Which Way Is North?

Aqueduct Faucet at PCT Mile 534.9 to PCT mile 551.0 Day Total: 16.9 Miles We woke up to the sun rising above the horizon, lighting up the wind turbines surrounding where we were camping. There's nothing quite like seeing the sunrise in the desert to make you hurry up. It's like a ticking time bomb until unbelievable heat. We had six miles to get to the next water source where we planned to spend the heat of the day relaxing.  We stopped for a breakfast of Snickers and honey buns in a tiny smidgen of shade and then resumed walking through the wind farm. Perhaps the most unexpected thing we've seen on the trail was a black horse. No idea where it came from. The horse saw us and ran around a little before losing interest and continuing to graze just off the trail. So strange!! We made it to the water and spent the day under a big, beautiful tree in Tylerhorse Canyon with a group of four other hikers. It continues to be frustrating to want to hike all ...

PCT Mile 508.1 to Faucet at PCT Mile 534.9 Day Total: 26.8 miles We had nine mostly downhill miles this morning to Highway 138 and the hostel called Hikertown . We were hiking by 6:30 a.m. under partly cloudy skies. I've never been so excited about weather that is partly cloudy. By 8 a.m., it was hot already and we cruised to the hostel to get out of the sun. The last half mile was a straight, flat dirt road that might as well have been an oven. The local convenience store/cafe hilariously offers an hourly shuttle for hikers from the hostel to their store. They know that the free ride pays for itself many times over when they bring in a van load of hungry and cold-drink deprived hikers. We took the 9 a.m. shuttle and ordered breakfast in the cafe. We sat in their air-conditioned, wifi-filled room with indoor bathrooms for six hours. By the time we left, there were hikers at each of the 10 or so tables in the cafe. We packed up and left Hikertown a little after 7 p....

PCT Mile 485.6 to PCT Mile 508.1 Day Total: 22.5 miles Rough first half of the day. We woke up early and got going around 5 a.m.  Almost immediately I started feeling bad and was dragging. We ate breakfast an hour into hiking and I knew I needed to find a shady spot to rest. We hiked on for another half hour searching for a good place to set up the tent. We found good cover and went back to sleep.  We originally planned to make it 15 more miles before getting more water but, having stopped and it now being in the hottest part of the day, that wasn't realistic. We saw that there was a campsite – Upper Shake Campground – about a half mile off the trail with water and decided we would get there and wait out the heat of the day.  The trail to the campground was a very steep downhill. The campground looked long forgotten; every trash can was overflowing and the sites were overgrown. The water was down an unmarked trail but, with the directions from ...

PCT mile 466.0 to PCT Mile 485.6 Day Total: 19.6 miles After spending a few days in LA, the folks we'd been seeing day after day are now a few days ahead of us, and we're meeting hikers we hadn't seen before. We've met some cool people, including a girl from Switzerland who is a big time ultramarathon runner, a guy who worked in Sequoia National Park and Jesse from Vancouver, who is working remotely from his little computer as he hikes. We met a girl from Asheville, but still have yet to meet anyone from New Hampshire. Or Montana! Hopefully soon. I like the new    people we've met, but I also like the challenge of trying to catch our old friends.  We got up early to hike the 12 miles to the road crossing where we could get to a Trail Angel's place called Casa de Luna. We were hustling to get there before the heat of the day. We saw a beautiful sunrise this morning, one benefit to waking up before dawn. The miles passed quickly, some gent...

A few more photos from three days in Los Angeles with friends and a trip to Dodgers Stadium.

PCT Mile 454.5 Hiker Heaven to PCT Mile 466.0 R&R Total: 11.5 Miles (Note: The chance to visit friends in Los Angeles and dangerous, r ecord-setting heat  coincide nicely.) We woke up at hiker heaven around 7 a.m. We didn't have to wake up early, but it was too hot to stay in the tent much longer. We got our gear packed up and waited for the 9 a.m. shuttle into town for breakfast at the Sweetwater Cafe, again.  A pickup truck with about 15 of our closest friends inundated the little restaurant. After we ordered coffee and water I got a call from Pete saying he just pulled into town but wasn't sure if he was in the right place. In case you're using Google maps for your next vacation to Agua Dulce, it will take you right to the veterinary clinic downtown. I was so excited! I loaded up the Honda Fit with our packs and took Pete to the restaurant. After a big breakfast, we were off to the city! We got to Pete's and unloaded our gear and sank in...

PCT Mile 454.5 Hiker Heaven, Agua Dulce Zero Day  We slept in late, a nice change from the early mornings we had recently, waking to find our laundry had been done. Amazing. We got dressed and took the 9 a.m. shuttle into the tiny town of Agua Dulce. The shuttle vehicle is an old diesel pickup, which has purportedly held 30 PCT hikers at a time. On one of our trips I counted 17 of us in the truck bed.  This is the first town that the trail has actually passed through. All the others we've had to hitch or walk down a road. We ate a big breakfast at the Sweetwater Bar and Grill, one of the four restaurants in Agua Dulce. The chocolate chip pancakes were phenomenal and massive. What more could I ask for?  We spent most of the day lounging around at Hiker Heaven, reading, drinking water and using the internet to plan the next section of our hike.  We intended to hike out of town at night to meet Stephen's friend Pete at a road crossing further ...

PCT Mile 430.4 to PCT Mile 454.5 Hiker Heaven, Agua Dulce Day Total: 24.1 Miles We got up very early this morning to try to get to the Acton KOA campground before the heat grounded us. We were hiking by 4:15 a.m. and covering ground quickly. It wasn't long until the morning light eliminated the need for our headlamps. I used to like the long daylight hours around the Summer Solstice, but in the desert the long hours of sun make hiking tough.  We made it to the North Fork Ranger Station a little after 6 a.m. Many hikers who had spent the night there were packing up to start hiking when we arrived. There was a water cache and some trail magic in the form of Coca Cola at the ranger station. Stephen enjoyed an early morning Coke, along with his Snickers and honeybun. If you do the math, that's enough sugar to power a vehicle. He was bouncing and singing his was down the trail this morning, a contrast to my grumpiness after not sleeping well.  We arri...