PCT: CA Section E - Agua Dulce to Tehachapi Pass
Day 34 - 06/09/25 - Over the Mountains to Spunky Road
Distance: 16 miles
Weather: sunny, extremely hot (95°)
End Location: Spunky Edison Road (mile 471.5)
Lessons Learned: the heat is no joke
Ate leftovers a few other hikers gave from the Mexican place last night for breakfast.
Ray took me to the Post Office, but we got there 30 mins before it opened.
Went into the store, got an Italian sandwich, ranch dip packet, coconut water, and a tuna packet.
We drove around while we waited for the post office to open.
Discovered where the Acton library is.
He was a very interesting guy, worked on a ton of different projects as a computer engineer.
Helped the original Spock make a website back in the day (startrek.com) to sell memorabilia and used to live in Hawaii.
Picked up a resupply package and sent out a postcard to my dad for Father’s Day.
Ray drove me back to Serenity Oasis.
Was back by 10:30 a.m.
Organized the package and picked up a few more tuna packets and electrolytes from the store, very well stocked for backpackers’ needs.
Hung with Ellie, Tasha, 360, and Maylin (the girl with the van from earlier in my journey, she’s back - it was good seeing her again).
Ate a sandwich and left at 1 p.m. in the heat of the day.
The trail merged with the road for a bit, the heat radiated against the asphalt again, brutal.
Got back on the dirt after 2 miles, slight breeze and a tad cooler, but still sweat bullets.
Played my playlist “Spring is Here” in order.
“Anybody Else” by Ballroom Thieves came on.
Some songs make you remember parts of the past that are easier to just forget.
“I once read that I should write something worth reading,
or that I should do something worth writing about,
And as my years, they buzz like bees on the ceiling.
I start to pour a little more than I’m allowed.” - “Bees”, The Ballroom Thieves
Hiked 8 miles to the spring.
It was brutally hot and uphill.
Basically had to go up and over a mountain (~2000 ft elevation gain).
Almost at the top, I took a break under some shade and ate an apple that Maylin gave me.
Crossed over the peak while “Eyes of the World” by Grateful Dead played.
At work I used to go on a walk during my 30-minute lunch break whenever it was nice out and listen to that song.
“Wake up to find out that you are the eyes of the world.”
Stopped and filled up water at Piped Bear Spring at 4:15 p.m.
Cheech was there.
She had been there for a while, watching the birds and time fly by.
I drank the rest of my water, filled up 3L and took 2L for dry camping.
Stoaked shirt and buff.
Left at 5 p.m., hiked 8.5 more miles to camp.
Had to go up and over another mountain, brutal again but a little bit cooler.
Had a great view of Bouquet Reservoir and the sunset.
Near the end, the trail’s shoulder gave out from under me and I fell.
Nothing bad, just covered in dirt.
The campsite Ellie and I wanted was taken so we hiked another 0.5 miles to Spunky Edison dirt road, the comments on FarOut said there were camping spots.
Saw Will and Cecilia cowboy camping (the ones that gave me the leftovers I ate for breakfast).
Chatted briefly about how brutal the heat was.
Set up camp around 8 p.m. with a little night of light.
The moon came out, very bright and almost full (2 more days).
Made Buffalo Mac and Cheese under the moonlight and ate dinner with Ellie.
We were both exhausted.
Went to bed around 10:30 p.m., going to try and wake up early tomorrow to beat the heat.
Day 35 - 6/10/25 - Hot Sisyphean Trails
Distance: 21.4 miles
Weather: sunny, brutally hot (90° F, but felt 100° in the sun)
End Location: dirt road (mile 492.9)
Lessons Learned: beauty has its price
Woke up at 5:40 a.m.
We needed the extra sleep.
Packed up, ate, left at 7:10 a.m.
Got Ellie on the honeybun train; she likes them.
Sun was already up; it was going to be a hot one.
Clay sculptures made by a kid scattered along the trail.
Cute but kind of creepy looking.
Hiked 7 miles to the Green Valley Fire Station.
Meeting people that share the same humor and perspective is rare but more common than you’d expect.
Listened to the playlist “cloudy day” on shuffle (Toro y Moi, Sun on Shade, Sun Rai).
Dodge the sun between the hills.
Listened to the Kill Tony podcast with Carrot Top.
Remembered the time I took shots with him at the Porch.😂
Carrot Top’s props are incredible.
Wrote my own minute routine.
Spray paint can with a dictionary on it.
Jackson Rock Jim Beam song was incredible. 😂
Mouse trap with a disco ball to catch gay mice.😂
Saw a lizard without a tail; a California whiptail without a tail is just a whip?
Lizard El Camino?
Got to the fire station around 10:30 a.m.
Ate a lot of snacks: two Tinkies, a bag of Skittles, peanut butter crackers, and a protein bar.
Did 10 pull-ups on the pull-up bar at the fire station.
My legs are certainly stronger, but the rest of my body is getting weaker.
Soaked shirt and buff.
Left at 11:45am, brutally hot.
To put the intensity of the heat into perspective, 20 minutes into the hike, my shirt was dry again, and the water switched with sweat.
The forecast called for 90° F and in the sun they say to add +10° F, so basically hiking in 100° F weather
And the trails were truly Sisyphean, up a mountain, then down and repeat - surely there has to be a better way 😭
I put on my playlist “cherry” I made while visiting a friend in Hawaii to imagine feeling cooler and on a beach
“Cherry” is an expression the say on the island to signify when something is good
Thought about high school and my friends from back then
Would kill for some Myako’s teriyaki right now with white sauce and ginger
Crossed over top of mountain at 12:30pm, put on desert hat and moved my wet buff down to my neck, way better
Slight breeze thank god
Got to stream around 3:00pm
Filled up water
Ate lunch: a lemon pepper tuna burrito with mustard and relish (thanks Ray, he gives out condiment bags to hikers he gives rides to), M&Ms, and a candy bracelet I chowed on savagely
Took nap, sweating while sleeping
Got woken up by a bug bite on my right tricep
Creek partially dried up while we relaxed/napped
Wet clothes with leftover water and left at 5pm
Our goal was to hike 7 more miles, but there was a lot of elevation
Song “I don’t wanna be here” by Rome in Silver came on… perfect timing, felt that🤣
Today has been one of my least favorite days
But can’t have the highs without the lows (lesson learned)
One step at a time
Filled up water again 1.6 miles in, it was cold
Washed my face and hair
My shirt was already dry again so wet my shirt, buff and hat again
I actually felt great after that
The temperature dropped and I was grooving and listening to music
The top of the hills were torched by a wildfire, and the terrain was littered with poisonous Pool Dog Bush (PDB) that’ll give you a rash supposedly worse than poison oak if you touch it
But it also has beautiful purple flowers and looked majestic with the setting sun’s light
Beauty has its price
Made it to camp at mile 492.9 and veered over to the dirt road to escape the PDB and find flat ground
When I arrived, I saw Will and Cecilia cowboy camping with the moon rising directly over them
Took a picture of them and offered to take one on their phone too, it was too picture perfect to not capture that memory
The moon looked nearly full and had a red hue
I was torn between looking at the final phases of the sunset and the moon on opposites sides of the pass
Set up camp and ate dinner in the dark with Ellie
I had ramen, she cooked for lunch so she just had a tuna burrito
Talked about Patagonia and her South American travels she took before the PCT
Went to bed around 10:30pm
Day 36 - 6/11/24 - Let Sleeping Snakes Lie
Distance: 22 miles
Weather: hot, sunny
End Location: dried creek (514.8)
Lessons Learned: let sleeping snakes lie
Super windy last night and couldn’t sleep with tent flapping so I took down my tent poles and cowboy camped on top of my deconstructed tent.
Not bad.
Saw the stars and woke up to a beautiful sunrise.
Actually pretty lovely
Left at 7 a.m.
Hiked 4.5 miles to a water tank / cistern that collects rainwater.
Listened to my classic rock playlist “Afternoon Delight.”
Took a break around 9:30 a.m. for a snack.
Larvae in collected water, so I treated them with iodine after filtering.
Ate a protein bar and 2 Twinkies.
Other hiker Gabby was in rough shape (all electronics were dead, very dirty, and limping a tad)
Put hand sanitizer in leftover water and wet clothes.
Goal is 10 miles to a spring for lunch around 1 p.m.
After 1.5 miles, it was back to desert heat and minimal tree coverage.
Thorns and PDB, take your pick 😅
A garter snake slithered in front of my path and scared me.
Purple bells and long, red whistles,
Poodle dogs and stinging thistles,
A fire on the mountain
With airplane tracks like missiles
erupts as the setting sun
paints the sky with color
while the moon rises
to shine its own light
on a cool, windy desert night
Steep incline, I took a break at the top in the shade shortly after Guzzler.
Caught up with Ellie.
Realized we had passed 500 miles.
Apparently, Tehachapi has a sushi restaurant, so we made a plan to get that.
Hopefully, we’ll be there by Saturday.
Hiked through oak groves and saw ground squirrels, butterflies, and quail.
Beautiful old-growth forest with tall grass and a breeze
Big black rattlesnake to the right of the trail almost stepped right next to him but stopped.
No rattle, so he must be sleeping.
After I went around, I tapped my pole next to him to wake him up and move him off the trail.
The snake woke up, immediately got into strike position, and started rattling.
I booked it and stumbled a bit as I backed away.
I don’t like being woken up from naps either, so maybe I’ll just let sleeping snakes lie next time (lesson learned).
I think that’s my 8th rattlesnake encounter, I’ve seen one almost every section of the trail so far
We took break around 3:30pm and ate a late lunch
Hung with Tiny, he was camping there for the night
Left 5:15pm
The goal was 8 miles or whatever we can get done before sunset
Hiking down I had another rattlesnake scare
He was rattling in a bush but I could even see him
Tried throwing rocks to scare him off
Ended up going up the side of trail and running
Beautiful sunset hike, one of the best yet
The sun set over the Mojave desert and behind the mountains
Day 37 - 6/12/25 - Hiker Town and the Aqueduct Night Trip
Distance: 3.6 miles, then 18 miles (21 miles total)
Weather: sunny, extremely hot
End Location: Windmill Farm
Lessons Learned: cowboy camping is great, night hiking is fun
Woke up around 5 a.m. and caught a bit of the sunrise
Went back to bed until 5:50 a.m.
Charged phone, packed up sleeping bag
Ellie woke up
We decided to eat breakfast in bed, another perk of cowboy camping
Cowboy camping is great (lesson learned)
I don’t know if I’d do it alone but with another person, just feels like a middle school sleepover😂
Ate honeybun and coffee with Nutella (the jar was basically empty but I put water in it and let it soak overnight) for some hazelnut essence
Hiked the 3.6 miles to Hiker Town
Arrived around 8:00 a.m.
It like an old western movie, the town looked deserted and ripe for a shootout, if only tumbleweed had scurried across my path
Talked to Bob who runs it
My resupply box did not arrive in time, that’s a bummer
Going to try and get it bumped to the next town (couldn’t get it bumped without it arriving, so asked them to just return to sender)
Marta, a kind Hispanic lady, gave Ellie and me a ride to Nanach Market for food, resupply, and showers
Got 2 pancakes, bacon, and 2 sunny side eggs and a breakfast burrito for later
Hung out in the A/C room next door to the restaurant. There were also fresh cinnamon rolls up for grabs.
There was also a record player, so I sifted through the vinyl collection they had.
Listened to Emerson, Lake, and Palmer for a short bit, then Tiny put on Elton John (Captain Fantastic), then ABBA in español (which I didn’t know existed😂), then Moody Blues.
Showered and did laundry.
Hung clothes to dry.
Took some vitamins and hung out outside.
Tiny and I went back to back on a few coronas to pass the time.
Met a few new hikers: an amicable Canadian fellow named “Extra” who had great videos of snakes (he uses a long selfie stick to capture up close vids) and a jaw harp, and an Australian Doctor named Matt. Apparently, he has raised a ton of money for charity for this hike, but no good deed goes unpunished. His feet were full of blisters.
Jammed on piano with Cheech (guitar) and Extra (ukulele / jaw harp)
Freestyle sang about the girl who would rather be working on her tan than at work (Lake Arrowhead) while Cheech added guitar chords.
Other Australian hiker, Gabby, gave all of us light-up glasses she ordered from Amazon for the night hike.
I got blue, of course.
We all got a ride back to Hiker Town around 6 p.m.
Nearly 10 people in the truck.
A lot of us had to lap up, and we had 3 people lying down in the truck (hiding from the law and an expensive ticket).
Once we were all squeezed in the truck, his 2 dogs also hopped in 😅
Pet the dog while we drove to distract myself from being a canned sardine.
The plan was to hike a long, shadeless, desert section during the night to escape the heat - it was 18 miles to the next water source and 23 or so to a river - we would hike as much as we could under the guidance of the moonlight.
We left Hiker Town around 6:30pm
Hike 3 miles along a road and joined the California Aqueduct.
Filled up water.
Ate some Almond Joy.
We all walked along the old, rusty aqueduct during the sunset and tried to avoid the pointy parts of the pipe.
As the sun went behind the mountains, the sky was beautiful and the Mojave desert was finally tolerable.
I mainly hung with Cheech.
We cracked jokes and got to know each other a bit better.
Our whole group had the light-up glasses the Gabby gave us so you could see where everyone was.
I felt like I was at a rave.😂
There was trail magic at the end of the aqueduct. A cool Trail Angel named Nick was supporting the FTKers and had beers, sodas, and chips for us.
He’s also making a film about thru-hiking called “Mile 666.”
Taking pee breaks, I got separated from the group every now and then and put on some music to fill the void.
I started with country.
Kenny Chesney’s “When the Sun Goes Down.”
As I hiked, I felt surrounded by sweet memories.
Will and Cecilia played “Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” which reminded me of my friends back in Portland.
We took a lot of breaks, allowing the stragglers (me) to catch up with the group.
The moonrise was spectacular.
Even though we missed the full moon by a day, it was still large, in charge, and 98% filled.
Cheech explained the concept of “manic pixie dream girl.”
Since the road was wide enough, we hiked in a group and all cracked jokes. Lots of giggles.
Extra introduced me to a prog rock group called Tarkus. He played the song “Eruption.”
Long, elaborate organ solo, a 17-minute-long song.
He also played his jaw harp as we walked, and I got a cool video.
“Here” and “There” hikers from Utah and Wisconsin were hilarious. Every time I’d come up to them at a break, I would start cackling and they would join in.😂
We tested the age-old adage: “What came first? The chicken or the egg?”
We decided neither, and that it was in fact the cock that came first. 😅
Cheech and I compared the differences between foods and cultures.
Maybe they weren’t all so different.
Kinishes, perogis, empanadas are all similar if you think about it.
We wondered what kind of restaurant a Jewish Spaniard would own and decided it would be a delicatessen that serves paella paninis.
What would this place be called?
We settled on “Gordo’s Gabagool.”
It made sense in the moment 😂
Cheech and I switched off playing songs.
She showed me Arkansauce and I showed her Of the Tree’s “Owl Song.”
Then I got hankering for some old-school rap.
Played my playlist “90s Rap Part 1.”
Hiked to Tribe Called Quest’s “Award Tour”, “Can I Kick It” and then some Notorious B.I.G.
I asked Cheech if Biggie Smalls was having a dinner party, what would he cook?
We both had a similar initial idea but dove a little deeper.
She settled on him cooking a traditional Creole seafood boil, naming it Biggie Smalls Seafood Boil (or “BSSB” for short).
I imagined him as an Italian chef and thought he would make some giant meatballs with spaghetti and pasta, which he would call “Biggie Balls” 😂
More shenanigans and almond joy breaks.
When I asked Ellie and Cheech whether they thought the moon has an effect on us, I got a resounding confirmation from both of them.
Apparently when the moon is full, laundry is cleaned better due to its gravitational pull… I’m not sold on that one.
We pushed as the moon pulled.
For the final stretch (last 3 miles to water) I faced the strongest winds on the trail yet.
I put my hood on, head down, and listened to one of my EDM playlists (new subs) for the first time on the trail.
I got in a flow to Zed’s Dead’s new album, “Sweet Memories” and “Fall Away” while Marvel Year’s “Tip Toe” provided a beautiful crescendo as I reached the top of the climb.
Made it to camp around 3:30 a.m.
Filled up water and cowboy camped under the moon, stars, windmills and accompanying gusting winds.
The windmills whooshed as I settled into sleep.
Day 38 - 6/13/25 - Harvesting Wind
Distance: 20 miles
Weather: sunny, windy
End Location: under a wind mill
Lessons Learned:
Woke up from the sun.
Time unknown, maybe 8 a.m.
No honeybun for breakfast.
The feeling of “missing” is when the absence of something or someone is felt just as strongly as its presence, if not more.
Oh, honeybun…
Good name for a pet.
Coffee.
Kirkland protein bar and put a squeeze of peanut butter on it.
And a Snickers.
Here (Utah) came over while there was over there and sat down with you.
There (Wisconsin) came over when here went back over there.
They were spun last night 🤣
Left at 9 a.m.
Hiked 10 miles through a Wind farm.
Listened to “I Got Loaded” by Wood Brothers.
Put on Hunter S. Thompson’s “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.”
“A man who turns himself into a beast does not have to deal with the peculiarities of being a man.”
Took some vitamins.
Juniper berries reminded me to snack.
I went sky diving.
I went Rocky Mountain climbing.
I went 2.7 seconds on a bull named fu-man-chu
To live like you were dying.
Switched between Grateful Dead / jam bands, bass music, and country
School can’t teach you who you are, you have to learn that on your own
Got to stream around 12pm
Like the Cranberries, we lingered
Took some vitamins
Ate, cooked Au Gratin with chicken for lunch, could be turned into a kind of chowder
Tea, yogi wisdom “use your head to live with heart”
Hung with Cheech
Ate more, tuna and taco shells
Went to small pool in the creek
Hung with Tiny, Will, Cecilia, Matt, Moses and Lucky
Apparently Tiny saw the FTKers and seeing their small bags, asked them, “you guys going for trail run?”
They replied, “Yeah, something like that” 😂
Napped for 10 mins
Took vitamins
Left around 5:30pm
It was 7 miles to water
At 6:50pm, I signed trail register
There was Jim Beam in the box there, I took 2 swigs
Climbed down into a canyon and saw Moses and Lucky again they were eating dinner to get energy for the big climb upcoming
Even though the hike was steep, the sunset was beautiful
I felt like I chasing the sun, trying to make it to the top of the mountain to get one more glimpse of light, but never did catch it.
Made to water cache around 8pm
Ellie was there, beat me by 15 mins or so
Filled up water, made dinner (ramen)
Night hike for 5 miles
Moonlight took a while
Made it to camp around 12am
Cowboy camp by wind farm, could hear the wind mills
Went to bed around 12:30am
Day 39 - 6/14/25 - to Tehachapi and the End of SoCal
Distance: 12.5 miles
Weather: sunny, hot
End Location: Tehachapi
Lessons Learned: if you have the energy, use it
Woke at 6 a.m.
Breakfast in bed
Ants came out with the sun
Two bites
One on my left Achilles, one on my left hip
Left at 7:40 a.m.
The ant bite triggered inflammation in my Achilles, so I took a Tylenol for the first time while hiking
Hiked 6 miles through the wind farm over rolling hills to Willow Springs Road
As I was descending the climb, I thought I saw Belinda (the camper van) in the distance
Made it to a small river just in front of Willow Springs Road around 9:30 a.m.
There was also a water cache there accompanied by Trail Magic from a nice lady named Valerie
She had a few cereal and chip options available
I picked out some Wheaties and chocolate milk, a combo I had tried before
Got a text from Ellie on my Garmin that Maelyn and her were waiting for me at the road in the camper van, it was Belinda!
Maelyn gave me some Cheetos, chips ahoy, and a coke
Chatted with Poles (super light bag), and Tiny pulled up as well
She also allowed us to “slack pack”, meaning we could leave our bags with her, hike the 8 miles on the trail, and get picked up by her at Highway 58 when finished, lovely
I didn’t want to hold my water in my hand, so I emptied the contents of my backpack and carried only water, my Dopkit, a hat, and a tuna burrito to snack on
Ellie and I left the van around 10:30 a.m., figuring it would take us 2.5 hours
We hiked the 8 miles through my rolling hills and wind farms.
We came across another German hiker.
With the wind, it was already hard to hear, so when they both started speaking in German, I just put my headphones in😂
Gradual elevation and then a steep decline down to the highway.
Listened to Fear and Loathing until my headphones died.
Made it to the canyon road around 1:30 p.m.
Hiked another mile to the highway where I saw the van waiting.
It was hot.
Made it to the van around 2:00 p.m.
Ellie, Maelyn, and I cheered Gatorade for finishing the Southern California portion of the trail (mile 567)
Maelyn drove us to Tehachapi where we had hotels for the next 2 nights.
Around 2:30pm I checked into my room at the Marriott Fairfield and put my bag down.
Went with the gals to Petra Mediterranean for lunch.
Ordered Lamb Gyro, Dolmas, and a Peroni.
Scarfed down the grub, really good.
Was a nice change from the typical town burger (even though I’ll probably get one tomorrow😅).
Tiny texted me to meet up for dinner.
I forgot he eats and sleeps super early, so after lunch, showered quickly and met him at TK Pizza at 4:30 p.m.
Took vitamins.
Tried their local Hazy IPA and a Love Hazy.
Tiny got both of my drinks, what a guy, and I repaid him by spilling some on him 😂.
Went back to the hotel and did laundry and then passed out for 2 hours.
At 8:30 p.m., I woke up to a call from Ellie saying they were getting sushi.
I said I was down and would meet them there.
Grabbed my laundry.
Apparently, the restaurant was closing soon, so they were only doing takeout.
Cheech texted me saying they were hitting the hot tub and pool at their hotel
Conveniently right next to the sushi restaurant, I put on my shorts and went to the hot tub at Sure Stay while I waited for the take out order
Ellie and Maelyn brought over the sushi and we all chowed down
I got a Omega roll (eel), rainbow roll (salmon and tuna on a Cali roll), and edamame
brought wine (Robert Monday Cab Sav) and beer so we drank that as well
Ellie changed and joined the hot tub
We all alternated between pool and hot tub, the air was cold and crisp
Listened to music
Ellie was tired so went to bed around 10:30pm
Hung out with Cheech a bit longer
“Stumble” by Parcels
Went back to my room
Tiger balm massage
Ate leftover Cali roll Ellie gave me and rest of edamame
Watched Last of Us, the first episode of the season 2
Passed out late, set an alarm for 8am so I could get the free breakfast in the morning
