Memories from May 24

The title says it all.

Besides that, I crossed a very different type of trail first thing in the morning.

Then saw some bees.

And then took a wrong turn. This is not the trail but I didn’t realize that for another quarter mile. The trail is about 15 feet away but over the side of the wash so I couldn’t see it but close enough that the GPS said I was on the trail the first two times I checked.

While running some last minute Internet errands with the cell service available from the overlook where the first picture in this post was taken, a guy named Yard Sale caught up to me. His trail name comes from his pack.

I walked with him for most of the day which meant it was easy going.

I’m trying to eat as much of my food as I can to reduce pack weight. I almost ate today’s allocation if food but it appears that yet again, I’ve over packed food.

Memories from May 23

Tehachapi is the last major town on my trip until South Lake Tahoe over 500 miles away. While I’ll resupply in a couple of places, those are done by mailing boxes to a resort or small store because none of the places I’ll pass is large enough to have a post office. Also, there has been a ridiculous amount of support the last week or so days: the Saufley’s, the Anderson’s, and Hikertown. I haven’t had to carry more than several days if food or more than four liters of water. That changes when I leave Tehachapi today for the about 140 miles to Kennedy Meadows. The next stretch opens with 28 waterless miles and will contain a waterless stretch 42 miles long. With 7 days of food and about six liters of liquid (I bought two 64oz cranberry juices so I would have enough water capacity) in my pack, it’s distinctly heavy; it feels like playtime is over. I had to move the water to the outside mesh pockets because there wasn’t enough room inside with all the food.

With that mindset change looming, today was spent careening through last minute errands. Get enough toilet paper. Buy water bottles (the cranberry juice). Ship the old tarp and poncho home. Download the latest water report. I managed to catch up on the blog, have breakfast with Team Bizzle (first meal in Tehachapi at a dining establishment), and call home which meant I really did get through everything before Dog Bite picked me up at 4pm for a ride back to the trail.

Another high point was that most of Team Bizzle went to the thrift store to get clothes to wear while doing laundry. Many photos were taken. They’re planning on sending them ahead to use at every resupply.

Starting in the late afternoon from Willow Springs Road, I walked though a windy windmill farm, eventually finding a relatively sheltered place about a mile short of highway 58.

I ran across the most interesting water cache container I’ve seen yet (if you can’t see in the picture, it used to hold wine… if only).