Nearing the End of the Desert? — PCT 2017: A Hiking Story [14]

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Part 13 ‘Tehachapi Zero and Nero Day Morale Boosting’ 

Day 40 (07/05) – Joshua Trees

Hunger awoke me, and… apparently everyone else, as we set off for breakfast in the Tehachapi Hotel. Not bad considering we weren’t even guests really. We had a final shower and took off to hitch a ride. No luck was to be had for the first half hour, but eventually, a couple let us ride in the back of their pick-up truck.

The trail was mostly uphill today and hard yards. Rex, Swim, Corky and I pushed through miles. The terrain might have been not so forgiving, but the weather was great – mostly overcast with a cool breeze.

Seeing Joshua Trees first-hand was a really cool sight. My memory of these trees mostly comes from entertainment, in particular, Dr Seuss’s children’s books.

As we hiked in through the day, it became noticeably greener and was a welcome change. We knew the desert was nearing the end, but we weren’t there yet.

We eventually synced up with some familiar faces – Akuna, Hunter, Rubberball, and two new faces Mellow and Canary. We found out we were all going to the same campsite, being the closest water source after all. It was funny when Canary arrived at camp late and said, “did you see those cute little itty bitty Joshua trees awhile back?”. To which I replied “You mean the poodle dog bush… you didn’t touch it right???”, followed by her reply…“oh really?…no!”. Haha! They do look a little similar, but poodle dog bush is poisonous!

We arrived, set up our tents and joined the others for dinner. It was amusing to see the laziness of some meals being made, mostly involving mashed potato, but totally understandable!

Distance hiked: 18 miles (28.97 km)

Total PCT hiked: 583 miles (938.25 km)

Day 41 (08/05) First Bear Sighting and Mile 600

My alarm went off at 6am, began the routine breakfast process of brewing coffee along with oats, and almost immediately after, I put my head down on my clothes bag pillow and accidentally fell back asleep! 45 minutes later, I awoke thinking I didn’t even sleep, but had found a cold coffee waiting for me – damn!

Shortly after finally setting off, Rex and I were joined by Akuna, Rubberball, Hunter and Mellow. Canary was further behind, whilst Jake and Corky had left early.

The day was mostly uphill, but again the weather was not overly hot. In fact, it was quite overcast for the most part. We passed through several more wind farms, with turbines all the way back to the horizon, looking back the way we came.

Whilst on a short drink break, there was a remarkable moment as Rex spotted a Black Bear on the other side of the valley. It was plodding along in the open briefly before disappearing behind a bushy area. It was the first wild bear I have ever seen – super cool, even if a brief experience! Akuna also spotted a giant Jackrabbit – about two feet long when it stood up.

On the hike, Rex and I decided we needed the Sierra Mountains soon, as we admitted that the desert was growing tedious in parts. Whilst the scenery is still mostly beautiful, the terrain is very monotonous and not challenging. We both liked challenges, along with Corky and Echo too.

I realised I missed Echo from our trail family. He was a day ahead, and after hiking with him for at least five weeks straight, it was saddening to suddenly not be alongside him. It was the same feeling when Rex was ahead of us too, back in Wrightwood. It would be sad to see any of the four of us break away from each other.

After climbing and climbing, we hit pine forests and some nice lush grassy regions. At one point, a baby deer fowl was grazing in this grass. It reminded me of Bambi.

Most of the others had pushed ahead, but Rex, myself and Canary (far behind) were tired and slow. It’s probably because we hadn’t hiked huge amounts in the past week. The 600-mile marker was hit, a morale booster towards the end of the day. We eventually arrived about half an hour after the others, and had dinner with everyone, followed by an early sleep.

Distance hiked: 19 miles (30.58 km)

Total PCT hiked: 602 miles (968.83 km)

Day 42 (09/05) The Mojave Desert

From slumber, I arose. The morning mists enveloped my tent, creating a cool but serene atmosphere. Upon opening, the mountain views burst into sight, an amazing spectacle of nature…

...but really…

I got up, made some coffee and oats, packed my gear and tent, filtered water, waited around for Rex and eventually, after some two hours later of stuffing around, set off hiking. By this point of the trail, I was so into my routine, I felt like a pro at it.

Corky was not feeling well, and complained of having an upset stomach and needed rest. So Rex and I set off on the adventure alone. The pine forests were stunning to walk through – filled with many boulders and lush areas of grass. Eventually, Akuna, Rubberball, Hunter and Mellow caught up and we hiked together.

The terrain soon changed to the desert… the real Mojave Desert! Sand, shrubs and Joshua trees. We decided to take a detour to reach a spring off the trail. It was basically a dry riverbed through a canyon and involved jumping down several boulders. It was definitely the most fun part of the day!

We arrived at the spring and met up with the others. All of us cowboy camped and ate dinner together before calling the night. The full moon was out and the sunset colours highlighting the mountains were a sight to fall asleep to.

Distance hiked: 19 miles (30.58 km)

Total PCT hiked: 620 miles (997.79 km)

Day 43 (10/05) – McIvers Spring and Cabin

I awoke before my alarm, and watched the stars above me for a brief time before it went off, and woke Rex. Her new thing was to actually make herself a coffee in the morning and breakfast, as she normally just gets up and packs – struggling to find the motivation to leave the bed. Coffee does wonders though.

Corky somehow ended up meeting back with us after getting water at the spring, despite camping a few miles back. The three of us then set off to rejoin the PCT. We had a big day ahead – around 25 miles planned to reach McIvers Spring and Cabin, which left a short day of 8 miles into the town of Lake Isabella.

Rex and I got ahead of Corky as per routine and pushed up into the desert mountains. The trail was sandy and made for hard going hiking. It was much hotter than in previous days, but a cool breeze definitely reduced the blazing impact from the sun.

Water was an issue again today, as we needed to rely on a water cache about 14 miles into the day. When we arrived at the cache, we saw the familiar face of Mechanic (or Pancake as we now call him). We relaxed under the Joshua tree there, and eventually, the rest of the guys caught up, including Corky.

Rex and I set off shortly after, giving the others our shade and setting off up the long tedious climb up the huge mountain in front of us. It was one of the hardest stretches so far. Eventually, we hit a dry forest pocket with welcoming shade – such a valuable resource!

At the end of the day, we came to McIvers Spring and Cabin, and camped there for the evening. The fold-out chairs were comfortable and made cooking my Alfredo pasta a treat. My legs were sore, and it was good to finally relax.

Distance hiked: 25.5 miles (41.04 km)

Total PCT hiked: 644 miles (1,036.42 km)

Next Post:

Part 15 ‘Lake Isabella & Last Stops Before the Snow and Mountains!’ 

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