Section F is a short 85.5 miles long and runs from Tehachapi Pass to Walker Pass. June 10th - 13th.
Day 35, 16.8 miles to Golden Oaks Spring.
We got up and went back to the Village Grill for brekkie where I got banana and pecan topped waffles, eggs, sausage, and a glass of milk. Sea Lion got a short stack, a side of hashbrowns, and a hot tea. We returned to Red House, packed up, and then tried hitching for five minutes but wound up calling a Lyft to take us across town to the market. Back at Red House BBQ, we got lunch and I put the finishing touches on Section E and then we were off to score a ride. Uncle Jeff, a new trail angel, scooped us up and couldn't praise hikers enough. He started giving rides to the trailhead just three weeks ago and already has shuttled over 250 hikers to and fro. He had chocolates, ziplocks, and mini-carabiners to give out and was an all around great guy. Our packs had six days of food and 3L of water so the weight slowed us down considerably. At the top of the climb out of Tehachapi Pass there were some old windmills with the lattice structure towers instead of a solid aluminum tube. I really wanted to climb up one, but had flashbacks from the AT when I got shocked about 30 feet up on a tower. I guess I'm older and wiser now. The setting sun casted some beautiful pink and blue colors on the Eastern sky and we night hiked for about an hour to reach the spring and set camp.
Day 36, 25.6 miles Landers Meadow Camp + 0.2 to water + 0.4 to camp = marathon mileage!
We were alone at camp, so I played music while packing up and it was amazing to eat real food for brekkie again, avocado and cheese wrap instead of Pop Tarts. We stopped for second brekkie right before a fence and even did some stretches before starting off again. It is a habit we've been trying to get into for almost 600 miles. The gate through the fence was super screechy and had big medieval lever that no longer lined up to the latch. We walked along a ridge with a great view to the East of the last mountain chain, before the flat desert behind it and a few windmills peppered in. The sun was beating down hard on us when we had a steep climb up and over the last ridge where we could look back and see Cache Peak, a tabletop summit near where we started our day. We slugged on, hit the 600 mile marker, and then arrived at Robin Bird Spring where about 12 hikers were resting, eating, and rehydrating after the 17 mile dry stretch. One of said hikers was Flamin' Hot! Our friend who we haven't seen since Warner Springs, exactly 500 miles ago. After watering up and eating huge dinners, we hit high gear and made it seven miles to the next water in two hours. The campsite had two groups of hikers, none of which we knew, and we were beat so we set camp and went to bed.
Hamp Williams Pass.
The PCTA isn't even trying anymore with the signs.
And on the trail's sixth attempt, the century milestones we're in agreement and there was a single marker.
Day 37, 21.9 miles to Bird Spring Pass.
We were being slow with brekkie and packing since it was chilly but we got on trail at 7:15, earlier than yesterday. We hit a quick pace and passed many of the hikers from camp on the gentle two mile ascent. There were tons of rocks littered amongst the trees which gave the place an Appalachian feel, except for the dryness. When we began the descent, I had enough looking at the rocks and went for a long scramble that just kept going up so I kept climbing. We then passed most of the hikers again on the way down to Kelso Road which had a nice 200 gallon water cache. We filled up and set out for the 15 mile hike to the next water cache and I was very thankful for Yeti, the trail angel who maintains these, because without them it'd be a 41 mile water carry. The heat hit hard, maybe we got spoiled with the tree shade and high winds over the past few days, but a mile in we took a long siesta under a Joshua Tree. We mustered some energy to make it another two miles to a shade tree where we took another break. Around 4pm we set off to make the 10 mile push to water as the trail paralleled the flat and barren desert to the East. My thirst pushed me into beast mode for the last three miles which I practically jogged down. At the cache, I chugged 2L and was again so happy for this Yeti fella. We cowboy camped under a Joshua tree and I got some absolutely phenomenal star photos!
This Joshua tree was a shade savior.
The Milky Way!
Big Dipper, Little Dipper, and Draco (I highlighted them)
More light painting.
Day 38, 26.1 miles to camp at mile 656.9.
We cameled up during brekkie and set out with 4L each to cover the next 20 mile dry stretch. The day started with a long climb, but it was luckily on a Southeast side of the mountainside so it was shaded. We took a break at the top to dry out and then pushed another five miles until second breakfast. There was shade throughout most of the day so we didn't need to siesta. The previous night, I hatched a plan to put a pipe clamp around my zoom lens and attach a string to the lens cap to keep it from extending out when I'm hiking. Today, during a stretch where the trail links up to a dirt road, Sea Lion found me a pipe clamp! The trail provides. Section F ends at Walker Pass and many locals insist that this is the start of the Sierras, not Kennedy Meadows. It seemed fitting since before dropping down into the pass we could see the Sierras to the North and the desert plants seemed to be thinning out as if to say goodbye. Then, at the campground at the bottom, Jennay and Hustler from Casa de Luna were throwing a trail magic. We secured the last two IPAs in the cooler and munched on the lucious spread of snacks. What an awesome end to the section...or end to the desert depending on who you ask.
Thanks for the water!
California Flannelbush yellowing up the trail.
Beer, Gatorade, fruits, veggies, hummus, cheese. Superb trail magic! Thanks Jennay and Hustler.
The video below is a collection of desert critters that I caught on video.