Opening Statement

I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach
~Henry David Thoreau, Walden


Wednesday, May 3, 2017

PCT 4 - Reunions and Windmills - Tehachapi to Casa de Luna - 88 PCT miles

Reunion with Trail Friends

After a month on the trail, my decision to flip up to Kennedy Meadows and hike South put me back in touch with some of the hikers that I had first met near the start of the trail.  It has been fun to catch up.  Everyone has been losing weight, which has been interesting to notice too.

Surreal Landscape

Coming southbound out of Tehachapi,  the trail goes quickly uphill into an enormous wind farm.  There was also an advisory in effect due to even higher than normal winds--it was extreme.   Hiking while surrounded by enormous wind turbines adds a low roar from the nearest turbines, and a surreal aspect as the turbines add a factory sense to an otherwise natural landscape.

Walking the Aquaduct

Coming down from the wind farm there was a very dry section that paradoxically shared an easement with a huge pipe filled with water for the LA aquaduct.  Toward the end of the day I found a side road and pitched my tent.  The flat desert had no tall plant cover, but I was so remote from anywhere that I  thought privacy would not be an issue.  Just at the critical moment in my evening toilet, four quads roared by, unavoidably receiving a full moon from yours truly.

At Casa de Luna 

Also in this section I made stops at Hikertown, which has a Wild West theme, and Casa de Luna,  which bills itself as hipie day care.  More on these stops in the photo album for this section:  https://goo.gl/photos/PJvvoP7yxQugTCsQ8

6 comments:

  1. You're so beardly! I'm glad that you've been taking so many pictures, it lets us come along with you a little bit.

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  2. Thanks for sharing Kevin. This blog is great. Love the pics and the commentary.
    Did you ever get a shakedown on your pack to get it down from 49 pounds? That sounds painful.
    Do you have a trail nickname yet? What’s the name of your Squirrel?

    Keep up the good work out there. You’re doing a great job!!!

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  3. Ed, I was able to take about 5 pounds off me base weight, and I only very seldom need to carry as much water, so my typical pack weight is probably about 40 pounds now. That is still a lot of weight, bot better than 49. Neither I nor my squirrel have a trail name so far. Thanks for checking in.

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  4. This is so cool !!! I truly love reading about your trip Kevin.

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  5. Kevin, if you don't have a trail name yet, please ask your readers for suggestions.

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    1. I have had a few suggestions like: Beast of Burden (when my pack weighed 49 pounds), Goat (because I don't have trekking poles with me), Steps (because of my hiking plan), and Papa Squirrel (because of my little stuffed squirrel puppet). I'm open to your ideas. If you suggest a trail name, please tell me the reasoning. Thanks.

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