Day 39-41 Miles 541.5-589.2

Day 39 

Start: 541.5 End: 556 Total: 16

I woke up later than usual and took a bit more time to get ready and get walking. It was a nice morning and I tried to call my boyfriend and friend while I was walking but kept losing service so eventually just sat down and talked to each of them for a while. 

It was a slow moving day with phone calls so by noon I had only gone 6 miles. I was treated with a little oasis of trail magic 6 miles in. 

There was fruit, chips, water and a hiker box. I picked up a knife someone had left behind. I ate an orange and a bag of chips and was gonna keep walking when a south bound couple walked in. 

Cat and Matt , and they had also been living in Salt Lake City for the last few years. Their permit date was later so they started at walkers pass and were hiking south for three weeks then they would go to campo and hike north. They said there is still a bunch of snow up in the sierras but that is to be expected. It’s time to start talking to people and figuring out plans for the sierras but there really hasn’t been many hikers around me the last week or so. 

We chatted for a bit and I had my lunch there. I left around 12:30 and had a little climbing left before a long downhill into Tehachapi. 

I got over a peak and saw way off in the distance the snow covered peaks of the high sierras. There was another wind mill farm and they filled the green hills as I walked down. I had to be careful because there were a lot of motor trails and it was easy to take the wrong trail if you weren’t paying attention. 

I walked with music most of the way down and when I got closer I texted some of my hiking friends I knew to be in Tehachapi and hatched my plan of attack for getting into town. My first stop would be Walmart to get the chores out of the way. Then both Kindheart and Sparks had offered to let me come use their shower. 

I got down to the road and there was a list of trail angels so I picked one and called and he came to pick me up within 10 min and brought me right to Walmart. 

In Walmart a man asked if I was doing the pct, my backpack was in my cart so I jokingly asked what gave it away. We talked for a bit then went off in seperate directions, re meeting in the next aisle and we talked some more. His name is Lonny and him and his wife usually give rides and hosts hikers, he gave me his number and told me to tell him if I needed anything. 

I finished my resupply, got subway, ate a pint of ice cream then went outside to throw away all the cardboard, put things into baggies and then into my food bag. I had 5/6 days worth of food and a mile walk to the hotel. About halfway Lonny saw me and pulled over. There was only .5 left but I was happy to accept the ride. 

I got to the hotel and caught up with Sparks and Red Bull who have been hiking together and used their shower. They offered to let me stay there with them and I graciously accepted. 

After showering and getting some stuff organized we hit the jacuzzi. Kindheart, Hitchmaster, and The Jeffers were all at the same hotel too so we hung out together in the hot tub. I had run into the Jeffers somewhere before, he hiked the AT in 1991, raised two boys and is now getting back to hiking. He is getting off trail for a week for his sons graduation and then his son will come out here to do the sierras with him. 

Day 40

ZERO

I wasn’t sure if I was heading back out on trail or not. It depended on my plans in a week. I was invited to compete in a highline speed competition in Lake City, Colorado. It’s the first competition of its kind in the USA so I was stoked to be invited and so honored to have the opportunity for competing against some of my highline women role models. 

I tentatively accepted but would still need to figure out how to get from Kennedy Meadows to Lake City. It would be quite the side quest but there is still so much snow in the Sierras so there isn’t really a rush to start those. 

I spoke with my friend Mikaela and she was down to drive from Utah, get me in CA and then road trip with me to CO so I could compete. She would meet me in Kennedy Meadows the following Monday so I would have to do 20-23 miles a day for 6/7 days. Doable. I could’ve made it easier on myself and left this day but Sparks offered for me to stay another night so I accepted. 

We did laundry in the morning and I ate as much as I could at the continental breakfast. Sparks and Redbull went to Walmart and I stayed back and layed in a bed and watched TV. Sparks was buying 23 days of food for her and her boyfriend who was to be flying out from the Czech to do the Sierras with her so she had quite the mission ahead of her

They got back hours later and she had to go through all the food and put it in plastic bags and throw away the cardboard. It was quite the task. After we all went to the post office and I sent some things home and she sent her package ahead and Red Bull got his resupply package. 

After the post office I went to a burger joint and got the hiker special, 2 burgers for $6 and a milkshake. The burgers were huge and delicious. I then met up with Kindheart and Hitchmaster and we went to go see a movie called “sinners” in theaters. 

Day 41

Start: 566.5 end: 589.2 total: 22.7

I woke up in a comfy bed and tore myself away to get some continental breakfast before Lonny, the man I met in Walmart a couple days before, picked me up and took me to the trail. Red Bull was having some shin pain so he wasn’t heading back out yet. Sparks had to take care of some things so she would head out later in the day. Hitchmaster and Kindheart were both staying in Tehachapi for another few days. 

I stuffed myself on eggs and sausage and waffles and went back out to the trail. There was a group of four German hikers waiting for the bus, Lonny offered them a ride but the bus was almost there so they declined. 

I started the big climb out of there. It was tough with a fully loaded pack but I took a couple breaks when I needed them. I’m trying to make it 137 miles to Kennedy Meadows without going into town. I think I have enough food but my external battery only gives me a charge or two so I’m being conscious of my battery usage and not listening to any sort of audio. I normally don’t listen to too much but I definitely rely on it for an hour or two a day when things get tough so this will be a nice challenge for me and my mind. 

I got a new pair of shoes sent to me but they are the same model. They are lone peak Altras with zero drop. I heard so many good things but everyday for the last 500+ miles my Achilles heel will hurt really bad after 10/12 miles. After talking with some people I have realized this is a common problem with this type of shoe. It’s always better in the morning but it hurts really bad when I stop and then keep going in the afternoon, although it fades away into the background once I get going. I’ll be taking a few weeks off trail once I get to Kennedy Meadows so I’ll have to try to get to an REI and see if I can exchange these. 

I took a lunch break after 10 miles then went on, meeting 2 other hikers, Chris and Kris. I laughed and told them those are my parents names! They come out every year for a section and are walking to Kennedy Meadows this time around. 16 miles in for the day I got to the water source and met another southbound hiker, Kitchen Sink. We chatted for a while about the sierras and hiking. He brought a bag and soap so he could do his laundry so he would always have clean socks. He even carried another pair of tennis shoes, his dry and wet shoes. He was an older hiker and boastful about going an age appropriate pace. He was working on the PCT bit by bit. 

After I filled my water I went on a ways. There was a nice campground 4 miles further but I wanted to do a little more mileage that day and read in one of the comments there was another site a mile or two up. I got there and there was little protection from the wind, it was at the base of a very loud wind mill and the sites weren’t very flat. I decided to keep going and went down and back up. The sun was starting to set and I was tired so I just found a sorta flat spot protected by some bushes and far enough removed from the sound of the wind mill. It was by no means any spot to write home about but it did the trick. I set up my ground tarp and sleeping bag and did some writing and cooked dinner before attempting to go to bed. It’s always a hard transition from a bed back to my foam pad so sleep didn’t come so easily.