Hannah the hiker

On day 18 I got to Kennedy Meadows to resupply. I sent my bear can home which cost about $22, a lot less than I thought it would!

I saw a lot of snobos (northbound hikers that flipped because of the snow) that were finishing their hike. It was cool to see them excited to be done!

I got some tasty food for my next section of hiking and relaxed a little bit. There was wifi at the store so I got to talk with Conner too! I left at 4 so I wouldn’t be hiking in the hottest part of the day. I only went 5 more miles to make 15.8 total for the day. The 5 miles were pretty cruisey. There was a nice light breeze that cooled me off on the minimal uphill parts I had.

I set up camp at 6:30, and I had a beef jerky stick for dinner since I was still pretty full from a late lunch at the general store. I went to sleep around 7, another nice early night.

On day 19 I hiked 20.7 miles!

I got another early start, I left camp around 6:40. I had a breakfast essentials and pop tart for breakfast!

I walked three miles to Manter creek, here I grabbed 2 liters of water since my next source was 10 miles away.

The trail gradually went up 2,000 feet over the course of 6 miles. There weren’t any terrible switchbacks just a slow climb out of the valley. I really enjoyed this. It was still pretty cool out and the sun wasn’t shining on this part of the trail.

I just took my time and enjoyed seeing the sun coming over top of the mountains. There were a lot of flowers and plants growing alongside the trail which the bees loved. There were so many bees, I heard a constant buzz that morning. Thankfully I didn’t get stung!

The plants did get a bit annoying as the day went on since they were growing over the trail and kept scraping my legs. I only wear shorts to hike in so my legs get pretty banged up.

I got to the top of the climb at 10:30. I finished off a water bottle and filtered another for the walk downhill. I think I got my last view of the sierras from here as well. I said a little goodbye and continued on, I don’t miss how steep things were in the sierras!

I walked 3 miles to Fox mill spring. The downhill felt nice for my feet and legs. It was pretty cruisey. There were a lot of cool rocks along the trail and I took some time to look at them. I wish I remembered more from my geology class so I could tell what I was looking at.

I got to the spring around 12:20 and laid out for lunch. At this spring there was a sign saying that the water wasn’t tested and not safe to drink. People drink from it all the time though since it is one of few water sources in this stretch. There was also a dilapidated building of some sort here. It looked like a house. It was entertaining to look at while I ate my lunch.

I left around 1 and continued on to the next spring. This was chimney creek and would be my last water source for 11 miles. So I got 4 liters of water, and chatted with a northbound hiker here. He said that from here to Tehachapi was tough. That didn’t make me feel great. I’m not too worried though, I’ve got what it takes.

I gave him some advice about the sierras and carried on. I then met a guy that was out clearing the trail of blowdowns! He asked if there were any spots I remember with bad blowdown. I couldn’t think of any, this trail has been pretty clear except for the overgrown brush. I thanked him for his hard work. He cleared 3 miles of the trail I was about to walk through.

A lot of people go out and clean the trail up as volunteers, I think that’s pretty neat. Blowdowns do get really annoying!

I had about 4 miles to go for the day and 1,200 feet of elevation gain. I was not feeling it. My feet were tired and I really just was super hungry. But I trudged on and just chewed some gum to stave off the hunger. It took me a while to get up to camp but I didn’t mind since it was still early in the day. I got to my site around 4:30. I entertained the thought of going another 2 miles, but it was windy and I really wasn’t feeling like hiking more than I needed to. So I tried to find a spot protected from the wind and set up my tent. I ate dinner and had another early night.

I saw 3 people total on this day. It’s a nice change from seeing people all day everyday in the Sierras.

Day 20 was a 19 mile day.

I left camp by 6:45 and drank my breakfast essentials as I started hiking. It was a somewhat warm morning!

I had a little up and down until I got to a very cool exposed tent site. I also had cell service here, I had service for most of the day which was cool.

At that site I started to eat my breakfast, which is just a brown sugar pop tart. I don’t eat pop tarts at home, but they are my favorite breakfast on the trail. I hope I can keep buying them for my resupplies, the oatmeal gets old quickly.

I had quite a bit of downhill to my first water source at Spanish Needle creek. Here I filled up 4 liters of water. There was one more water source that I walked by but it’s said to have traces of uranium in it so I decided to skip it.

After Spanish needle creek I had 2 miles uphill to a tentsite. I had lunch here, it was about 12 and I had walked 10 miles. I had a tasty lunch, aided out my feet, and drank a lot of water. I left around 12:40 to start my last uphill for the day. I was so tired at this point but knew that if I kept a slow and steady pace id be okay. Then it got hot. I think it got to 85 according to my thermometer. And I had 3,000 feet of uphill over 5 miles. I wasn’t feeling it. I took several breaks wherever I could find shade, and there wasn’t much. The climb was pretty exposed, and while this afforded me great views it left me super sweaty and kind of miserable.

I put some music on to keep my mind off things. I listened to country’s greatest hits, which definitely kept me from thinking about hiking and more about farming.

Anyway it did the trick and in 2 hours I was on top of the climb at 7,300 feet. I had some wicked cool views up here. I could see Ridgecrest and China Lake Naval base. The trail was still very exposed and narrow through here. It was very Sandy and I had to be careful where I was walking so I wouldn’t just slide down the mountain side.

I got to my campsite at 5! It was a long day and I really didn’t want to push an extra mile to the next site so I set up here. There was a little box with a trail log in it, which I signed.

I had nice views of the “five fingers” and sunset. At around 6 I saw my first people of the day! It was a family of three that showed up to camp here. I was already in my tent so we just exchanged hellos. I went to sleep early, again!

Day 21 was a 21.6 mile day!

I left camp around 6:40 and had great views of ridgecrest waking up. The night before I could see all of the lights twinkling at night.

I had about 5 miles downhill to Walker Pass. This was a pretty walk down. I could hear and see the cars driving by.

I finally crossed the highway and checked to see if the water cache behind the monument was being maintained. It wasn’t. So then I decided to walk to walker pass campground to use the pit toilet and get water from a spring nearby there. When I was walking down to the campground I could smell people making breakfast which made me jealous and hungry. I so wanted to eat something more than just my pop tart and granola bar.

As I was making my way to the pit toilet some guys yelled from their campsite if I needed water. I said I did so I went up to see them after using the facilities. Well they gave me more than water! They invited me to have breakfast with them! I was so excited. They shared their coffee with me and we chatted while breakfast was being made. One guy had curly blond hair, a cowboy hat, and shirtless with just jeans and cowboy boots, his name was “Crusty.” The other guy was fully clothed with jeans, boots, and a sweatshirt, his name was Logan. They have been buddies for a really long time and always come to this campground for the start of deer/bear season. Which I guess was this day.

They were pretty funny. And they had a great camping setup. Crusty had a camper in the back of his truck and I guess he lives out of it and surfs at the beach when he’s not working. Sounds like the life.

We had steak and eggs for breakfast. I’ve never been a huge red meat person but I was so excited for this steak. I ate all of the food. And I didn’t even ask for ketchup. Anyone that knows me knows I like a little eggs with my ketchup. But I was so hungry it didn’t matter.

I stayed there for an hour and a half. It was nice to talk and eat with people. They gave me some powdered protein coffee for my uphill climb.

I tried to pay them as a thank you but they wouldn’t accept it. They said my company was enough. I filled up two water bottles before I left. I said good bye and wished them luck hunting, they wished me good luck too.

I had a 5 ish mile uphill with 2,000 feet of elevation gain. I saw a couple hunters coming off the mountain as I was going up. They complained about all the gnats flying around. They were flying all around my face and I had to hike with my mouth shut so they wouldn’t fly in.

I got to the top around 12:30 and drank some electrolyte water. I did some stretching too. Then I continued on to McIvers cabin where the next water source was. I got there around 2 and decided to take a long lunch break. I filled up 4 liters of water and sat on the shade while I ate.

It was getting really hot out so I decided to just enjoy the shade and wait til it got a little cooler to keep going.

I left around 3.

Then I had just 8.5 miles left in the day. This part of the trail was a bit annoying as I walked on a dirt road for 2.5 miles. It was very uneven. I did see a lot of bear tracks though which was cool. After I joined the trail again it was in the shade and it felt nice and cool. I took my time and just enjoyed the cool wind and pretty views. I could see the highway again and mountains that I had walked by earlier. It’s always cool when I get to see where I was a day or two before.

I got to my campsite at 6:30 and set up quickly. I had a nice spot behind some rocks which blocked the wind. It’s been pretty windy each night out here so now I’m looking for better campsites that aren’t so exposed.

I had a nice dinner and went to sleep around 7:30.

On day 22 I hiked 21 miles.

It was a long and hot day. In the morning I saw a beautiful sunrise as I walked downhill to Bird Spring Pass. There was a huge water cache here! Technically you’re never suppose to rely on water caches but I saw recent comments on FarOut that confirmed water was still there. I was able to fill up my bottles and they also left soap for people to wash their hands. So I did that too which felt good.

I continued on walking. There was a lot of up and down on this day, about 3,000 feet. But it was in small sections, there wasn’t just one long uphill. So that was a nice change. The trail was very exposed and I could see all of the first roads through the mountains. That was pretty neat. I saw 4 cars and one dirt bike.

The trail was very Sandy and in some parts washed out from recent rain storms. This made for some annoying uphill. I saw a rattle snake which was very exciting! He just rattled and went off the trail, very polite to give me the right of way.

I saw three hunters too. I didn’t see any Bear or deer. At around 11 I stopped to have lunch. I took an hour to just eat and relax. It felt so nice to let my feet and shoes air out. I left at 12 to finish my last 10 miles of the day.

I was going so slow. It was about 75 out and I was having a tough time with the heat and no shade. I took a cat nap in the shade of some Joshua trees from 2:30-3. And then I listened to some music to get me to the next water cache.

I got to the water cache at 4:30 and it was amazing. I was soooo thirsty. I immediately filled up my water bottle and drank the whole thing. I sat and enjoyed the shade and then saw another SOBO hiker! Her name was slider and she did a flip flop hike and will be finishing at the southern terminus. She was carrying a trombone in her backpack. We talked for a little bit and she continued on to camp. I left around 5 and hiked another 1.5 miles to a campsite. My camp was right next to some big boulders so I figured it would be a good spot to keep me from the wind. There were tons of mosquitos though, so it was another quick setup and hop in my tent night.

I had knorrs pasta for dinner and an Oreo for dessert.

Day 23 was a nice day.

I left camp at 6:20, tried to leave earlier but I was having a slow morning. I had a nice and easy uphill and could see the sun coming over the mountains. The mountains nearby were a deep purple while the trees were golden. It was beautiful!

I had a lot of shade in the morning/ afternoon so I never had to stop because of the heat. That was really nice.

I just kind of cruised through the day and luckily there were a couple water sources along the way. I made it to Robin Bird Spring which was just 100 yards off trail. Here I had a tasty lunch of instant mashed potato’s and a maple syrup tube. It was super tasty and I felt more full after my usual tuna tortilla and goldfish.

I continued on for the day, I had about 9 miles left.

The last 9 miles were still super easy with hardly any uphill. I could see windmills in the distance which was interesting. I also walked by a private cabin and saw some guys driving their pickup to it. They offered me some water, but I had enough so I kept walking.

I also walked by a sign for their cabin that had a trail camera on it. And then not long after that was a sign with the 10 commandments on it. I don’t know why it was there, but it was a bit weird to me that it was just in the middle of the woods.

I hiked on.

I passed by a radio tower!

And then I had a dreaded detour to get water from Miller Spring. The spring is .9 miles off trail and you descend at least 600 feet.

I left some of my hiking stuff at the junction with the road so I would have a lighter load.

I then started the walk down which was super rocky and uneven. It wasn’t the best maintained dirt road.

I made it to the spring and filled up 4 liters of water. I guess earlier in the season there was a dead squirrel in the water box. I didn’t lift the tarp to see if there were any other surprises, I figured it was best if I didn’t know. I then pumped myself up to hike the 600 feet uphill to connect back with the trail. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. If I didn’t stop there for water it was going to be another 10 miles to my next source. So I was really proud of myself that I did the tough thing and got the water. There was one day last year that I was very dehydrated and I told myself that wouldn’t happen again, so I’m proud I didn’t let it happen to me that day!

I then only had .1 to walk to camp. I saw two cows that were fenced in to the area I was hiking through. They ran away.

I only set up my inner tent, no rain fly so I could see the stars at night. There are too many bugs for me to cowboy camp unfortunately.

I walked 21.3 trail miles, but 23.1 in total if you include the detour. It was a good day though. I celebrated with an Oreo and hot chocolate.

Day 24 was a windy day!

I left camp around 6:30 and started hiking. I had a bit more uphill than the day before, around 3,800. Not too bad still.

I walked by a lot of wind turbines which was neat. I don’t think I’ve been that close to them before. I did get a little freaked out when I heard one creaking a bit but it never crashed!

It was a super windy day which felt really nice in the sun.

I had about 10 miles to my last water source on this stretch, golden oaks spring. I got there at 11:20 and had lunch. I had some goldfish mixed in with my instant mashed potato’s, yummy!

I left around 12:30 with all 4 water bottles full. But, when I put the 4th bottle in my bag, the top burst. There was a hole right near the top that slowly leaked half a liter of water for the rest of the day. This was my last full day until getting to town, 17 miles away. So it wasn’t a huge deal but still a bit annoying.

I listened to a couple of podcasts to pass the time.

There was a 5 mile part of the trail on a dirt road. The road was super rocky and I slipped and fell twice because of the loose rocks and sand. It’s so annoying when that happens. But I just picked myself up and kept going.

As I got to the last high point of the day I could see the towns, roads, and wind turbines below. It always makes me excited to have a view like this. While I love the hiking and being on trail it’s always exciting to get into town and think of what I’ll do when I get there. I was really excited to take a shower, after 9 days of no showers. And to wash my clothes, especially my socks!

I got to camp early, around 5:15. I set up my tent, no rain fly, and cooked a tasty dinner. I had three cheese max and cheese and a “chocolate dairy shake” MRE beverage. It was all super filling! The MRE beverage had 460 calories and 17 grams of protein, pretty much a meal on its own. On this day I hiked 21.3 miles. I felt good and went to sleep early so I could have an early start to get to town.

Day 25 started off super windy. I left camp by 6:45 and started the 6 mile downhill to the highway 58 overpass. At times I thought i was going to be rolling instead of walking because of how violent the wind was. I had cell service and normally I call my dad while I’m walking downhill into town but this time I couldn’t since the wind was so loud. I just listened to some music and cruised down. I tried to eat my morning poptart and that blew away out of my hands. I wasn’t too upset though since I knew I was getting into town soon.

I made arrangements to stay with a trail angel, Jason, who said he would pick me up at Cameron Road. And he was there when I got there! It was super nice to have an easy ride off the trail and into town, no waiting with my thumb out. We went to Starbucks and we both got a pumpkin cookie crumble drink. That was soooo tasty and rewarding!

I got to his house which was a thru hikers dream. Lots of candy, couches, hiker boxes, and even a pool and hot tub. I was able to shower and will do some laundry and resupply shopping later. It feels good to be staying in a home rather than a hotel room or tent, even though I love both of those too. I also saw some familiar names in his guest book. It’s neat to see that some hiker friends stayed here too. Jason is section hiking the PCT and gave me some useful information about upcoming water caches and trail towns.

I’ll just take the rest of today off and leave some time tomorrow to start the last FarOut map of the entire trail. 566 miles to the end. Feels crazy to know it’s coming to a close soon, but not too soon.