert floor. I was happy to make it to HikerTown and renewed my pledge to walk at night. This walking during the day was not a good idea and it was not working for me. Today is Saturday and so I spend the rest of the day and night in HikerTown and then most of Sunday (day of rest) also in HikerTown waiting for the evening to start the walk again. This next section is true desert as the walk is about 20 miles along the AquaDuct. It is a 17 mile stretch without water AND the only reason there is water in 17 miles is because the owners of HikerTown maintain a water cache of two 50 gallon drums at that point. I have such admiration for the people that were able to walk the PCT in the days when trail angels and water caches did not exist!! They are better men that me.

While I am waiting at HikerTown on Saturday, “Just Keep Walking”, “Night Walker”, “Rock City”, “Stubbs”, “SingleMalt” arrive. Turns out they got a ride from Anderson’s to HikerTown. They head out on Saturday night to do the desert. I have an urge to go with them and have someone to walk with in the desert but do not.

The next day we all had a leisurely breakfast at the ranger station and then the owner of the Anderson’s Trail Angel location drives up and asks if we want a ride to her place. The Anderson’s is a legendary stop on the trail. We all say yes and most of the crew is going to take the whole day off and begin the next day. I decide to go to the Anderson’s and rest for the day and then hike that night. It was a good decision as the Anderson’s was really not the place for me to be. It was a good enough place to rest and I used to nearby store to gorge myself with sandwiches and GatorAde but most of the crowd at the Anderson’s were having a little too much fun for me. A really nice Canadian lady who was being a trail angel for her daughter was waiting for her daughter to show up and was giving rides while wait. She was a really sweet lady and gave me a ride back to the trail. You may notice I skipped miles 478 to 493. This section of the trail is closed due to fire and the alternate trail is along a road and I did not feel safe. I walked a little on this road to get to the ranger station and heard traffic on this road all during the night and it was just a bit too busy for me. So the trail angel gave me a ride to where the trail opened up again at mile 493. Starting walking about 5 in the evening and walked until just past midnight. There was 1 water source along the way which they called which was called a “guzzler”. Had no idea what that meant but it turns out to be a structure built about 2 feet off the ground that collects rain water which runs from a pipe down into a tank. So you have to crawl under this structure on your belly and get to the tank and reach down to get the water. It was a good water source and the water was cold and clean but a bit hard to get to. There were 3 other people there getting water and me and the other guy crawled under while the girls above kept throwing bottles down to us to fill. As we filled them we threw them back up and they filtered them. It went pretty fast and after all of us got water they decided to camp right there and I continued on about another 5 miles and set up camp. Figured with all the water I had I would finish the walk into HikerTown the next day. I must say that while I was walking in light I was surprised by the landscape. I was figuring a desert landscape and I was basically in a forest as you can see by the pictures. The real desert comes tomorrow.

Lenora’s Note: With Don back on the trail I’m getting ready to be his personal “camp follower” so today I have a dentist appointment to get started on my next set of dental implants and I am leaving him to fend for himself on the trail for the weekend. Lots to do before I leave home for the rest of the adventure.

Had a great night. Got up early to walk the 3 miles to get to the only water supply for the day. From the water supply in 3 miles it is 15 miles to the next one.

Wish I would have taken a picture of the water supply. It was a drip of about 1 liter per minute. There were about 5 of us at the site trying to fill up our bottles for the next 15 mile section and patiently waiting for our turn to capture some water. Not too bad because after capturing you have to filter the water and so it takes some time to capture and filter, capture some more and filter. So the general rule to this point has been a liter of water for every 5 miles. At least that is what I hear as I have not actually been paying attention. I generally carry much more water than I need. But this time I get what everyone is saying is necessary and get 3 liters for the next 15 miles. BIG BIG mistake. My gut told me I should have taken more water. My GUT was right. This section is up and down, up and down, and it was hot. Everyone was looking for a little shade to rest in and most were taking long rest periods. I took about a 2 hour nap in the shade at one point. At about the mid point we cross a paved road which would have been a perfect spot for a trail angel and a water cache. There was a water cache, but it was dry. Too many hikers this year for the small cache that was there. I’m thinking next year perhaps Lenora and I will set up at this road and be trail angels as it is needed. Later on when we about 3 miles from the next water source, there was another dry water cache. Good intentions by the angels but the need this year is just greater than they expected. Before this 3 mile mark I knew I was in trouble. Well…. trouble really?? I mean in only 3 or so miles I will have water. How bad can it be? It felt bad and I was rationing my sips and ran out of water at about this point. I asked a couple hikers going by if they had any extra water and they were all rationing as well. Everyone on this day underestimated how much water was needed for 15 miles. The heat and terrain were not taken into account by anyone. It was a bad day for everyone I talked to. Finally make it to the water source at a ranger station which was also a perfect place to camp. While I am getting water a number of other desperate people show up and get water and decide to camp there as well. The first thing everyone does is go get water, drink about 2 liters without hardly taking a breath, and then take time to chat.

Just Keep Walking
Night Walker
Stubbs and SingleMalt
Rock City
Mossy
Shaggy and Paige

We had a good night talking about the trail and how hard the day was and how the miles coming up in the desert were going to be harder, hotter, and dryer. Must admit, I was anxious about the future days. Decided it was time to start walking at night to conserve on the need for water.

So back on the trail after a great memorial day. The locals says this section of the trail is the hardest :). It seems like at most locations the locals say that either the trail entering their location or leaving their location is the hardest on the PCT. In Mt. Laguna it was because it is all uphill. Also Mt. Laguna is either the end of the 2nd or 3rd day on the trail and people are figuring out that their shoes are all wrong and they have blisters or battered toe nails. The angels at Ziggy and the Bear (after the 20 mile down hill from Mt. San Jacinto) say the next section is the worst because you have just come down 20 miles and you now have to start the ascent into Big Bear. The locals here say the next section of the trail into Aqua Dulce (SweetWater) is the worst because it is totally exposed and there is very little shade. Only one cave along the way you can go into to get relief from the sun. All of these people are probably correct. Each section of the trail is the worst… or perhaps rather it is the best.. each section seems to give you something new to think about. Anyway, Lenora dropped me off pretty early in the morning and so the exposed landscape did not really cause me any problems and the walk into Aqua Dulce was a good one. I have a picture down below of the cave that provides shade. It is not on the trail exactly but there is a well worn path that leads to the cave. This section of the trail was really quite nice. A lot of great rock structures including Vasquez Rocks. This apparently is a famous site because a number of Star Trek episodes were filmed here. When I arrived they were just starting to set up for some HUGE event and I’m guessing it was Star Trek related. I did not hang around long enough to find out. I continued on into Aqua Dulce where there are are 3 things that interest a PCT hiker. There is a cafe with great burgers, a cafe with great pizza, and a store with every thing that a PCT hiker needs. All of these places are very welcoming to PCT hikers and so I spent about 2 hours here getting a great burger and shopping for some food in the store to take along. There were probably at least 30 other hikers hanging around and waiting for the heat to drop off before continuing and just enjoying the little town. I left about 2 pm to continue but at this point in the trail you are actually walking right along a paved highway and the heat beats you from above and below. About 2 miles down the road another hiker named Sarge catches up to me. We soon come to a little church with a nice lawn and a big shade tree and we both agree it is foolish to keep walking in the heat and so we stop and rest on the lawn in the shade for about 2 hours. During this time no other hikers come by. They were smart enough to stay in town and enjoy the food and drink. Sarge said he had retired because who he was working for was doing immoral things. That pretty much opened the door and I had a wonderful time talking with Sarge about how wondrous the trail is and how it is natural to think of God while walking in such beauty. We started to walk again and it was not long before Sarge surged ahead and sadly I have not seen him again. I made it about 6 miles out of town to the top of a ridge and camped for the night. A good first day back.