PCT Days 31-43: Agua Dulce to Kennedy Meadows
Desert Part 4: PCT Miles 454.4 – 702.2
The final section of the desert on the PCT! Overall, I was quite lucky with cool weather crossing the Mojave, which is otherwise brutally hot this time of year. However, I also weathered 4 days of intense high winds, making for very challenging days but toughening me up for what’s ahead. The scenery continued to amaze everyday as we approached the bigger mountains.
Day 31: May 15, 2021, 20.2 miles
After a perfect zero day at my cousin’s home, my heart and belly was full, body rested, and the pack full of food for the next stretch. My cousin and her husband kindly dropped me back to Agua Dulce where I continued on. Today was overcast and cool, making the climb very comfortable. Looks like the cool weather will continue for a few days, which is fantastic for the otherwise hot stretch coming up. Felt so good to be back on trail again.
Day 32: May 16, 2021, 19.7 miles
Woke up in the clouds, slept on the desert floor. The first half of the day was shrouded in mist as we made our way to the start of the 2nd fire closure due to last year’s Lake Fire. We got a ride from Joe in his camper bus to the other side of the closure. For the final 6.6 miles to Hiker Town, I left some of my gear with friends on the bus and ran most of the way as I was feeling good and it was mostly downhill. Hiker Town was great! Slept in a mini-cabin and met a bunch of cool hikers. Excited about the aqueduct walk tomorrow.
Day 33: May 17, 2021, 31.8 miles
A truly EPIC day! Pre-dawn 5:15am start. First sunrise while hiking. Walked on the LA Aqueduct. After 17 miles, things got interesting. I started climbing going through wind farms with giant turbines spinning. Insane wind for rest of the day, knocking me off the trail, and at times not being able to move forward. In trying to find a relatively calm place to camp, I kept going. And going. And going. In the end, I hiked my longest day (31+ miles) and the most elevation gain (7k ft) in my life. It was still windy and I couldn’t get my tent to stay up and I was too exhausted to deal with it. So I cowboy camped (no tent) for the first time in my life with sand blowing on my face all night. An epic day. Loved every minute of it.
Day 34: May 18, 2021, 17.6 miles
This picture describes the day perfectly (& yesterday & tomorrow & the day after tomorrow): WINDY AF! And exhausting! I didn’t realize my biggest nemesis on trail would be the wind and not the heat, long water carries, or the huge descents (the ascents I always enjoy). After yesterday’s epic 31+ mile day and a sleepless night cowboy camping in the wind, I was surprised that my legs felt pretty good today. The first half was relatively calm. The second half not so much. Back to gale force sustained wind. Today’s motivation was due to my buddy Dan from Seattle who was on a road trip and decided to meet me. He picked me up when I reached Highway 58 and we went to Tehachapi to eat (lots), cleanup, and relax. It was so great to see a familiar and friendly face. Fun times! Also, accounting for the trail miles missed due to the two fire closures earlier, today I have officially hiked 500 miles of the PCT!
Day 35: May 19, 2021, 4.5 miles
A fun, relaxing, and calorie-filled 24 hours in Tehachapi with my friend Dan from Seattle. Dan was an amazing trail angel running me around town to get supplies for the next section, making sure I ate enough town food, and taking me back to the trail.
For the next section, I’m going to try to carry enough food all the way to Kennedy Meadows (135 miles). Along with some long water carries, this means a very heavy pack. I hit the trail at 3pm and hiked a short nero day. I met up with the “Three Amigos” who I had not seen in over 300 miles. We cowboy camped at the first place we found that sheltered us from the crazy wind. Another restless sleep.
Day 36: May 20, 2021, 22.1 miles
The first two miles were the most difficult miles I have experienced on the trail so far with the wind knocking me around like a rag doll, often having to lower myself down and plant my poles just to not fall over. The wind was so strong that the nearby wind turbines were turned OFF because it was too windy for them to operate. Later I learned there was a high wind advisory for the area with 50-60mph winds expected. Yup, felt it. Eventually I got into an area with some trees which provided some relief. I stopped and had some chai and that made everything better. I got my usual afternoon second wind and I was flying down the trail. I camped surrounded by trees, allowing me to setup my tent. Unfortunately, the wind blew sand in my tent all night long and I woke up with a solid layer of sand all over myself, gear, and the tent. Alas, these tough days are just toughening me up for the rest of the trail so I’m taking them with stride.
Day 37: May 21, 2021, 25.7 miles
After 4 days of insane wind, finally a relatively calm day! And it was a beautiful day. It was my second longest day and my legs felt great all day. The trail legs are starting to come in nicely. Caught up with a few hikers at camp that I hadn’t seen since I went to visit my cousin last week. I’m finding that the ‘desert’ section, the first 700 miles, has only felt like a desert on a handful of days. Otherwise, it has been cool weather and lush with amazing botanical diversity, plenty of mountains, and amazing views. I know the pictures may seem similar each day but I promise the views have been mind blowing. Hard to believe it’s going to get even better very soon. Only a few more days in the desert as Kennedy Meadows is less than 100 miles away!
Day 38: May 22, 2021, 20.9 miles
Another beautiful day in the desert. I know I say that every day but each day is amazing and surprises me in different ways. The weather was cool and perfect. So many Joshua trees on the trail today, posing in human-like shapes. From a distance, each group of Joshua trees looks like a mini-dance party. Starting to see big mountains getting closer as we approach the Sierra.
Day 39: May 23, 2021, 13.2 miles
Sometimes the PCT isn’t just about hiking but the overall experience including town stops with friends and the local community. Today was filled with all of that. I wasn’t originally planning to get off trail at Walker Pass as I was carrying enough food to go all the way to Kennedy Meadows. But I was hiking with some great folks who were all going into Ridgecrest to resupply. I realized it’s not all about the hike and decided to join them.
Trail magic just kept presenting itself all day. First, there was fresh fruit left for hikers at the Walker Pass campground. Bananas, apples, and strawberries never tasted so good. Then it was time to find a ride to town. Just at that moment, a cargo van pulled up driven by a previous PCT hiker who was driving cross-country and happily agreed to take us to town (out of his way). Then the motel we chose to stay turned out to be owned by a nice Pakistani family and turned out wonderful. The owner made Pakistani style chai for all of us (many of you know how much I love chai) and did our laundry. Then another hiker saw us at Walmart when we were shopping for supplies and offered to take us back to our hotel and even back to trail tomorrow morning. It was one dose of trail magic after another. The trail truly does provide. The 10 of us ordered pizza and had a fun evening enjoying the company. A truly wonderful day. Oh, and the hike itself was quite lovely with a first glimpse of the snow-capped Sierra awaiting our arrival in a few days.
Day 40: May 24, 2021, 18.8 miles
After a fun night in Ridgecrest, a PCT hiker named Speaker who had rented a car drove a few of us back to Walker Pass. Couple of big climbs today and temperature was much warmer than the cool days we had enjoyed recently. The views were amazing all day, with bigger and bigger mountains as we approach the Sierra.
Day 41: May 25, 2021, 28.0 miles
With Kennedy Meadows and the end of the desert rapidly approaching, I had extra motivation and energy today. Two big climbs that felt effortless and a huge descent with the terrain rapidly changing to granite and green with plentiful water. Camped tonight right next to Kern River with abundant water after weeks of very dry terrain. Today was my 2nd longest day and I still had energy for more. But we decided to stop 4 miles short of Kennedy Meadows and roll in tomorrow morning to celebrate this milestone (with pancakes)!
Day 42: May 26, 2021, 4.9 miles
After exactly 6 weeks on trail, I reached Kennedy Meadows, the official end of the desert section of the PCT. There was lots of food and revelry with many hikers as we all celebrated this big milestone! The plan is to rest for a bit and get ready for the majestic Sierra.
Day 43: May 27, 2021, ZERO Day
Lots of chillin’, errands, trying to stuff ~8 days of food into a bear can that we have to carry for the next few hundred miles, eating all the extra food that wouldn’t fit in the bear can, and getting mentally ready for the Sierra. Zero days are fun and relaxing but I felt antsy all day. Excited to hit the trail again tomorrow and start climbing into the mountains!
