PCT Days 41 & 42 – Tehachapi

I had casually said as we surveyed our camp site last night that if the wind increased, I would cowboy camp to avoid all the tent noise that comes with high winds. I needed uninterrupted sleep. I set up my tent.

My tent has a weird shape. The back side is shaped like a cow catcher on the front of an old locomotive. The front side is shaped like the bottom half of a standing woman in a medium-length dress. On windy nights, I point the cow catcher at the wind so the wind goes up and over the tent.

However, last night as I was falling asleep, the wind shifted 180 so that it was blowing in under the woman’s dress. This filled my whole tent with air, like a spinnaker. But it was a gentle wind, and I fell asleep.

At 9:13 I heard a pop and something hit me on the head. The pop was a tent stake coming out of the ground. A big gust of wind had caused my tent to “set sail.” Everything in the loose corner of the tent went airborne. My phone hit me in the head.

I strapped on my headlamp and went outside to reset my tent. The sustained winds were OK. It was the bursts that were the problem. They would come every minute or so and my tent would try to set sail again.

I laid there for about an hour thinking that if my tent came loose again, I would have to take it down and just sleep on the ground. I consolidated all my stuff against that possibility, but the tent held and within a few hours, the wind died down.

I have now expanded my list of things that cannot be trusted from cats to cats and canyons.

Town legs

The success of yesterday’s hike has put us in a position to arrive in Tehachapi today. We took the liberty of reserving rooms in Tehachapi yesterday. Furthermore, I sent a text to my good friend, Bob, who is currently in Tehachapi, that I am arriving today. He has offered to stay another day so we could meet and have dinner.

If you remember, Bob is the man I hiked with in the Sierra Nevadas last year. Bob started at Walker Pass a week ago and has made it the 87 miles to Tehachapi.

Together, all those preparations mean we are going into town tonight. To make sure that happens, we get up at 4:30 so we can leave camp at 5:30!

The plan

The trail is fairly simple today. From our campsite at Tylerhorse Creek, we hike for four moderately flat miles before making a 4-mile 1600-foot ascent to a water cache. The last nine mile we descend 2100 feet through a hot, dry wind farm to Willow Springs Road were we will hitch into Tehachapi. Yay!

The early hike

We climb out of the fickle Tylerhorse Canyon, following the contour line that faces the wind turbines we passed yesterday. Not many are moving now. Luckily it is still early or it would be hot. We make it to Gamble Spring Canyon.

It’s a long way down. We can see hikers below us on the trail. The Mojave Desert is in the distance. There are camp spots below near the bottom. But the spring turns out to be a patch of damp ground, reinforcing my previous conclusion – canyons cannot be trusted!

At the bottom, we switch leaders because I am so slow on the uphills. Seven goes out in front and I bring up the rear.

We make good time except for our first 15-minute break which turns into 30 minutes when we find we have cell service! Curse the WORDLE! Oh and then I make us pause for shenanigans like this:

Seven leads us up the 1500 feet to the top of the climb. The explosion of wild flowers continues up here.

The reports of a water cache up here are true! And there are chairs and shade. We hang out for a while. But then I have to crack the whip. Let’s get going before it gets to hot!

Oak Creek Canyon

I say good bye to our old friends, the wind turbines, and look down into Oak Creek Canyon. We will hike above this canyon toward the Northeast for the rest of the day. In 2011 this area was devastated by the Canyon Fire. The carcasses of dead trees lie everywhere. Unfortunately, in this arid climate recovery will take decades.

The trees that were here have not returned. And the shrubs here are bitter and vindictive. Watch out! A bush just swallowed Seven!

You know things are bad when comments in the mapping program we use talk about a tree… because it is the only tree by the trail for miles. We duck under it to eat lunch. Three other hikers are also there. We all crowd into the available shade.

It’s 6 miles to the parking lot at Willow Springs Road, but we make it there in record time. To my surprise, Magic Man is there. He was parked along the road to Paradise Valley Cafe. He is passing out cold drinks and Twinkies. I grab a Miller Lite (don’t judge me).

Tehachapi

We sidle up to the highway to hitch a ride into town. Seven was unable to find an available trail angel to come get us. That’s OK. Hitching is more fun.

Within about 5 minutes, a car heading away from town pulls off and asks if he can help us. We jump in. He turns around (!) and heads back toward town. His name is Derrick. He is an iron worker heading to Bakersfield for parts. But he has time to help us, so he does. What a great guy!

As I am checking into the hotel, I see my good friend Bob walking up. We embrace. It is so good to see him again. Bob and I hiked together for several days in the Sierra Nevada last year. He is hiking again this year. He has some newfangled ideas about fitness that he says is the reason for his hike. But that is all just an excuse for being out on the trail that he loves and knows so well. He is hiking the Sierra Nevada section later this summer.

He fills me in on his experience in the section I am entering next. It’s all good. The trail to Walker Pass is difficult but doable. His info is valuable.

I need sleep. Bob needs to get going to because he goes back to the trail tomorrow. I have shopping and blog posts to attend to tomorrow as well. But before Bob leaves, a sly smile comes over his face. He unzips his Fanny pack and produces a small unassuming spoon.

I recognize it immediately. It is the same spoon that had inexplicably found its way into my pack at Kennedy Meadows North. I had sent it to Bob a few weeks after our hike last year because I thought he might know how it got into my pack, and he might like to return it to KMN. Now it seems the task has fallen upon me again. This requires more thought. It will be 5 1/2 days until I reach Walker Pass. I should be able to think of something by then.

• June 14 & 15, 2023
• Starting marker: 541.6
• Ending marker: 558.5
• Miles hiked today: 17
• Total PCT miles hiked: 529