Leaving Tehachapi (PCT Day 41)

Tehachapi has been good to us. But now we have to go. It’s time to return to the trail.

In the last 48 hours, both Lupine and I, plus our friends Chef and Siracha have all gotten vaccinated. We’ve eaten well every night. Lupine and I have visited the German bakery 4 times since arriving.  We’ve all lounged around our hotel room binge watching superhero movies on cable television. 

Given all of this, you’d think we’d be eager to hit the trail with our fresh legs and new shoes. But some days are easier than others to get excited about hiking and it turns out today isn’t as easy as we expected. 

After getting a ride to the trailhead from our trail angel Ted, we begin a 2,500 ft climb, switchbacking ourselves further and further away from the highway. We watch fields of wind turbines in the far distance and reminisce of previous days, and the miles we’ve come so far. 

Our packs are heavy, filled with a week’s worth of food. Fortunately our shoes are fresh, providing better support for our feet. As we switchback up the hillside, a cold wind feels like ice across our faces. We keep on pushing on. 

Although are packs are heavy, and the climb is steep, it’s not what makes today the hardest. As we stop to snack, Lupine comments that she’s not feeling all that excited about thru-hiking today. We agree it’s not the challenge of hiking, but the scenery. We’ve been walking for almost 600 miles, most of it in desert. Still we are surrounded by desert. Hiking requires endurance that goes beyond the physical demands of the body. It also requires mental endurance. To hike through hundreds of miles of desert, and then to hike another hundred.

But soon enough our scenery will change. Soon enough we’ll enter the Sierras, the jewel of the PCT. We know this will come, in due time, along with new challenges and memories. We must endure. We can endure. We will endure. 

With perfect timing we crest the hillside and enter into a grove of junipers and fur trees. It fills us with satisfaction. It’s just the change of scenery we need. It’s just a taste, but it will suffice for now.

As we near 15 miles we begin to notice the trail is busy. We count about 6 hikers who pass us before we arrive at a spring where Chef and Sriracha have set up camp, as well as Swifty who was our neighbor at the hotel in Tehachapi. Several other hikers rapidly arrive, and suddenly our tiny camp is completely full. Tents spring up right next to each other. It’s the most hikers I’ve seen in weeks. I count 8 tents in the small area around us. To his annoyance, three hikers set up camp virtually on top of Chef’s tent.

We all agree that with so little water, it’s hard for hikers to space themselves out along the trail. It’s yet another reason we look forward to the abundance of water in the Sierras. Lupine, Chef, Siracha and I make plans to hike further tomorrow, trying to outpace the pack. 

The other hikes are friendly enough, but we crave to be alone again, amongst a smaller number of fellow hikers.