May 30th
Hikertown(518.4)-Tylerhorse Canyon(541.4)
Today’s Mileage: 23mi
Today’s section is notorious for being HOT and WINDY during this time of year. We are lucky that this year, the weather on the trail is the complete opposite of most years. Hikers usually wake up at 3am to avoid the heat for this stretch and then take a break in the afternoon before hiking more in the evening. Today it was a high of 72 degrees and there was a slight breeze so we were able to hike normally straight through the day. Going through this Mojave Desert section is pretty uneventful. It was like a road walk for the first 7hrs of the day. This is because we walk along the Aqueduct that supplies the water for LA and other parts of Southern Califonia. For about a mile or two, we actually walked ON the Aqueduct pipe, which is unique. Here I am with my sun gear on.
Here are Top Shelf, Wandering Dot, and Special Delivery walking up on the Aqueduct.
Then it became covered by concrete and we just walked on the dirt road next to the Aqueduct. This was our view most of the day.
We caught up with Blister and he joined us. It gave us a bit of a change because we could actually walk as a group and be next to the people we were hiking with.
That was pretty much it for today. At one point, we were all so bored, we noticed we had reception and took the opportunity to make phone calls. I was able to Skype my sister(who was also with our friend Andrea) and my dad and stepmom. That was fun because it was like they were actually hiking the trail with me and they got to see what I saw. Amazing what technology can do! My sister and Andrea even got to see the Mojave Green rattlesnake that we walked up on. Later I heard how dangerous they are and I kicked myself for not getting video for everyone. The last part of the day, we got back on an actual trail and had decent climb to a camping area in the hills that is nice. I was happy to see a trail again.
In the process of writing this , more hikers arrived at our campsite. Shotgun Sisters, Colin, Alex, Pounder, and Chili. Tehachapi will be the first trail town where all the hikers won’t be staying in the same predetermined place. We might even take two zeros there. It would be nice to change up the crowd or spread out a bit cause we’re seeing the same hikers on a regular basis and most are ones I’ve seen since the first week. Hopefully, that will change in the next week or so as we head into the Sierras.
As a final note, I want to point out the similarities my identical twin sister and I are having even though she is pregnant and thousands of miles away. She is now 6mo pregnant and she commented on how tiring it is for her to go up hills with the extra weight. The hills are my weakness. She is also dealing with heat rashes with the exercise and mine has decided to act up again too. Just funny coincidences that we are both experiencing adventures that are especially challenging over almost exactly the same timeframe.
