Tehachapi to Kennedy Meadows
5/16-5/27
We got vortexed at Barbara’s hiker hut in Tehachapi for three nights. It’s a common thing on trail to talk about getting vortexed (or stuck) in a town if it has good amenities for hikers. Barbara made it very easy to linger and postpone hiking.
It only took one suggestion of “what about another night?” and we would all fold.
Thankfully, we were still waiting for some snow to melt further up trail so relaxing in town would make our lives easier – win win situation!
When we finally left, Barbara took the picture above to print out and put it in her hiker book that we signed. She keeps a book for each year she has been a trail angel and I really enjoyed flipping back to see which other hikers have stayed there before me. There were some that I met months before.
Back on trail out from Tehachapi, we climbed quickly in elevation through the stretches of desert which later mixed in with pine forests. It felt good to be back on trail and returning to the forest made it even better.
This water source was the only one for the next 21 miles! I carried 3.5 liters but probably should have brought a little more since we would not get to the next water source until the next morning.
I am grateful that I haven’t encountered too many long water carries because I started so early in the season. Hikers that start in late April or in May have to prepare for far less water and much hotter days.
The windmills still crept around the mountains and their whooshing blades made great white noise for a midday siesta under the trees.
One more highlight of Tehachapi was that I finally saw Whitney again! Last September, I went on a trip by myself to Alabama Hills. You can camp for free in Alabama Hills but you have to be in one of the designated spaces that are spread out around huge rock formations. I had spent a couple of hours driving my little car around the janky dirt roads but had no luck finding a spot.
When it got dark, I built up the nerve to approach a stranger and ask to car camp in their spot. That’s where I met Whitney who gladly let me park near her. After some conversation, we realized we were both planning to attempt the PCT six months later. At this point, I had only talked to immediate family and friends about the PCT so it was exciting to create my first trail connection with somebody who understood the dream. Whitney and I talked for hours that night.
Now, we finally overlapped in Tehachapi and celebrated making it as far as we had. We hike together for the afternoon and compare notes on our time in southern California.
The warm weather brought out some snakes which I was hyped about! I had just talked with Lachy and Clare about gopher snakes and had a dream about them during my siesta nap. Seeing one right after was really exciting.
Within the hour, I also caught a feisty little racer. I had seen many racers zipping across trail and even up into trees.
The next morning, I found a rubber boa with less energy than an earthworm. It didn’t bother moving off the trail.
Rubber Boa, Gopher Snake, California Striped Racer. After catching some snakes and a few horny toads, I was given the trail name Critter. It didn’t take long for my actual name to retire.
Hikers use their trail names in almost every capacity – even most times when ordering coffee or food town. It can feel odd to use your real name when you’re around each other.
Anybody I have met on trail since that day knows me as Critter and doesn’t know my real name unless we follow each other on social media. Weird!
I started to cowboy camp this week and it turned into a habit. I enjoy the simplicity of taking fewer items out of my pack.
I used to imagine scorpions, rattlesnakes, and rats coming up to me while sleeping but I don’t think about it anymore. I’m too tired at the end of the day and have found that I still sleep soundly for 9-10 hours without my tent.
We woke up at 5:30am and walked on sore feet to watch the sun rise over the mountains.
I continued to see everybody from the aqueduct party throughout the week, but I started camping at night with Free Bird and Vibes because we had a similar pace. We’d establish loose plans in the morning, hike alone, and then decide where to camp together when we crossed each other during lunch breaks.
While hiking alone, I found a creek and decided to wash off and do some laundry. I don’t mind hiking without showering but it’s really nice to find spots to cool off or relax.
I cleared out the creek and dammed up the small stream to make it deep enough to bathe in.
I tried drying off on a log above the creek but ants kept biting me so I moved up to a rock. After about 15 minutes of resting on my back with my eyes closed, I heard the slightest noise to my right and tilted my head over.
It was a rattlesnake slithering quietly a few feet from my head. My sight was blurred from the sunlight and I went from “oh, snake” to “OH SNAKE!” I’m always stoked to see rattlesnakes but normally I’m approaching them and I’m not barefoot in my underwear.
I popped up off of the rock and decided it was time to get dressed and get back on trail. The snake rattled furiously for a couple of minutes while I packed up.
A little ways off trail, there was a campground that was packed for the weekend with hikers, their trailers, and their big off-roading toys.
The forest had the biggest trees we had seen in weeks and it got us all excited for what was to come in the Sierra Nevada range. Free Bird knows a lot about forests in California from her fire ecology job which has led to some really cool conversations. I loved directing all of my random tree questions toward her because she was happy to share what she knew.
Jeffrey and Ponderosa pines have the most incredible butterscotch smell with sap that smells like lemon.
More of us hikers filtered into the camp to refill our water and we started to scheme up a plan to get some free food from the campers.
We started to socialize with the people at the campground. Lachy, the Australian, went in first and played frisbee with them.
After a few more hikers mingled with their group, they offered us dinner. It was delicious.
Toasty joked that she would take any free beer off of them too which was how we learned that they were an AA group that has been making trips annually there for 35 years. They were familiar with the PCT and it was a huge treat getting to meet them and spend dinner at their camp.
Later that night, we heard rounds of clapping as they shared their stories and victories around a massive campfire. It was a sweet sound knowing they were fighting their addictions and building relationships.
We hung out and watched the stars from our cowboy beds. Aside from some very loud coyotes in the early morning, it was a peaceful night.
Our food scrounging from the campers had been a massive success.
Cinnabon, a trail angel, caught us as we were leaving in the morning and gave us cinnamon pastries, fresh orange juice, and a burrito for Free Bird!
She has also been managing some water caches on trail since 2002 and now has the boy scouts refill them for her. She gave us insight on cell service, weather, and other trail info and went on her way!
I got a hole in my air mattress that I presume was from all of the pine needles. Thankfully, the campground had water diverted into a trough deep enough to submerge my mat in. The hole was so small that I almost gave up on finding it with the assumption that the valve was broken. After drowning the think for a while in the numbing water, I was so relieved to see the tiny trail of bubbles escaping.
This is a very common problem and hikers usually choose to submerge their mattress in water or cover it in soap to see where bubbles escape from.
Vibes had been dealing with a deflating pad for weeks and we were able to fix his too!
The wildflowers were beautiful for the next many days. I saw snowy peaks ahead and my first deer, but the forests did not last long.
Instead, we quickly descended back into sandy terrain with endless lizards and occasional Joshua Trees. Some hikers were not excited about this but I didn’t expect to get these views in Oregon or Washington so I enjoyed the desert a lot.
This was a massive water cache. Without these sources, I probably would have had to hike at night through these areas to survive the long water carries. This cache was managed by the same trail angel (Cinnabon) who gave us food at that camp the day before.
After having substantial meals at the campground, I felt hyper for hours. When Vibes and I met up later, we joked that Cinnabon had laced the food with something. We were absolutely wired. I had delusional ideas of catching rattlesnakes and found myself running down the trail instead of walking. Eventually, I simmered down to average levels of energy.
It was comically windy the entire day. I could feel the air pushing through the fabric of my shoes and I had to eat with a firm grasp on each item to keep my lunch from tumbling away.
At a later water cache, I found some of my first trail friends in a register! I left them behind when I got off trail for my older brother’s wedding and I wasn’t sure who had stuck together. It looks like Ivy was still with the Germans at this water cache which made me happy.
I loved Lili’s crossword puzzle full of inside jokes. I wasn’t expecting to understand it after being away for so long but I could figure out a few of the words:) One of the hints mentioned Nick and I because we had talked about the soundtrack from the movie Spirit.
I love big open deserts.
A big group of us cowboy camped at Bird Spring Pass and got battered by dusty wind the entire night. We were scattered in groups of cowboy beds wherever we could fit beneath the Juniper trees.
The next day, we got our first sight of Mount Whitney. It was very far away but seeing it in person made it feel like an imminent challenge.
Mount Whitney is not on the official PCT but is only a 16-mile round-trip detour that is covered by the PCT permit. You might as well hike it since you’re already there.
Daisy Chains and Mona. Mona was enjoyed an empty peanut butter container from Vibes while we looked ahead at the high Sierra.
The whole week was mild and full of shady breaks with panoramic views of the Mojave, but I knew there were tougher miles in the future. Once the snow melted back in the Sierra, there would be no more killing time.
As a last hurrah for killing time, we took a side trail off the PCT to a shabby cabin to celebrate Vibes’ birthday and stay the night. We tried arranging all of our sleeping pads to fit in the cabin but a few had to sleep outside.
It was a big group. One Shot, Shotgun, Chip, Bin Chicken, Pony Boy, Toasty, Snickers, Clumsy, Free Bird, Agent 37, Vibes, and Daisy Chains.
This group, sometimes called “the funhouse tribe,” had started a big game of tag going that would end at Kennedy Meadows. Whoever was it when we got there would have to buy a round of beers for everybody. You were only safe when you touched the street sign at the boundary to Kennedy Meadows.
We had a fire outside and lit up the furnace inside the cabin. It was welcomed after some cold windy nights. Pony Boy and I also found some sun-faded canned corn in the cabin and broke it open with a small knife and a rock.
The next day, it was time to go into town to resupply. It would be our last stop before Kennedy Meadows South (the official endpoint of Southern California on trail). From this intersection, you could go east to Ridgecrest/Inyokern or west to Lake Isabella. I would have loved to see the lake but wanted cheap groceries so we chose Ridgecrest.
I waited with Daisy Chains + Mona, Vibes, and Free Bird.
It was not an easy hitch and I saw Traffic Cone and Knots on the other side of the road trying to hitch to Lake Isabella. I think it took them an hour to get a ride. At least there was free beer left on the side of the road!
After waiting, a beautiful renovated bus named Lucille pulled over for us. The driver was married to a guy hiking the PCT and she was working remotely while hopping around on trial to meet up with him!
The bus was well decorated inside and housed her dog and a couple of cats.
She had to drive up to Kennedy Meadows in time for a virtual meeting so she dropped us off on the 395 near an off-ramp. It was pretty hot.
To increase our odds of getting a ride, Mona (the dog) and I hid behind a bush so cars wouldn’t be overwhelmed by our group size. Daisy Chains and Free Bird got the first ride and Vibes and I caught a second. Our driver was on the clock and couldn’t leave his work route so we walked the last 2 miles into town.
Ridgecrest isn’t the most charming location for a zero but I was grateful that it was easier to leave than Tehachapi. Town days always involve quite a bit of eating to make up for the calorie deficit on trail. While walking the 2 miles to our motel, Vibes and I stopped at Burger King, Dutch Bros, and Chipotle. We tried the cheap diner that Groceries (a hiker) recommended, and then I bought an unjustifiable amount of food to pack out.
We stayed in a cheap motel, took one zero mile day to resupply and relax, and then got back on trail.
Getting back to trail was much easier than getting to Ridgecrest! There was a free bus operating three days a week that went all the way to Lake Isabella. It made a stop for us at the trailhead.
It was kind of funny pulling over at all the bus stops in town and watching more hikers pile into the bus. There were not any regular people on the bus.
This is looking back towards the section of trail I had done. I am grateful that the PCT is graded well and full of switchbacks. Even though it’s a steady grind uphill, it’s easy to get into a good pace without especially steep sections.
Here, I started to get samples of what I expected I would see a lot of in the coming weeks. The mountains went from dusty clay to more rocky terrain with scree fields. Scree is not especially fun to walk on but sometimes the slow parts of trail (like snow) help me not to burn out or get tired.
I knew that horny toads have a unique defense mechanism – shooting blood out of their eyes – but didn’t think I would see it. I was wrong.
This one got blood on some of my clothes and I felt kind of bad for picking it up but I had held five other ones without them exploding. Oof.
The only places I had cell service were areas where I could see east into the desert. I took this opportunity to call my mom and to rest under a tree. AT&T was pretty useless but once I called home and ordered a bear can online, I didn’t care if I had service again.
Each time I came over a ridge, the next peak was even taller. I could feel the high Sierra ridges looming.
Later, there was an abandoned structure which I loved poking around. I didn’t even see a road to access this area so I’m not sure what all of this junk used to be or what it was used for.
I wasn’t planning to camp here but Vibes caught up to me and then we saw Free Bird alone on the other side of the creek. I gave up my plans to night hike by myself and we enjoyed camping together for our last night in SoCal. I couldn’t believe that we would be in Kennedy Meadows the next day!
The high Sierras in the distance!
The forests outside of Kennedy Meadows were as sandy as a beach. It was interesting to see all of the familiar desert plants and flowers mixing in with full sized pine trees. I was amused by how stark the transition between southern and central California was on the PCT.
Right before mile 700, Vibes, Free Bird, and I came across the south fork of the San Joaquin river! I hadn’t seen a river this big on trail since Deep Creek after Big Bear.
To celebrate finishing the desert, the three of us got in the frigid water at mile 699.9
It was only three miles from there to get into Kennedy Meadows. As usual, we started anticipating what we would eat in town and we were not alone. I saw a little note in the sand that somebody had left about burgers.
When we finally got to the approach and could see the Kennedy Meadows sign in the distance, we were really excited.
A couple hundred feet from the iconic Kennedy Meadows sign, Vibes said “you know what’s even better?” while tagging me and sprinting ahead. I impulsively tagged Free Bird and ran ahead to the sign. Running uphill with a backpack on is not fun but neither is losing the big game of tag.
We had been ahead of the rest of the group and I thought we were safe from the game of tag Vibes was keeping it a secret for two days. Free Bird lost.
We made it! Before we could even touch the sign, a guy named Worldwide wandered up to us and offered to take our picture. He turned out to be incredibly knowledgeable about gear and the trail and is one of those hiker types who hikes 40 miles a day and pretends it’s normal.
He helped adjust Free Bird’s pack when he saw how it was sitting and she said it felt significantly lighter.
The general store is one of the most exciting milestones on trail. It’s a tradition to clap for hikers as they arrive so the patio erupts with applause whenever a new set of hikers wander up the street. We got a big applause when we arrived and hugs from plenty of people we knew.
The desert section can be especially hard for people from colder climates so many are excited to go higher in elevation. Since I fell in love with hiking in southern California, it was all very familiar to me and I was never itching for it to end.
Getting to mile 703 signified the beginning of a brand new challenge – big scary evil snowy mountains. The Sierra Nevada mountain range is highly anticipated and easily the most discussed part on trail. There were some accompanied nerves in Kennedy Meadows as people geared up for whatever lay ahead and rumors and snow reports were passed around. My continual mindset is that I’ll just do my best with the circumstances I’m given so I wasn’t too concerned about what would unfold or who I would hike with.
The general store offered free camping in the back which happened to be a very beautiful place to stay.
During our few days there, we had campfires, watched movies, did trivia night, prepared for our next stretch of trail, called family and friends, and ate plenty of food.
Both movies chosenwere horror films about people hiking. I didn’t watch the first one but sat through The Blair Witch Project and was most entertained by Doink doing unimpressive shadow puppets during the commercial break.
The bottomless pancake breakfast was massive and exactly what I crave after trail. You can’t see the eggs, sausage, and hash browns buried under the pancakes.
The breakfast was made by a hiker named Huckleberry who decided to take time off trail and work at the general store. I’ve heard that this is pretty common on the Appalachian Trail.
We were in Kennedy Meadows during Memorial Day weekend so we saw some extra visitors coming through in their offroading vehicles.
There was also a Two Foot Adventures gear shop set up out front which was especially helpful for switching out gear before hitting the snow. Manon, who had been using a 37-degree bag, finally got a new one rated at 0 degrees.
After weeks of not using my tent, I set it up to have a place for my things and it got ambushed by some rat or squirrel. Dyneema tents look like trash bags but they are not cheap. I laughed thinking about my expensive tent getting damaged for a single bite of a tortilla.
I don’t want mosquitos feasting on me later so I patched it up with some tenacious tape and learned to leave my tent open during the day as if it’s a car in San Francisco.
The gear additions I made before going into the mountains were some sexy beige zip-off pants, an ice axe leash, a dry bag for my quilt, and a bear can of course. I also picked up my ice axe and microspikes that I had shipped from home.
The dry bag would ensure that I have a warm sleeping bag if I got swept in a river and the pants were so I could slide down the snow since my rain pants tore before.
For some reason, almost everybody paints their nails on trail. Somebody told me it’s so you can’t tell how dirty your nails get but I think it’s just a boredom activity during town stays. There have been buckets of nail polish at a couple of places on trail and I’ve been able to tell where hikers have visited based on their nail colors.
This is my BV500 bear can. It’s the biggest one offered by Bear Vault but it was still tough cramming 7 days of food into it. An approved bear food storage can is required in specified national parks/forests and I would be using this for hundreds of miles ahead. I don’t know when I’ll be able to send it home but I’m sure somebody will tell me later.
It’s common to cover your bear can in stickers that you collect along the trail and I’ve already added plenty of new ones. The few at the bottom are my designs that I’ve been leaving them in trail registers. I have seen some friends with them on their bear cans and water bottles.
My last full day in Kennedy Meadows was May 26th, the day before my 25th birthday. I wasn’t planning to share that it was my birthday but that didn’t work out. My mom messaged Vibes on Intagram and the whole group surprised me that night. They got animal themed balloons (because I’m called Critter), and One Shot drew little ants on the birthday sign.
The following morning, we had a birthday cake expertly decorated by a Walmart employee.
They sang happy birthday the night before so I insisted they didn’t need to do it again in front of everybody at breakfast. Clumsy joked that they should sing a random song instead so the patio was serenaded with Hollaback Girl before I blew out the flame of a lighter.
I felt loved by the people I have gotten to know so far and it was so kind of them to pull this together and to even think of getting a cake for me when they did a Walmart run down to Ridgecrest.
It was time for some of us to go back to trail and part ways with the long-anticipated Kennedy Meadows south. Everybody at the general store got together for a group picture.
For me, Kennedy Meadows was the last hurrah for the group I had gotten to know over the past many weeks. The Sierras can easily chop up big groups with the pressure of high mountain passes, deep snow, and river crossings. It is less feasible to stay on the same schedule so we formed a smaller group that we thought would keep the same pace. Free Bird, Vibes, Dream, Manon, and I left the herd first and ventured off together.
Even though we looked forward to regrouping in Bishop, I had to get off trail in two weeks which would set me behind the herd. I am so glad I got to spend that time in Kennedy Meadows and maybe I’ll catch some of them in Oregon or Washington!
Ahead of me were some of the most expansive, beautiful, and remote places I have ever experienced. I was excited to spend my 25th birthday making steps I had been dreaming about since I was 18, and the Sierra Nevada has been even better than I had hoped.
Bonus Critters:
