The Desert

At last I’m getting out of Kennedy Meadows. My energy has returned and I’m able to organize my pack, including mailing some excess to Mammoth Lakes. After I’d packed my bear can full of food, I realized it fit nicely inside my pack. I was so glad not to be tying it to the top… Read more

Kennedy Meadows is a great place to spend some time after the desert. There are two main spots here, each with free camping and other amenities, although with the number of hikers things can get overloaded. The general store is the first business most people see. They have good burgers and other fried food, so… Read more

Arriving in Kennedy Meadows South marks the end of the desert section. It’s a huge milestone on the PCT, at 700 miles or 1160 km, everyone is ready to leave the desert behind and enter the High Sierra. I camped 8.7 miles, 14 km from the road junction and arrived in town about 1 pm.… Read more

Today I covered 12.7 miles, 20.4 km from the Chimney Creek campground to Manter Creek. I’m taking it super easy into Kennedy Meadows because I know this is the end of a major section of the PCT. The trail today was more gradual than yesterday, climbing steadily up a ridge and then descending down the… Read more

Today I covered 12.4 miles, 20 km. The day started with a hard climb, followed by a very long and gradual descent into Chimney Creek. When we got there, we meet Jim, a trail angel who has been giving trail magic and cooking meals for hikers for 10 years. The day starts with a big… Read more

Today I covered 11.8 miles, 19.1 km. The mountains are definitely becoming more pronounced, and it’s starting to feel as though we’re getting towards the end of the desert. It’s still quite hot and exposed, and I’m carrying a lot of water from each source, but that will change soon. A fun side effect of… Read more

We’d heard a lot of news about the section from Tehachapi to Walker Pass. Rumors of extreme heat, very long water carries, and having to rely on water cached by trail angels along the way. We’d also heard that 10 hikers had been rescued from that section in the last week. In light of these… Read more

These days were spent in Tehachapi, resting, recovering, and resupplying. We visited Walmart, spent an awful lot on food, and tried to get everything done in a day. We start at Walmart, it’s the first time I’ve been here so I don’t exactly know what to expect. Inside, it’s like The Warehouse and Pak N… Read more

Today I took a short day into Tehachapi. My pack was super light, almost empty and my legs were feeling so fresh. I only had 8.8 miles,14.2 km to get to the road and hitch into town. Once in town I had all afternoon to relax before checking in to a hotel for a couple… Read more

Today I was still exhausted from the efforts to cross the aquaduct. I covered just 8.2 miles, 13.2 km. I hiked through the heat of the day, with 2251 ft, 686 m of ascent. Luckily for me, at the end of the day I stumbled upon an oasis with fresh spring water, snacks, umbrellas and… Read more