Day 43-48 - Tehachapi to Walker Pass
We were very excited to reach the next town. The PCT crosses a highway at the historically important Walker Pass (mile 652) which was discovered in 1834 by Joseph Walker and still serves as the southern-most crossing of the Sierras. From there you can hitch to either Inyokern/Ridgecrest (east) or Lake Isabella/Kernville (west). Luckily, we have an old Boy Scout friend from our days working at Camp Bonaparte that lives in Inyokern, and we were very excited to catch up after many years.
We departed Tehachapi (mile 566) in the late afternoon of June 15th (Day 43), and were sad to continue on without our friends Oilspill and Footloose that we had connected with along the Aqueduct. We continued to night hike as the desert wasn't quite finished yet, and there were some very long water carries coming up. Leaving the freeway after a bus ride, we had 16 miles to get to our next water source.
After our quick midnight nap, we arrived the next day at Golden Oaks Spring (mile 583) and prepped for an even longer water carry of 19 miles to Robin Bird Spring. Ian began to despair about all the water weight we had to carry, but Gaelen took this new burden in stride. Cowboy camping after midnight in a grassy depression between oak trees was magical with the moonlight, if midge ridden. The Tehachapi Mountains we were passing through were a distinctly new terrain: merging fluidly between wet coulees of mistletoe laden oak trees and dry, arid hilltops of sagebrush and Joshua trees.
We arrived at Robin Bird Spring (mile 602) the next morning just as everyone camped there was waking. Taking a few quiet moments to eat, drink, and simply share space with other hikers in silence was restorative. A few miles later we reached Landers Meadow (mile 609), our last water source before the longest water carry to date - 35 miles! We slept the afternoon away before departing Landers Meadow, but not before a nice conversation with some retired Jeepsters passing through. With 7 liters of water for Ian and 9 liters for Gaelen, we worked our way nearer to Wyley's Knob before crashing a bit earlier than planned on a Joshua tree topped ridge.
We rose early and easily from our ridgetop campsite before dawn, having now fell into a good night hiking rhythm, but Ian was beginning to feel like he could no longer keep up with Gaelen. Hiking through Joshua trees for most of the day, Ian finally caught up with Gaelen at a water cache before Skinner Peak (mile 631). You see the truth is that there were two water caches maintained by trail angels through this 70 mile stetch of sparse water. However, judging from the comments on Guthooks hikers were drinking an average of 40 gallons every day from each cache! The trail angels seemed to bring 250 gallons each week or so. Napkin math revealed this to be potentially problematic. We DID NOT want to arrive at a water cache expecting to refill and find none, leaving us to face 10-ish miles to the next reliable supply. So, we hoofed the extra weight for water security. Ultimately, the caches were well supplied, but better safe than thirsty.
At the last water cache, Ian napped much longer than advisable and rushed to catch up with Gaelen. Crossing Skinner Peak around 1800, Ian feared the late afternoon rain shower - with distant, rolling thunder - would hinder his progress, but luckily there were no lightning strikes to shelter from. Arriving well past dark at McIver's Cabin (mile 644), Ian rolled out his bag and crashed hoping to find Gaelen in the morning light.
The next morning was June 19 (Day 47), Gaelen was relieved to discover Ian's campsite and we walked the last few miles down to Walker Pass (mile 652). The views of the Sierra Nevada were stunning and breathtaking. Ian tuned into Above & Beyond's Group Therapy #250 Live from the Gorge Amphitheater to really soak up all the positive emotions. Our friend Kirt came to pick us up from the pass with cold beverages and allowed us to crash at his Trantula Ranch in the Red October (his super cool airstream trailer) for the next two nights. It was great fun reconnecting with Kirt and his family: wife Dawn, daughter Cheyenne, and son Schuyler (who had just bought his first house!). All except Dawn had worked at Camp Bonaparte, though Cheyenne during years we had not. Thank you again Kirt & Dawn for hosting us!
Holy wow! We were so close to the Sierras we could taste them. Their every glimpse, the very idea of their presence, filled all of our imaginings. THIS was what we had been waiting for. If it had not been for Ian's continually aching feet, this would have been a time of shared, extreme exuberance. As it stood, Gaelen was always a few miles ahead, a few thoughts in front.
