Day 34,   8 miles

I had two zero days in town.  There was sewing to do.  My pack was ripped, tshirt, long-johns, and my phone pouch all needed mending.  Laundry, buying resupplies, icing my feet, charging electronics.  It doesn’t sound like much, but town days are so busy and go by quickly.   After two days in the town of Tehachapi it was time to get back into the mountains.

The next 134 miles, 6-7 days is the biggest hurdle.  Every hiker is nervous and concerned.  There are long waterless stretches of up to 42 miles.  I will be carrying 7-8 litres of water.  That’s 18 extra pounds.   The extra weight, the heat, and warnings on the water report makes this section daunting.  I wanted my pack as light as possible so I have mailed forward extras including my stove and fuel to Kennedy Meadows.  I will be eating instant mash potatoes and foil pack salmon for almost every dinner and I am going to carry less food.

Happy, Tugboat (formerly The Boss, she stepped down), and I got a lift back to Hwy 58 where we left the PCT, and started the long hot climb up.  We left at 4 in the afternoon. It was so hot we had to stop every 20 minutes to sit in rare bits of shade to cool off.  I’ve never seen Tugboat sweat that much.

As we gained elevation the landscape changed from desert to forest with small trees for shade and flowers blooming.   I love it.  I’m so happy.  The sun was setting as we hiked along this magical trail.

It was dark when we set up camp.  It is wonderful to be here on the Pacific Crest Trail.