I would walk 500 miles

6/6 - Tehachapi, CA - Mile 566

Hello again -- a lot has happened since my last post. Perhaps the most exciting was the checking off of another milestone: earlier this week, I passed the 500 mile mark. (The Proclaimers would be proud, as I also intend to walk 500 more.) Two days later, I hit mile marker 530, which means I've now done 20 percent of the trail.

That's a lot of time spent hiking, and it's definitely been an adventure. We spent a day dodging poisonous poodle dog bush (it'll give you a horrific rash if you touch it), climbed a snow-covered Mount Baden-Powell, and, yes, got to visit the trail-side McDonalds.

We've also had some off-trail adventures. One was a trip to Los Angeles, which isn't a typical trail town for the PCT. However, we were staying in a town called Acton and noticed that there was a train that would take us into downtown Burbank, where there happened to be an REI -- a store Door and Kidska needed to visit for reasons we'll get to later.

There have been parts of the past few hundred mwereiles that were a bit... unusual. We've been hiking through the desert, but last week the trail was covered in thick fog, making it hard to see very far. It also happened to leave our tents soaked with condensation, and the lack of sun unfortlately meant that they stayed wet.

The weird weather also affected the temperature, and the little thermometer I brought rarely registered above 60 degrees. In past years, people have said they hiked this section under a scorching, unrelenting sun; meanwhile I went around three days without ever really feeling its warmth.

It did eventually show up, though, and with a vengeance. At the infamous LA aquaduct section, the trail skirts the Mojave desert for around 25 miles. The hike down to the desert floor from the mountains was brutally hot, and we were forced to hide in the shade by 10 or 11 AM. Given that the aquaduct is a dirt road with little to no shade, we decided to do that section at night, which ended up being a very cool experience where we were surrounded by Joshua trees illuminated by a full moon.

Of course, hiking until 1 AM, taking a three hour nap, and then waking up to hike 10 more miles was... let's say slightly detrimental to our sleep schedules. We did the next 24 miles to Tehachapi in a bit of a haze, taking long naps in the afternoons and hiking only in the mornings and evenings. But we made it safely, and that seems as good a way as any to say farewell to the desert that's been our home for most of the last few weeks.‌

Well, it's not QUITE goodbye yet. We have around 130 miles until we're in Kennedy Meadows South, the portal to the Sierra mountains. That's a solid six or seven days of walking, though we'll be taking a slight detour into a town called Ridgecrest to pick up the boots Door and Kidska ordered from REI.

They say it'll be the first time in many, many years that they'll be wearing boots while hiking, but we think it'll be necessary. (Their unfamiliarity with boots is also why we had to go to a physical store in LA to try them on.) This year, the Sierras have received a record amount of snow, and the mountains are still absolutely packed with it. Traveling through them will likely mean going days without seeing dry land, and braving brief bits of trail that require the use of special equipment like ice axes and mountaineering crampons. (Which, to be clear, we all have.)

We have gotten a taste of what this will be like. We summited Mount San Jacinto in the snow, and did the same for Mount Baden-Powell around two weeks ago. But we're also aware that the Sierras -- along with their mountain passes and swollen rivers that we'll have to cross -- are likely going to be an entirely different ballgame.

Going in is at least a little risky; many of our fellow hikers are deciding to skip the section and come back to it later. But we at least want to give it a try, and all agree that we'll turn around or find another way if we come across something that even one of us deems too sketchy. We're also carrying extra safety gear, just in case: Door and Kidska now have their own emergency satellite beacon in case something happens, and we'll be carrying maps and compasses to make sure we'll be able to navigate even if all our phones are dead.

That's enough fear-mongering for now, though. I promise I'll be careful and do my best to make safe choices. For now, our plan is to go to a restaurant called Thai Hachapi. I'm just hoping the food is as delicious as the pun!